The Great North Sea Residences Open at Trump International Scotland
Trump International Scotland has added a new way to stay on the Aberdeenshire coast with the opening of The Great North Sea Residences, a collection of five luxury cottages overlooking the resort’s two championship links courses and the North Sea.
Created through the restoration of a 19th-century coastguard station, the residences combine private self-contained accommodation with the services of a five-star golf resort. Guests have their own living spaces, kitchens and outdoor areas, alongside access to the golf, dining and concierge services available across the wider estate.
The opening comes at an important moment for Trump International Scotland. Its second 18-hole layout, the New Course, officially opened in July 2025 and is hosting its first professional tournament this week as the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship takes place from 6–9 August 2026.
At Hashtag Golf Travel, we think the residences are a particularly interesting addition because they solve one of the challenges faced by premium golf groups: finding accommodation where everyone can stay together without sacrificing hotel-level service.
With two championship courses now on the doorstep and some of Scotland's finest traditional links nearby, Trump International Scotland is increasingly becoming a destination where golfers can base themselves for an entire north-east Scotland golf holiday.
What are The Great North Sea Residences?
The five residences occupy restored coastguard buildings positioned on an elevated section of the estate overlooking the golf courses and North Sea.
The original buildings date from the mid-1800s and have retained their distinctive Belhelvie Blue granite exteriors. Inside, the design combines traditional features such as cast-iron log-burning stoves, wood panelling and bespoke cabinetry with modern kitchens, en-suite bedrooms and contemporary luxury finishes.
The result is very different from staying in a conventional hotel room.
Guests have a lounge and dining space, kitchen, pantry and utility facilities, as well as a sun porch and private outdoor space. Some residences include two king-size en-suite bedrooms plus a mezzanine sleeping area. There is also a private putting green specifically for residents.
Four of the new residences can accommodate up to five guests, while the smaller fifth residence can sleep up to three, according to the launch information provided to us.
For a fourball, that format immediately makes sense.
Instead of splitting everybody across separate hotel rooms and meeting downstairs for breakfast, the group can effectively have its own coastal home. There is somewhere to sit together after golf, prepare drinks, watch sport, discuss the day's round and, inevitably, receive several different versions of what actually happened on the 14th.
Why we think they work particularly well for golf groups
Golf accommodation has changed.
There will always be golfers who want a traditional hotel room, restaurant downstairs and somebody else dealing with absolutely everything. But increasingly, groups also want somewhere they can actually spend time together.
A two-bedroom residence provides that.
You still have access to the wider resort, but there is also a proper living room, kitchen and private outdoor space when the group wants its own company.
For a four-person golf trip, we think this could be one of the strongest ways to stay at Trump International Scotland. It combines much of the independence of renting a holiday cottage with resort servicing and concierge support.
There is also something appealing about looking directly across the dunes at the golf you've travelled to play. You are not staying in central Aberdeen and commuting to the course each morning; the links landscape becomes part of the holiday from the moment you wake up.
The launch information puts rates from £1,500 per residence per night, depending on dates and accommodation selected.
There is also a six-night Great North Sea Golf Coast package currently advertised by the resort. It includes exclusive use of a residence, unlimited golf on the Old and New Courses and two fourballs at neighbouring golf clubs, with Royal Aberdeen and Cruden Bay among the courses offered subject to availability. The introductory rate is £3,500 per person and is designed around two couples sharing.
That package tells you quite a lot about where the resort sees the residences fitting: not simply as accommodation for one round, but as a base for a serious Scottish links trip.
Two championship courses without leaving the estate
The biggest change at Trump International Scotland over the last year has been the arrival of its second course.
The original Old Course opened in 2012 and was designed by Dr Martin Hawtree. It follows two out-and-back loops through towering dunes, valleys and elevated coastal ground overlooking the North Sea.
It is a big, dramatic piece of links golf.
There are parts of the course where the dunes almost completely separate one hole from another, creating the feeling that your group is alone in the landscape. At other points the ground rises and the North Sea suddenly appears beyond the fairways.
