Three Irish hotels ranked among the best in Europe
In the European category, the three hotels were ranked as some of the best of the best by the publication's readers.
Every year, readers are surveyed on their travel experiences, ranging from hotels and spas, to cities and cruises from around the globe. Nearly 186,000 people completed the 2025 survey, and a total of 657,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 properties.
Hotels were classified as either resort hotel, city hotel, inn, or safari lodge based on their location and amenities, and they were specifically rated on their rooms, facilities, location, service, food, and value.
Readers favoured sophisticated city breaks, with The Westbury in Dublin at number 12 and The Merrion making the cut at 14, tying with Le Royal Monceau in Paris, France.
Europe City Hotel Winners 2025:
Raffles Istanbul, Turkey. Reader Score: 99.91
Fauchon L'Hôtel Paris, France. Reader Score: 99.53
Shangri-La Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey. Reader Score: 99.04
Hôtel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel: Paris, France. Reader Score: 98.44
The St. Regis Istanbul, Turkey. Reader Score: 98.25
Le Bristol Paris, France. Reader Score: 97.87
Grand Hotel du Palais Royal, Paris, France. Reader Score: 97.30
Hotel Calimala: Florence, Italy. Reader Score: 97.25
Shangri-La The Shard, London, England. Reader Score: 97.07
Hotel Splendide Royal Roma: Rome, Italy. Reader Score: 96.89
Baur au Lac: Zürich, Switzerland. Reader Score: 96.69
The Westbury: Dublin, Ireland. Reader Score: 96.32
Hotel de la Ville, a Rocco Forte Hotel: Rome, Italy. Reader Score: 96.27
Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris, France. Reader Score: 96.23 (tie)
The Merrion: Dublin, Ireland. Reader Score: 96.23 (tie)
As for hotels and opulent waterfront resorts, Kerry's Sheen Falls Lodge made the top 15 with an impressive reader's score of 95.73.
Europe Resort Winners 2025:
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Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Kerry and Donegal. Two households, both alike in dignity. And in scenery. And, for sure, in roguery
From Tuosist and Teelin, they'll come to Croke Park. From Gallarus and Gaoth Dobhair, from Ardfert and Ardara. Hog's Head and Horn Head and all the many mad, wild heads in between. An All-Ireland final between Kerry and Donegal , the island's two most far-flung outposts. People and places forgotten by Official Ireland, gathering in kinship to be at play. Alright, alright. Easy on the uilleann pipes there, Carmel. For a slightly less misty-eyed take, let's turn to the internet – and the Tripadvisor account of one @Abcvance out of Grimes, Ohio. The dateline is October 2019 and our Ohioan friend has a question. @Abcvance: 'Looking at coming to Ireland in Aug/Sept. Doing Dublin, Galway and then deciding between Donegal or Kerry for the other area. Which do you recommend & why?' Oh boy. Here we go. READ MORE @bredamv: 'My choice would always be Kerry, with its spectacular scenery, the highest range of mountains ... Wonderful beaches, beautiful lakes, islands to visit ... I know there are some who may disagree, but in my two visits to Donegal I have been underwhelmed by it.' @Claudes: 'Both Kerry and Donegal are beautiful (bredamv, where did you go in Donegal that you didn't notice the spectacular beauty of this county?)' @nakagoli: 'Donegal is, imo, more beautifully rugged than Kerry. And it has the advantage of being a bit quieter as many visitors seem to think that Kerry is a MUST. It isn't!' @bredamv: 'I certainly did not see more rugged beauty in Donegal, neither did my fellow travellers. I guess from looking at the McGillicuddy Reeks every day, I kind of expected similar beauty in Donegal but I now know that Kerry has a large number of the highest mountains in Ireland including the highest Carrantoohill [sic] at 1,038 metres, while Donegal's highest, Mount Errigal at over 700 metres is way down the list.' @Claudes: 'Kerry having the highest mountains in Ireland surely has nothing to do with this issue and I don't know why you keep mentioning this fact.' Kerry and Donegal Fans on Hilll 16 during 2014 All-Ireland final. