Trump's Newly Renovated Scottish Golf Course Reopens Amid Controversy

The presumptive Republican nominee will visit the property on June 24.

ByABC News
June 1, 2016, 1:37 PM

— -- A golf course resort in Scotland owned by Donald Trump is reopening today following a nearly $300 million renovation.

Trump Turnberry has remodeled its bars and restaurants, as well as its 103 guest rooms. Its lighthouse has also been converted into a $5,000-per-night two-bedroom presidential suite.

The presumptive Republican nominee, whose mother Mary MacLeod was born in Stornoway, Scotland, purchased the property in 2014.

While there has been some opposition to his "commercial presence" in the area by the left-wing group RISE, the development of Trump Turnberry has been low-key in comparison to that of Trump’s other golf course in Scotland, Trump International Links. Notably, Trump lost a legal challenge against the British Supreme Court in December 2015. He had wanted to stop the Scottish government from building 11 turbines within sight of his estate, saying they would spoil the view.

Trump has often emphasized his ties with Scotland, but many residents who have spoken with ABC News have said that they feel detached from the candidate, and that at best, they are glad that he has provided some with jobs.

Backlash emerged in the U.K. when Trump said he would impose a temporary “total and complete shutdown on Muslims entering the United States" until "our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." (He has since said that his controversial plan is "just a suggestion.") An online petition to ban him from the U.K. attracted more than 400,000 signatures and had to be debated in Parliament.

As a result, Trump warned that he would pull his $1 billion investment -- from his golf course developments -- if the U.K. banned him.

"I have done so much for Scotland," Trump said in a statement to the U.K. paper The Telegraph. "The U.K. politicians should be thanking me instead of pandering to political correctness."

The presidential candidate was not banned, but he did get his government appointment in GlobalScot, a business network, as an ambassador to promote Scotland, along with an honorary degree from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen revoked following his initial remarks about Muslims.

A Trump campaign spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that Trump will be traveling to Turnberry to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 24.

Members of RISE have told local press that they are planning on being there to stage another protest.