You will stay in the golfing centre of Southport, a delightful Victorian resort, noted for its gardens, sandy beaches, and many golf courses,. Its elegant town centre provides an array of shops and a wide selection of restaurants, cafes and bars. The hotel is set in its own picturesque gardens and provides a tranquil environment for the discerning guest. Ample parking within the hotel grounds and its proximity to Southport's famous Lord Street make the Stutelea an ideal base from which to explore the town's many and varied attractions. The Leisure Club provides a heated indoor swimming pool with sauna, Jacuzzi, steam room and gymnasium.

There are eight Top100 seaside courses between St Annes and Liverpool and many people believe that this is the best stretch of linksland in the British Isles. It is certainly England’s links golfing Mecca and Hillside is one of the best. It is an underrated gem, separated only by a footpath, but hiding in the shadow of its noble next-door neighbour, Royal Birkdale. The homeward nine is really special and is frequently bracketed alongside Ballybunion because the holes ripple and undulate through the giant dunes.

Founded in 1873, West Lancs is the oldest surviving club in Lancashire, although, strictly speaking, it is now part of the borough of Merseyside. Its esteemed Royal neighbours keep West Lancs out of the limelight but it is a truly classical natural links course, located on a charming stretch of prime links land. On a clear day, to the north, Blackpool Tower can be seen in the distance. To the southwest, there are panoramic views across the Crosby Channel to the Birkenhead peninsula and Liverpool Bay beyond.

Royal Lytham & St Annes is the most northerly of the English championship links courses, situated only 10 miles, from its illustrious neighbour, Royal Birkdale. This monster links opened for play in 1886. It is definitely a links course, but it is no longer beside the sea. It now lies about one mile inland but there is evidence that the sea is nearby because you can spot Blackpool tower in the distance. The links is unusually surrounded by red brick houses and flanked on the west by the railway line while the guardian Victorian clubhouse watches over the course.

Formby is the prettiest of the eight top-notch links courses located between the seaside town of St Annes and the city of Liverpool.  It is bordered on three sides by pine trees, giving the links a softer, heathland feel than the others. Play Formby when you have been sufficiently beaten up by the other windy links courses around Southport, but don’t be fooled into thinking that this course is easy. Bunkering is strategic, the undulating fairways are very much links-like, the rough is strewn with heather and the pines provide an element of park-like protection from the wind.

Only the Belfry has hosted more home soil Ryder Cups than Southport & Ainsdale. But everybody flocks to play S&A’s royal neighbour, Birkdale. If only they knew what they were missing a couple of miles down the road. It was originally founded in 1907, and it is set amongst exhilarating dunes and tangly heather. S&A has a very natural feel to the layout, with some blind drives and obscured approach shots. Southport & Ainsdale should be played not only from a historic perspective but because this is a very natural and challenging links course, standing up remarkably well against its regal neighbours.