Dubbed the Emerald Isle, Ireland is famed for its lush, emerald landscapes, from the towering Cliffs of Moher to the rugged mountains, sparkling lakes, and cascading waterfalls of Killarney National Park.
Its rich history spans thousands of years, from early Gaelic Ireland to the Great Famine of 1845. So, as you’re sauntering along its winding roads and majestic coastline past majestic mountain peaks, craggy cliffs, and ancient woodlands, here are six of the finest hotels to visit en route.
1. The Grand Central Hotel Belfast
Sitting in the Linen Quarter of Belfast, the Grand Central Hotel Belfast is a mighty 23-floor behemoth perched on Bedford Street, the largest hotel in Northern Ireland.
Swan through glass revolving doors and glide into a lavish reception with brown marble floors, golden velvet sofas, and three-tiered chandeliers as you whiz up to your 21st-floor Sir William Hastings Suite, modern and silver, welcoming President Joe Biden in 2023 when he visited Belfast for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Spilling into its spacious open-plan kitchenette-come-lounge with herringbone floors, seascape artwork, and beige velvet armchairs, tiptoe into your master bedroom with dove geometric carpets, a super king-sized Cloud Bed, and floor-to-ceiling windows with stretching views over City Hall, the Cathedral Quarter and Stormont.
Upstairs, head to the 23rd-floor Observatory, Ireland’s tallest cocktail lounge, boasting 360-degree views over Belfast, with rich mottled carpets, dark turquoise upholstered chairs, and caged lanterns.
Here, you can sip a Napoleon’s Nose with Irish whiskey, banana rum, and nutmeg or indulge in afternoon tea with delicate finger sandwiches from Irish roast chicken to Walter Ewing’s smoked salmon and dill cream cheese – complete with velvety chocolate éclairs, orange blossom macaroons, tangy lime tarts, and warm fruit scones with cream, lemon curd, and rhubarb and ginger jam.
2. Hayfield Manor
Dating back to the 1800s, Hayfield Manor is a boutique hotel nestled within beautiful walled gardens in the city of Cork.
Passing hands from the Perrott’s to the famed merchant Musgrave family, it was transformed by the Scally family in 1995 into the ivy-wrapped manor house that stands today, with top-hatted doormen, a 24-hour fitness suite, an Olympian personal trainer, an award-winning Beautique Spa and 150-year-old manicured grounds with a towering weeping willow.
Swan through Georgian doors into its traditional old-grandeur lobby with ivory velvet sofas, green shaggy rugs, golden mottled mirrors, sage Chesterfield armchairs, and an original marble fireplace.
Saunter along a double-wing oak staircase guarded by custard pillars and meander up to your Presidential Suite, rich and royal, with a butler-waited drawing room adorned with golden drapes, Georgian sash windows, Napoleonic naval prints, a vinyl record player, antique carriage clock, crystal decanters of whisky, and a black marble fireplace flanked by a golden jacquard sofa.
An adjoining sumptuous bedroom is dressed with silk drapes, equestrian prints, a king-sized bed, an upholstered chaise lounge, and an open fire bordered by Swiss cheese plants and peace lilies in little china pots.
Swirl down to Bloom, Hayfield Manor’s newest botanical cocktail bar made entirely of glass with a retractable roof, a brown leather banquette, and golden veined tables, where mixologists prepare cucumber martinis and Moscow Blooms with Absolut Vodka, Chambord, and maple syrup.
3. Park Hotel Kenmare
Nestled within 12 acres of pristine gardens that slope down to the lapping waters of the mountain-backed Kenmare Bay, Park Hotel Kenmare is a grand 19th-century mansion, once a stopover for railway riders, overlooking Ireland’s famous Ring of Kerry, a 111-mile circular route carving through the Iveragh Peninsula.
Dating back to 1897, it now stands as one of Ireland’s grandest hotels with a SAMAS spa featuring a 25-meter underground lap pool, aroma steam rooms, ice fountains, tropical rain showers and an outdoor infinity-edge vitality pool; a private cinema, a tennis court, croquet, falconry, an adjacent 18-hole golf course, a Herb Garden and Flower Garden, a champagne bar and one of Europe’s largest whiskey collections.
Its fern-colored Park Suites are set across 700 square feet with Edwardian oatmeal armchairs, taupe velvet sofas, curved cheval mirrors, antique wardrobes, gilt-framed oil paintings, heavy floral drapes, and a private terrace overlooking Kenmare Bay.
