Marine Hotel, 17-19 Crosbie Road, Troon

Marine Hotel, Troon

The Marine Hotel at 17–19 Crosbie Road is a substantial Victorian-era hotel built in stages between 1897 and the early 20th century. Designed by the practice Salmon, Son and Gillespie, the original symmetrical entrance block of 1897 was expanded significantly in 1901 with a major L-shaped addition, followed by further additions in the later 20th century.

The entrance front faces west and presents a striking Free Style design of two storeys with double attics spread across nine bays. It adopts an E-plan with gabled projections at the centre and at both outer corners. The principal materials are squared and snecked stugged red sandstone with heavy pointing to the entrance elevation, complemented by polished sandstone dressings. Architectural detailing includes a moulded eaves course, polished skews to the roof, polished quoins, and polished long and short surrounds to most openings with architraves. Openings are framed with sandstone mullions and transoms and polished cills.

The entrance elevation displays considerable ornamental quality. The central gabled bay at ground level contains a replacement door accessed by steps and framed by a round-arched surround with a ship relief in the keystone. Above this, a 4-light canted oriel at first floor is aligned with a balustraded parapet forming the second-floor balcony to a round-arched opening centred in the gablehead. Round-arched windows at ground floor occupy three bays recessed to the left and right; square-headed windows align at first floor. Dormerheads feature alternating triangular and round-arched finialled pediments, with cat-slide dormers set behind. The advanced gabled bays at outer left and right present simplified Venetian windows at ground with fluted pilasters, pedimented bipartite windows at first floor, and single windows above. Small attic lights centre beneath each apex, and crown-shaped skewputt detailing marks the gable ends. The gabled bays link at first floor via a replacement balcony with heavy fluted columns. The outer right corner features a recessed 4-storey and attic addition with a single-storey canted sandstone infill in the re-entrant angle and a later glazed addition further infilling this corner. A single-storey addition to the outer left accommodates a swimming pool.

The south side elevation reveals the original building's massing more clearly. The outer left gabled block comprises a single-storey canted projection at ground with a glazed addition. The main mass is regularly fenestrated at first and second floors (though the second-floor balcony is now missing), with small attic lights and box dormers above. The 1901 addition extends to the right across four central bays with 4-light glazing rows at ground floor and roll-moulded, segmental-arched single windows above, where keystoned round-arched panels link both floors. At second floor, architraved surrounds frame corniced bipartite windows with sandstone mullions and transoms; tripartite windows occupy the third floor, with box dormers above. A full-height gabled bay advanced to the left contains a single basement opening with single windows at first floor and 3-light canted windows at second and third floors. Its pierced parapet surmounts a corniced single window centred beneath the apex, with bird-shaped finials on the gablehead and skewputts. To the outer left, a blind opening at ground precedes a full-height tower recessed behind with single windows to upper floors, an ogee-arched pediment at second floor, a blind opening centred in the corbelled upper floor, and a pyramidal cap. A prominent 5-storey square-plan tower is offset to the right of centre, featuring a round-arched window at second floor with a substantial corbelled balcony to the front and square-headed windows to remaining openings; its pierced parapet is dated 1901 on the right return. A 4-storey engaged polygonal turret is offset to the right of centre with single windows in all facets at first, second and third floors. A recessed bay with single windows at all floors is surmounted by a truncated pyramidal roof. A later single-storey addition extends further to the outer right.

Fenestration throughout comprises 6-, 8- and 12-pane upper lights with plate glass lower lights in timber sash and case windows; some replacement glazing exists, and modern glazing frames the later additions. The roof is covered in grey slate with raised stone skews and cast-iron rainwater goods. Ridge, wallhead and apex stacks are of coped red sandstone with circular terracotta cans.

The interior is predominantly refitted with modern fittings. A part-glazed timber turnstile door leads to the vestibule. Extensive timber panelling survives, with dentilled cornice work and plain ceilings throughout. A lift has been inserted in the main stairwell.

The front terrace is enclosed by a low red rubble sandstone wall surmounted by rubble piers with ball-shaped finials, with a cast-iron pedestrian entry gate providing access to the golf course. The site frontage to Crosbie Road is bounded by a red sandstone coping atop a painted brick wall, with coped circular-plan piers flanking the entrance and conical caps crowning the piers.