This is not subtle seaside golf where you occasionally glimpse the water between houses. The coastline and dunes dominate the experience.
The New Course, which officially opened on 29 July 2025, was created to complement rather than duplicate the original layout. It runs across hundreds of acres of coastal terrain and incorporates sandy hollows, burns, wetlands, huge dunes and elevated tees. The resort says it includes what it describes as the world's largest natural bunker.
For golfers visiting now, having two courses changes the proposition completely.
Previously, Trump International might have been one headline round within a wider Aberdeen itinerary. You can now comfortably spend two days at the resort playing entirely different courses before travelling elsewhere.
That makes a three, four or even six-night stay considerably easier to justify.
The New Course gets its first professional test
The timing of the residences' opening is significant.
From 6–9 August 2026, the New Course is hosting the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, the flagship tournament on the Legends Tour. It is the first professional tour event to be staged on the new layout.
Players at this year's event include Ryder Cup figures and established names from professional golf, with Paul McGinley among those involved in tournament week.
That professional tournament test should be interesting for golfers considering a future visit.
A course can look spectacular in photographs, but tournament golf exposes different aspects of a design. Where do professionals choose to attack? Which holes become genuinely difficult in the wind? Which greens create the most interesting decisions?
Once you've watched a tournament played somewhere, standing on the same tees during your own golf holiday usually adds an extra layer to the experience.
You might not produce the same drive as a former Ryder Cup player, admittedly. But you can at least confidently tell your playing partners where he hit his.
Serious practice facilities too
Anyone hoping to discover that professional-quality ball striking during the trip has plenty of space to try.
Trump International Scotland's practice ground covers around 22 acres, with north and south-facing driving-range tees and more than a hectare of grass teeing space.
A new short-game facility includes six greens, bunkers and different lie conditions, while the putting green covers approximately 3,500 square metres.
That matters more than it might initially sound.
On some golf holidays, "practice facilities" means hitting twenty balls into a net five minutes before the tee time. Here, golfers could realistically dedicate an afternoon to practising, book coaching or run their own short-game competition between rounds.
For residents staying several nights, we would make use of it rather than simply arriving ten minutes before the first tee time.
Scottish links golf tends to expose whichever part of your short game you have been pretending is fine.
Aberdeenshire deserves to be a full golf trip
One of the strongest reasons to stay longer is the sheer quality of golf around Aberdeen.
The north-east sometimes receives less attention from travelling golfers than St Andrews, East Lothian or Ayrshire. We think that's a mistake.
Nearby Royal Aberdeen Golf Club was founded in 1780 and is the sixth-oldest golf club in the world. Its Balgownie Course is a classic links, heading outward through the dunes before returning along higher ground. Royal Aberdeen itself describes the front nine as among the finest stretches of links golf anywhere.
Then there is Cruden Bay Golf Club, approximately 23 miles north of Aberdeen.
Its current course has roots dating to 1899 and the work of Old Tom Morris, with later alterations contributing to the wonderfully eccentric layout golfers experience today. Blind shots, natural contours, dunes and unconventional green sites make Cruden Bay feel very different from many modern championship courses.
Murcar Links adds another excellent traditional option. Originally designed by Archie Simpson and later modified by James Braid, it uses dunes, burns, heather and uneven fairways beside the North Sea.
You could therefore build an outstanding itinerary around:
Five rounds, all in the same general region and all offering their own interpretation of north-east Scottish links golf.
For us, that is where the Great North Sea Residences become especially interesting. They provide a premium base rather than forcing golfers to change hotels as they work their way through the courses.
Stay-and-play without living in a golf bubble
There is another side to Aberdeenshire that makes a longer stay worthwhile.
The resort sits near Balmedie, a stretch of coastline characterised by huge dunes, a broad sandy beach and open North Sea views. It is close enough to Aberdeen to reach the city easily while still feeling distinctly removed from an urban setting.
