The Algonquin opened in 1889 as a Canadian Pacific Railway resort, one of the chain of grand hotels that the CPR built across the country to fill its trains with passengers. The original wooden building burned in 1914 and was replaced with the half-timbered Tudor Revival pile that still dominates the skyline of St. Andrews — gabled, turreted, and painted in the railway's signature green and white.
You do not need to be a guest to walk the grounds, take afternoon tea in the lobby, or use the bar. The golf course, redesigned by Thomas McBroom in 2000, stretches along the headland with sea views from most holes. The hotel is now operated by Marriott as part of its Autograph Collection but the atmosphere of an Edwardian railway hotel remains intact — pipers, formal lobby, long verandahs. Worth visiting for the building alone.