Adare Manor

A trout-filled river runs almost within reach of Adare Manor’s east-facing guest rooms. The ruins of a 13th-century castle lie just beyond the river, while an emerald-green golf course straddles it to the south, bordered along the way by formal gardens, a woodland walking trail, and a country-pursuits academy for aspiring archers and falconers. Just outside the estate’s 842 acres—a single acre shy of Manhattan’s Central Park—sits what prideful locals refer to as the prettiest village in Ireland. This idyllic Irish estate, located about a half hour’s drive from Shannon in county Limerick, is anchored by the manor house itself—a 19th-century neo-Gothic palace that has been polished to perfection. Originally built at the behest of the second Earl of Dunraven, Adare Manor first opened as a hotel in the 1980s. Last November, the property’s new owners completed a nearly 2-year renovation that revived the architectural gem as an archetypal country-​house escape.

The stately manor’s calendar-house details (days, weeks, and seasons are represented by precisely 365 leaded windows, 52 chimneys, seven pillars, and four towers) and other quirks (carvings of oddball characters and creatures adorn nooks and walls throughout) were preserved in the renovation, which also saw the subtle integration of technologies both cutting-edge and commonplace. (An elevator, something Adare Manor previously lacked, is now hidden inside a replica of the manse’s original pipe organ.) A new wing brought the number of guest rooms and suites to 104, with each individually designed in 19th-​century-style splendor. The Dunraven Staterooms are particularly ravishing, with their old-master paintings and Georgian-style furnishings fit for the second earl himself.

Adare Manor’s most beautiful room is reserved for afternoon tea, an elegant affair in a 132-foot-long barrel-ceilinged, stained-glass sanctuary that was modeled after the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. The hotel is also home to a speakeasy-style bar—which serves up more than 100 rare whiskies—as well as a private cinema and the only La Mer spa in the British Isles.

Southwestern Ireland’s many must-sees—from the Ring of Kerry to the Cliffs of Moher—are within easy driving distance of Adare Manor. On-estate activities include handling snowy owls, peregrine falcons, and other birds of prey at the country-pursuits facility as well as fishing for trout (and salmon in season) in one of the high-yield holes just out the back door. Rounding out the Irish country action is the riverside golf course, a parkland-style Tom Fazio design that opens for play this spring.

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Entryway to castle

Photo: Jack Hardy

Falconry lessons at Adare Manor

Photo: Jack Hardy

Indoor swimming pool

Photo: Jack Hardy

Living space

Photo: Jack Hardy

Stunning bathroom

Photo: Jack Hardy

Archery lessons

Photo: Jack Hardy

Golf course on the grounds

Photo: Jack Hardy