Hotel Review: Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa, Liverpool

One of the frequently unsung benefits of living in Altrincham is that we are within around an hour’s drive of the finest stretch of golfing turf in the country. England’s Golf Coast, as it is entirely justifiably monikered, stretches from Royal Lytham down to Caldy on the Wirral, and encapsulates seven of the UK’s Top 100 golf courses and a number of others which must surely just fall outside it. It is a 60-mile strip of golfing heaven. 

Located in wonderfully handy fashion towards the northern end of this strip is the Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa. Until the Wirral decides whether it wants Jack Nicklaus to build a £200m golf resort in Hoylake, this remains the only hotel in the North West to boast its own 18-hole championship course.

And the golfing facilities don’t stop there – in May this year, it opened the first ever Tommy Fleetwood golf academy, which has a mission to make the game more accessible to kids. Fleetwood learned the game himself here – the board listing ‘T. Fleetwood’ as the winner of the 2003 Junior Championship Gross prize is an inspirational testament to that.

Alongside the academy, there’s enough to keep seasoned golfers and humble beginners happy; those not fancying the 18-hole championship course can tackle the nine-hole Woodhey Dunes Course, while the hotel’s in-house golf concierge makes trips to nearby Open Championship courses – Royal Birkdale and Royal Lytham & St Annes – effortless.

But while this is a golfer’s paradise, Formby Hall is by no means golfers-only. Indeed, I visited with my wife and two children, and none of us swung a club in anger all weekend.

Our Saturday was split between a fantastic trip 20 minutes down the road to Knowsley Safari Park (be prepared to lose your windscreen wipers in the baboon zone), and a trip to the spa in the afternoon. The pool was pleasingly bigger than some you can find in spa hotels (plus an array of sideshows including a sauna, steam room, and Laconium Cabin), while the two treatments we tested – the Maternity treatment and Hot Stone Massage – were utterly delightful. There’s a timetable of 40 fitness classes to choose from each week, too.

Evidence of its recent £2.4m refurb is all around at Formby Hall. The 76 bedrooms include 14 recently added designer loft rooms, one of which we stayed in.

Ours featured a main room for the grown-ups – with a view over the golf course – and an adjoining room for the kids. Memorably for them, they had their own flat-screen TV – and even the bath came with a TV embedded above it in the marble wall. Luxury for all, and a rare example of a family ‘room’ that was evidently designed by someone who had met a child before.

Dining-wise, the plush Fairway Grill restaurant, and bar offered an all-day menu and a large terrace area that means you can eat al fresco while golfers slog past just yards away. With glass doors running all the way down the inside of the restaurant, you have a view in all directions over fairways, trees, and lakes, a relaxing backdrop to a menu that offers a pretty classic range of British fare. 

Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa works on both levels, then. It feels like something of a base to explore that famed Golf Coast, but as we found, there’s more than enough to keep golf widows and indeed non-golfing families occupied. And I haven’t even mentioned the beach down the road…

Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa, Southport Old Rd, Formby, Liverpool L37 0AB. More info:
formbyhallgolfresort.co.uk