County Waterford
Ireland


The Experience

From the minute the ferryman takes your car keys, you know you are arriving somewhere special. Located on its own 310-acre private island, complete with 18-hole golf course, this 15th-century ivy-clad castle with turrets and gargoyles cannot fail to impress those who like the more quirky, lived-in decor that is its hallmark. Step through the front door into the vast, surprisingly light and airy hall -- you won’t find designer-boutique style here, but rather a space bedecked with tapestries and stag heads and dominated by a huge stone fireplace.

The Rooms

Some might find the decor of some of the bedrooms a bit oppressive with their heavy maroon curtains and sturdy antique furniture, but the rooms themselves are comfortable. The four-poster suites are enormous, and some bathrooms have delightful claw-foot traditional baths with fittings that may be antique but they work. Book the Otho room for a space that’s lighter and brighter than most, with its pale yellow walls and leafy aspect, or go all out and reserve the Presidential Suite, decorated in lavish country-house style.

The Service

You are greeted by name as you enter (the ferryman has called ahead, of course) and welcomed into a place more akin to a home than a hotel. The charming smiles of the staff never seem to fade. Mention it’s your birthday and your waiter is likely to serenade you with a song.

The Highlights

The oak-paneled dining room, complete with piano player, serves imaginative cooking like char-grilled fillet of O’Flynn’s beef with watercress mash. Alternatively, try a plate of smoked salmon and irresistible soda bread in the Fitzgerald Room, named after the family who built the castle and remained its owners throughout the centuries until the 1950s. But the real highlight here is the surrounding green. As Ireland’s only “true” island golf resort (since the land is completely cut off by water), the course is extra special: an 18-hole, par-72 course designed by Ryder Cup player Des Smyth that meanders through mature woodland and lush parkland. Of course, all this greenery makes for a delightful walk as well.

--Alistair Scott

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