Adare Manor – Ireland

I can’t wait to return to Adare Manor in Ireland (part of The Leading Hotels of the World), it was such a beautiful stay. I had visited around Thanksgiving, so the hotel was fully decorated in its Christmas splendor, making it extra magical. Adare regularly hosts everyone from wedding guests to weekend golf friends. I so enjoyed walking across their grounds, and into the little local town of Adare (I actually have a great great grandparent from this area, so it was extra special for me. And yes, there is a local historian in town). After an 18 month refurbishment, the Five-star hotel has added 42 new bedrooms, a ballroom and a redesigned golf course. A new building – linked to the original manor house by a colonnade – brings the number of bedrooms up from 62 to 104. The new west wing is a replica of the original, in grey limestone.

Shop some of my travel essentials or my children’s travel book

The Gallery, where breakfast and afternoon tea will be served, is the second longest room in Ireland, just behind the Long Room in Trinity College Dublin. The vast vaulted room holds wood carvings, antique tapestries, three massive fireplaces and stunning stained glass windows.

Bookings for afternoon tea, which costs €45, are already proving very successful. Following a recent post on the hotel’s Facebook page, more than 700 bookings were made with Saturdays and Sundays booking out well into the New Year.

A comparable hotel, the 83-bed five-star Ashford Castle, which was refurbished to similar standards in 2014, is believed to have cost in the region of €70 million.

Address: Adare, Co. Limerick, Ireland

Phone: +353 61 605 200