Olive woolen throws drape across king-sized mahogany beds with 100% Goose down pillows while Victorian en-suite bathrooms are adorned with grey wispy wallpaper, black plank floors, a white-bricked tiled bathtub and a smoked glass walk-in shower wrapped in black honeycomb tiles.
4. Glenlo Abbey Hotel
On the edge of Lough Corrib, the original 18th-century Glenlo Abbey Hotel sits within a 138-acre estate in the West of Ireland, just two miles from Galway city. Boasting a nine-hole golf course, a cozy red velvet cinema (with two daily screenings), falconry, archery, fishing, and a two AA Rosette restaurant inside former carriages of the Orient Express, it offers Irish countryside chic.
Swan through its grand cast iron gates as you’re greeted by porters dressed in green livery guiding you up stone steps through heavy original doors as you whiz up to your Presidential Suite.
Nestled in the Manor House, it boasts rich cream walls, a golden upholstered sofa, high-backed wing chairs, and a passageway leading to a lavish bedroom with crystal lamps, thick golden curtains, intricate gilded mirrors and a super king-sized bed under a golden crystal beaded chandelier.
Tiptoe to your private terrace as you sink into a cream corner sofa and gaze out over the Estate and the seventh fairway of the golf course below.
Downstairs, saunter into Palmers Bar, named after Glenlo Abbey’s 1897 owners, an influential milling family in Ireland.
Wrapped in gold paisley wallpaper with an ornately carved oak bar, cream upholstered armchairs, a white marble fireplace, and silver candelabra, sip a sexy Palmer’s Sour with Connemara single malt whiskey, vanilla liqueur and passion fruit.
5. Belleek Castle
Tucked away in Belleek Forest in The Wild Atlantic Way of County Mayo, known as Maritime County, the grand neo-gothic Belleek Castle was once the ancestral seat of the first Earl of Arran, Sir Arthur Gore, whose family expanded the Estate over many generations to a whopping 33,000 acres stretching to the banks of the Moy Estuary.
Swan through its double oak neo-gothic doors under a stone archway as you glide into a reception with medieval tapestries, stone floors, two golden thrones, and a snug log burner.
Its Armada Bar was inspired by the captain’s quarters in a Spanish Armada galleon with 17th-century oak balks, gas-style lanterns, and reclaimed wood from shipwrecks.
While its cozy lounge is wrapped in magnolia with a cream marble fireplace, antique dark oak armchairs, a long case clock, a baby grand piano, grand tapestries, and a crystal beaded candelabra.
Amble up cantilevered stone stairs to your burgundy Manor Room dressed with an antique canopied four-poster bed, El Greco oil paintings, gold gilded mirrors, a bronze chandelier, thick burgundy curtains, and brushed-gold upholstered armchairs gazing out of bay windows overlooking the Estate’s 1,000 acres of woodlands.
6. The Ebrington
In the heart of Derry, the Ebrington is a chic, contemporary-style hotel boasting 89 individually styled bedrooms, a 2 AA Rosette restaurant, a mahogany gastropub, the Corner House Pub, a sweeping terrace, and a state-of-the-art spa.
Waltz through swirling doors into its open-plan lobby with industrial chandeliers, equestrian prints, and silver upholstered chairs as you drift between cozy lounge areas wrapped in cream, with a giant sailing boat sculpture, dark chocolate sofas, and historic prints of Derry.
Float to the high-tech Spa at Ebrington, boasting a hydrotherapy pool with bubble loungers, thermo massage jets, and a powerful cannon jet using hydro pressure; a classical sauna, a steam essence room, a bubble experience shower, a cold therapy bucket shower and a sensory shower simulating tropical waterfalls and racing river rapids.
Or, whiz up in an elevator to your Foyle River-facing Hervey Suite, sat beside the Peace Bridge, with zigzag carpets, Georgian sash windows, beige herringbone floors, a full-size kitchen and breakfast bar, and a little cozy nook with long drapes, a mushroom velvet Chesterfield sofa, a leather coffee table, and brass shelves stacked with ceramics, vases and twining planters.
Under a cubed doorway, potter into your bedroom, light and sauve, with mottled mirrors, brass sconces, a white marble dressing table and a retro super king-sized bed with a lavish overhead canopy.
So, whether you’re looking for grand 18th-century manors or cozy contemporary boltholes, Ireland bears many chic, lavish options to suit the most indulgent of travelers.
