Any famous guests?

Back in 1980, Bob Hope was one of the first celebrities I met here; a proper gentleman, to both public and staff. Samuel L Jackson came recently; he's a very good golfer. Chris Evans, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, Oprah Winfrey and Sylvester Stallone have all been here in the last year or so. When the Open comes to St Andrews it is always hectic but it's also a great atmosphere. A lot of the golfers in the Open stay here and the bars are always busy.

What do they do?

Most people who come to St Andrews would like to play a round of golf on the Old Course. To play on it, a guest's name has to go forward to a ballot the day before - and it's the luck of the draw whether your bid is successful as sometimes there are hundreds of names in the ballot. The Old Course has the history and everyone ought to play it once but personally I prefer the New Course. It has longer, tighter fairways and the greens are smaller - more of a test of golf in some ways. We have a golf steward who deals with play on all the courses here. People often want to buy golf clubs here - Tom Morris and Auchterlonies are both very good.

Any special requests?

Not really - it's usually guests who want to find out if they can land their helicopter here; they can as long as we have notice. Auchterlonies is always willing to open after hours for golfing equipment, if there's an emergency.

Evening out?

St Andrews isn't somewhere you come for the nightlife - it's more of a man and wife sort of place. The Jigger Inn, at the side of the hotel, is a quaint little pub, always full of caddies. It used to be the station master's house when the railway was here. I've never had a bad meal at the Vine Leaf in South Street - the fish and seafood are particularly good and I've heard very good things about the West Port which opened recently. We've got two restaurants in the hotel, the Road Hole Grill and Sands, which is more international, serving everything from sushi to sandwiches. Just outside St Andrews, the Peat Inn is great for traditional Scottish food - it's got a Michelin star.

But what if you really, really hate golf?

We have a lovely spa, with great treatments and staff, which is very popular if the weather's inclement. There's the cathedral and the castle to visit and ladies love to go shopping.

Contacts

The Old Course Hotel 01334 474371

Auchterlonies of St Andrews 01334 475993

The Peat Inn, Cupar 01334 840206

The Vine Leaf Restaurant 01334 477497

The West Port 01334 473186