Four Irish resorts have made Condé Nast’s Top 10 European Resorts list.
Sheen Falls Lodge, in County Kerry, Ashford Castle, Co Mayo, Kildare Hotel at the K Club, Co Kildare, and Adare Manor, Co Limerick are all featured among the best hotel destinations in Europe, according to the international travel publishing house.
The Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards are published annually. This year featured over one million votes from almost 77,000 readers and includes several lists of best cities, islands, hotels, resorts and cruise lines.
The awards say the service is “first-class” and the resort has “very pretty views”. They also mention the “very high-quality design.”
General Manager at Sheen Falls Lodge, Patrick Hanley said, “We are extremely honored to be named the number one resort in Europe and to be one of four hotels from the UK and Ireland in the Top 100 hotels and resorts in the world.
“A special thank you must be extended to the team here who dedicate themselves and make an exceptional effort to ensure all guests have a pleasant and memorable stay.”
Ashford Castle, which comes in at 97th place in the world, is “in a class of its own.”
The awards refers to its “beautiful grounds, fantastic recreational activities" and its “outstanding service."
Here are the Irish resorts among the Top 10 Resorts in Europe:
Sheen Falls Lodge, Co. Kerry
“A seventeenth-century former marquis’s fishing lodge, this 300-acre estate often visited by wandering deer has "first-class service." Expect "very pretty views over the Sheen Falls" through the floor-to-ceiling windows from many vantage points. Rooms are decorated in hues of peaches and cream. "The design is Irish manor home with traditional furnishings of a very high quality." La Cascade offers modern Irish cuisine such as Skeaghanore duck with mustard-seed sauce. There are stables at the lodge for eager equestrians.”
Ashford Castle, Co. Mayo
“This thirteenth-century former monastery, set against a backdrop of forests, mountains, and Lough Corrib, is "in a class of its own." Formerly the Guinness family home, and a location in John Ford’s "The Quiet Man," it now has guest rooms with high ceilings and four-poster beds, some with fireplaces, antique furnishings, and claw-foot tubs—though they can be "tired looking." Most rooms have a decanter of sherry or an Irish liqueur. "Beautiful grounds have fantastic recreational activities" such as skeet shooting, falconry, and private hawk walks. "Service throughout is outstanding." The Connaught Room focuses on French cuisine. Specialty drinks at the Prince of Wales Room include a Black Velvet, which is equal parts champagne and Guinness, and Arthur’s Bellini—peach schnapps topped with . . . Guinness.”
Kildare Hotel at the K Club, Co. Kildare
“This 18th-century estate has a championship golf course, equestrian center, and health club on its 1,500-acre grounds... earned a spot on our 2006 Gold List.”
Adare Manor, Co. Limerick
This nineteenth-century neo-Gothic manor surrounded by medieval ruins and castles, and hidden by the Maigue River and a barricade of trees, is “a photographer’s dream.” With a village just beyond the manor’s grounds, authentic Irish pubs are within reach. The “fairy-tale setting” includes rooms with lush fabrics and marble bathrooms. Seek out the condos—“they are spacious, modern, and truly have every amenity.” Staff “make sure you’re well taken care of,” while “the golf course is world-class.” At the Carriagehouse Restaurant, the food is “tasty and addictive.” Go to the wood-paneled Oakroom, overlooking the river, for dinner by candlelight.
Source: CNtraveler.com.
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