Places to Stay Near a Pub in St Andrews

What the 33 stays here tell you

There are 33 places to stay published on BritStays across the St Andrews region, and the shape of that list matters when you're hunting for somewhere with a pub close at hand. Thirty-two of the 33 are hotels; just one is a caravanning option, St. Andrews Holiday Park. That means you're mostly choosing between rooms rather than self-catering cottages, and it also means a fair number of them have a bar on the premises rather than down the road.

Eight of the 33 list a Bar among their facilities, five list a Restaurant and one lists a Cafe. That's a useful proportion: roughly one in four stays can pour you a drink without you putting your coat back on. The rest sit within two walkable towns, so "near a pub" is rarely a stretch — it's more a question of whether you want the pub downstairs or five minutes away.

Dundee or St Andrews?

The stays split cleanly: 19 are in Dundee and 14 are in St Andrews. Dundee gives you the bigger choice and the better transport position, with the likes of Premier Inn Dundee East, Travelodge, The Fort Hotel, Hampton by Hilton Dundee City Centre, Best Western Woodlands Hotel and The Fisherman's Tavern all listing Near a Train Station. If you want to arrive by rail, drink in the evening and not think about a car at all, Dundee is the straightforward answer.

St Andrews suits a slower, more compact trip. Greyfriars Bar, Hamilton Grand, Hôtel du Vin & Bistro and Old Course Hotel are all here, along with St. Andrews Holiday Park for anyone touring with a caravan or motorhome. The town's museums sit close together, so you can spend an afternoon on foot and still be back for an early dinner.

Which stays suit which trip

• Pub on site: The Queens Hotel in Dundee is the fullest option in this set, listing a Bar, a Restaurant and a Cafe. St. Andrews Holiday Park also lists a Bar, which is handy if you're pitched up and don't fancy driving.
• Couples: Hôtel du Vin & Bistro, Hamilton Grand and Old Course Hotel sit on the St Andrews side; Old Course Hotel lists Disabled Access and WiFi.
• A night off: Apex Hotel in Dundee lists a Swimming Pool, Gym and Spa — the only stay in the set with that combination.
• Simple and predictable: Travelodge, Premier Inn Dundee East and Craigtay Hotel keep things plain, which is no bad thing if the room is just somewhere to sleep.

A word on what isn't recorded. None of these 33 listings carry sleeps figures, so family room capacity has to be checked directly with the property. Nor is dog-friendliness listed anywhere in this set — if you're travelling with a dog, ring ahead rather than assuming, and ask specifically about the bar area as well as the bedrooms.

Access, WiFi and the parking problem

Seventeen stays list Near a Train Station, 16 list WiFi and 11 list Disabled Access — Hampton by Hilton Dundee City Centre is one of the few that lists all three together. Parking, though, appears on only two listings, and EV Charging Nearby on just one, at St. Andrews Holiday Park. If you're driving, treat parking as something to confirm before you book, not after.

What to do between pubs

St Andrews stacks its sights close: the Wardlaw Museum, St Andrews Museum, St Andrews Castle Visitor Centre and the St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum are all in town, with the Scottish Seabird Centre also listed locally. Dundee leans towards family days out with Dundee Science Centre, the Tayside Medical History Museum and a wakeboarding track.

For castle days, Broughty Castle and Mains Castle are the Dundee-side options, while Earlshall Castle and Dairsie Castle sit nearer St Andrews. Further afield you'll find Glamis Castle, Ethie Castle, Tantallon Castle and the stately Tyninghame House — these are the trips where a car, and therefore a stay with parking, earns its keep.

When to book

With only 33 stays in total and eight of them offering a bar, the pub-on-the-doorstep options go first. Book several months ahead for summer weekends and any period when St Andrews is busy with events; the 14 St Andrews stays sell out well before the 19 in Dundee. If you're flexible, Dundee midweek is the easiest thing to secure, and the train links mean you're not stranded. Before you pay, confirm three things by phone: room capacity, parking, and whether the bar is open to residents on the night you arrive.