The wider Aberdeenshire coastline runs for around 165 miles, passing beaches, cliffs, fishing villages and wildlife-rich coastal landscapes.
That creates plenty of options on a day away from the course.
Cruden Bay itself has a long sandy beach and coastal walks towards the ruins of Slains Castle, while the nearby Bullers of Buchan is known for its dramatic cliffs and seabirds.
Travel south and golfers can spend time in Aberdeen itself, with restaurants, pubs, museums and the city's beachfront all within easy reach.
Head inland and Aberdeenshire opens into castle country, whisky country and eventually Royal Deeside.
This matters particularly for couples or groups staying for close to a week. Even golf obsessives occasionally benefit from seeing something other than another bunker.
Whisky, food and a proper Scottish evening
Golf and whisky have always made fairly natural travelling companions, and the resort leans into that connection.
MacLeod House is home to Clavis Whisky Bar, which lists more than 250 malt whiskies, while Trump's Restaurant & Cellar provides the more formal dining option on the estate. The Dunes Restaurant & Bar at the clubhouse provides a more relaxed choice after golf.
There is also plenty of scope to build whisky into the wider itinerary, with Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire providing access towards the distilleries of the north-east and Speyside.
For a group staying in one of the new residences, we'd probably split the evenings.
Have one night where nobody goes anywhere: drinks in the residence, comfortable clothes and the day's scorecards subjected to forensic examination.
Then use another evening for dinner at MacLeod House, whisky afterwards and absolutely no discussion about tomorrow's handicaps until breakfast.
That balance is one of the benefits of having residential-style accommodation rather than an ordinary bedroom.
An alternative to MacLeod House
The residences also create a useful alternative to the resort's existing accommodation at MacLeod House & Lodge.
MacLeod House offers the traditional luxury-country-house experience, with individually appointed rooms, private grounds and access to the resort's golf and practice facilities.
We would not say one is automatically better than the other.
They serve different trips.
Choose MacLeod House when you want a traditional five-star hotel experience and the atmosphere of a Scottish country house.
Choose The Great North Sea Residences when your priority is privacy, space and keeping the whole group together.
For four golfers travelling together, the residences would probably be our pick.
For a couple on a two-night stay, MacLeod House may still make more sense.
Having both options strengthens the resort because golfers can now choose accommodation around the type of holiday they want rather than simply taking whichever rooms are available.
Could this become one of Scotland's great golf bases?
Potentially, yes.
There are destinations in Scotland with more history. There are courses that have hosted Opens and clubs where championship golf has been played for more than a century.
Trump International Scotland is much newer.
But that is also what makes what is happening in Aberdeenshire interesting.
The Old Course opened in 2012. The New Course followed in 2025. The second layout is now hosting its first professional tournament. The practice facilities have expanded, and the Great North Sea Residences provide a completely new style of accommodation.
The pieces of a genuine 36-hole destination resort are coming together.
More importantly, it sits within an existing golf region rather than trying to create one from scratch.
Royal Aberdeen, Cruden Bay, Murcar Links and Fraserburgh give visiting golfers access to generations of traditional Scottish links golf alongside the two modern courses at Trump International.
For UK golfers who have already completed several St Andrews or Ayrshire trips, we think the north-east deserves serious consideration for the next one.
Our verdict
The Great North Sea Residences are more than another accommodation option at Trump International Scotland.
They make the resort significantly more appealing for groups who want to stay for several nights, play both championship courses and use the property as a base for exploring the rest of Aberdeenshire's golf.
The restoration approach is also a good fit for the setting. Rather than constructing a conventional apartment block beside the links, the development has reused historic coastguard buildings dating from the 19th century, retaining their granite character while creating modern residential interiors.
For us, the ideal trip is fairly obvious: bring four golfers, stay in one residence, play the Old and New Courses, add Royal Aberdeen and Cruden Bay, and leave enough time for a whisky or two and a drive along the Aberdeenshire coast.
The New Course has already given golfers another reason to travel to this corner of Scotland.
The Great North Sea Residences now give them a very good reason to stay longer.
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