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times Sadly, it's there that we must leave our Tripadversaries to their squabble. History does not record whether @Abcvance ever made it to our green and gold shores but you'd imagine he or she trod mighty lightly once here. Maybe they decided not to journey on from Galway at all, for fear of causing offence. Donegal and Kerry. Two households, both alike in dignity. And in scenery. And, for sure, in roguery. Darragh Ó Sé tells a story of Eamonn McGee coming down for the Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta one year in the early 2000s with €20 in his pocket, drinking for three days in between bouts of football and going back to Donegal with a fiver. Fair to say the future Donegal All-Ireland winner was neither unique nor unwelcome in his endeavours. Ahead of the 2014 final, I was in Darragh's company when his phone rang. 'This is a Donegal fella now,' he said. 'He'll be looking for tickets.' He picked it up and got onto the front foot immediately: 'John! How are you? Come here, before I forget, I'm short two tickets for Sunday, have you heard of any going?' 'Ah shite Darragh, I was coming to you for the same. I'll see what I can do ...' Kerry and Donegal. Counties where the rhythms of life wouldn't have much trouble jamming with each other. Almost exactly the same size, broadly similar in population. Scoured by emigration, down all the generations. Hereditarily certain of one thing above all – that the bastards in Dublin couldn't care less and should never be depended on. A horse and jaunting car at the Gap of Dunloe in Co Kerry. Photograph:The sea, the islands, the fishing. The Gaelgóirí communities dotted through hills and coves. Hundreds of rally cars gunning away in Killarney and Letterkenny every summer. Thousands of spectators craning to get a whiff. Donegal golf, which is Kerry golf but cheaper (albeit not as much cheaper as it used to be). The tourist season, in which the rest of us get to go and live in one Narnia or other for a week. The end of the tourist season, with the dreaded promise of the long winter to come. Yet when it comes to football, they couldn't be more different. They each have their own DNA, proud and staunch. In Kerry, you move the ball by kicking it. In Donegal, you ferry it around through the hands. Neither county is as dogmatic as they'd like to let on about these truths but they hold them to be fairly self-evident all the same. And so they come to Croke Park for the All-Ireland final, trailing their people behind them. For two such football-dotty counties, their paths have remained blissfully uncrossed for the vast majority of championship history. This is only the fourth time they've met – somehow, Kerry managed to play every other Ulster county before they first happened across Donegal. All three games so far have been in Croke Park and the score is tied – one win, one draw, one defeat all round. They come together at a time when the sport itself is entirely up for grabs. Exactly whose DNA is best suited to these new rules ? Instinct would have said Kerry, naturally. All you needed was to see a couple of those flowing moves, a few of those dinked balls to the linkman, all that space around David Clifford. It was as if the FRC went through months of meetings and reports and sandbox games to come up with ... Kerry football. But the longer the summer has gone on the more the certainties of the past decade and a half have taken hold. The best teams still make possession ten-tenths of the law. There is more risk in the game now but a ball kicked away is still a cardinal sin. Every team's starting principle is creating a defensive shape designed to turn the ball over and go on the attack. Which sounds a lot like ... Donegal football. Fanad Head, the northernmost lighthouse in Ireland, in Co Donegal. Photograph: Bruno Morandi/Gerry Images Whither or which, the sport is back in the affections of the floating public again. Whatever else the new rules did, they did that. At a Holy Communion party back in May, a couple of us snuck in out of the sun to catch the second half of Dublin v Galway in the round robin. We thought we were outlaws, making good our escape from the bouncy castle Alcatraz out the back. By the time Tom Lahiff kicked the winner for Dublin, the livingroom was sardined. In truth, the knockout stages have been a bit of a washout. Down v Galway was a cracker, Meath v Galway was a stinker, albeit an entertaining one in the end. Kerry's shock-and-awe routine against Armagh was the new game in excelsis, Donegal's turnaround against Monaghan on six days' rest was a ferocious statement of intent. Everything else has been a bit light on fireworks. Maybe we should be careful what we wish for. Though the final isn't a referendum on the new rules, the FRC looms over it all the same. The championship has been largely free of refereeing controversies but the stakes are never higher nor emotions on more of a hair-trigger than in an All-Ireland final. Nobody wants Sam Maguire to be decided by a three-up breach. It seems relatively safe to assume that Donegal and Kerry will deliver though. They look to have timed their runs to the minute. They both would have picked the other out as the danger heading out onto the second circuit and now they're jumping the last together. It comes down now to who gets up the hill. Donegal and Kerry players parade before the 2014 All-Ireland final. