A few months back the people at Jaguar got in touch and asked if I fancied taking their new XF model for a spin one weekend. I’d be a fool not too and decided that it would be a great excuse for a nice weekend away.
After a bit of searching for a place to visit I settled on Gleneagles, it’s a hotel that I’d always wanted to visit and is situated only an hours drive from Glasgow. The world-famous resort in beautiful Perthshire seemed like a fitting match for the XF.
The Jaguar XF
The weekend came and Jaguar delivered their top of the range 3 litre TDV6 XF S in white. It’s basically a top-end executive saloon car but with all of the added styling that comes with the S Line and the extras, it definitely has an injection of sport luxe. The first thing I noticed when I got in the car was that it’s big, much bigger in fact than my regular car. Thankfully though you have all the tools to make it easy to drive like the parking assist cameras. They are a big help when it comes to maneuvering.
Inside the XF it is as comfy and roomy as you would imagine. There’s ample space and the huge sunroof lets the natural light come flooding in too, something that I really like. I didn’t love the display on the touchscreen (it’s the same as the one in the new Land Rover range), I prefer these to look a little more ‘clean’ and less fuss – I’m an apple fan after all. Away from the look of the system though, it works well and the bluetooth connectivity is fast.
The XF doesn’t have the same wow factor, as say the F-Pace but that doesn’t really matter. If you are after a well-built, good-looking luxury car that is still fairly understated then you would struggle to find anything in the class that comes close to this car.
Gleneagles Hotel
The Jaguar XF fitted in very well at Gleneagles, the car park was like a pick and mix of luxury cars. That more of less tells you everything that you need to know about the hotel, it’s about as swish a hotel as you will get in the UK.
The thing for me that set’s a true 5 star hotel from the others is the service and from the moment you arrive at the check-in desk at Gleneagles you are treated like royalty. It was in a different league from some of the other places I’ve stayed in this country.
The hotel itself is pretty huge and features all the usual facilities. It’s also home to the world-famous Gleneagles Golf Course so if that is your bag you should look into trying to book a round in advance. There’s even a mini shopping arcade built-in to the place which stocks all those ‘essentials’ from brands like Ralph Lauren and Molton Brown. What more do you need?
The location of the hotel in rural Perthshire is a great base for doing a bit of exploring too, if that is your bag. This trip for me was all about re-charging my batteries so I didn’t venture much further than the spa (which I highly recommend btw).
If you are staying at Gleneagles, make sure you drag yourself out of bed for the breakfast buffet. I’ve never saw such a decadent and varied spread, even the breakfast buffets in Vegas don’t come close!
#XF
