SCOTLAND’S most expensive flat has gone on the market – with a £7.3 million price tag.
The Penthouse at the former Hamilton Grand hotel in St Andrews overlooks the famous 18th green of the Old Course.
The hotel served as halls of residence for the town’s university until it was sold to a developer.
The flats are lavishly furnished
The previous record price for a flat was set at £2.5 million when Whittingehame House in East Lothian was sold in 2010.
Hamilton hall was bought in 2009 by US millionaire Herb Kohler. He set about turning the building into 26 luxury flats, with prices starting at an eye-watering £2.2 million.
The company stripped out the entire interior, keeping only the grand staircase and the external walls, and rebuilt it floor by floor.
The interior of the building has been stripped out
In February a three and a half tone lead dome construction was lifted into place to replace a fibreglass one which had stood on the building since 1976. The replica replaced the original following a fire.
The penthouse has gone on the market for offers over £6.3m, or a fixed price of £7.3 million.
Jamie Macnab of Savills, which is marketing the complex in the UK, said the building was likely to appeal to foreign buyers.
The fiberglass dome has been replaced with a lead one
He said: “British buyers just don’t get these prices, but St Andrews is seen as a Mecca for golfers, to be played at least once in a lifetime, so property here is highly prized and money no object with a lot of buyers.”
Legend has it that Thomas Hamilton commissioned the elaborate building as revenge after being rejected for membership of the prestigious Royal and Ancient golf club.
Mr Macnab said: “”The views are just staggering and there is something about the position, which is very definitely lording it over the R&A club next door, which might attract someone who perhaps didn’t make it as a member.”
The penthouse has views across the 18th green and first tee
Those who buy the flats will be able to use the spa and other facilities at the nearby Old Course Hotel, as well as enjoying an exclusive butler service.
They will automatically be given membership of the Duke’s course and access to other courses in the town.
The new owners can either choose to keep their flat to themselves of rent if out to golfers, with prices during the Open championship expected to set new records themselves.
Opened in 1895, the building was requisitioned by the Army at the start of the Second World War. After the war it was bought by St Andrews University and used as a student hall of residence until it was sold for £20 million in 2005.
It featured in the opening sequence of iconic film Chariots of Fire, as a group of runners travel along the town’s West Sands and across the Old Course.