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho Writing in these pages before he went off to get a proper job, Keith Duggan presaged the 2014 final with a line about the relative histories of Kerry and Donegal . 'It brings together a football tradition based upon absolute certainty and a football tradition based upon absolute hope,' he said. And he was right, as usual. But it's a different story now. Donegal don't travel to Croke Park in hope these days. They are fuelled by absolute certainty. They bring it in busloads, from Downings and Moville and Killybegs and everywhere else. The same as Kerry have always brought it, from Lispole and Waterville and Kenmare and beyond. Tradition evolves, dances through itself, tumbles through the times. Kerry and Donegal own the city this weekend. Are you watching, Ohio?
Irish Examiner
16 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Shock as Terre chef steps down from two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Castlemarter Resort
The Irish food world has been rocked by the news that the chef-patron of Terre restaurant at Castlemartyr Resort has stepped down just three years after his arrival at the luxury East Cork hotel. During his time there, Frenchman Vincent Crepel guided the restaurant to first one, then two Michelin stars in just 18 months. In a statement, Crepel said: 'Building Terre has been one of the most beautiful and meaningful journeys of my career. We created more than a restaurant, we shaped a space with soul, purpose, and intention. I'm profoundly grateful to those who stood beside me, to every guest who crossed our threshold, and to the remarkable suppliers whose craft helped bring our vision to life. I carry it all forward with me.' With so much investment pumped into the hotel in recent years under a new ownership regime, including a substantial financial commitment to creating the Terre restaurant in a 17th century manor house on the estate, it will be viewed as a matter of extreme urgency to ensure a seamless succession in the kitchen with Crepel slated to step down at the end of September although the hotel management is currently remaining tight-lipped on future plans. General Manager of Castlemartyr Resort, Brendan Comerford said: 'Vincent has played a pivotal role in shaping the identity and success of Terre. His creativity, precision, and leadership helped the restaurant reach an exceptional milestone. We thank him for his contribution and wish him the very best for what lies ahead.' The hotel had been purchased in 2021 for €20m by Singapore-based Stanley Quek and Peng Loh whose international hospitality portfolio also includes Sheen Falls Lodge, in Co Kerry, and Trinity Townhouse, in Dublin. The new owners' plan for a radical upgrade also involved a new in-house restaurant targeting a highly ambitious two Michelin Stars at first time of asking which saw Crepel installed as chef-patron when Terre opened in September 2022. Under Crepel, Terre received its second Michelin star just 18 months after first opening It is not uncommon for high-end hotels to target a Michelin star for an in-house restaurant as part of the overall business model, the better to attract custom to the hotel. Cashel Palace Hotel in Co Tipperary is the most recent luxury Irish hotel to receive a Michelin star, joining Adare Manor, Cliff House Hotel, Ballyfin Demesne, Mount Juliet Estate and Restaurant Patrick Guildbaud (two stars) at Dublin's Merrion Hotel. But eyebrows were most certainly raised at the extent of the ambition for Castlemartyr Resort in 2022 when Crepel was first unveiled and revealed the plan was to aim for two stars in the esteemed guide at the first time of asking, a rare feat indeed anywhere in the world of fine dining, though the late Aimsir restaurant, in Co Kildare, debuted at two stars in 2019, just two months after opening. While there are currently 18 one Michelin star restaurants in Ireland, there are just five Michelin two starred restaurants, including Terre, and, as yet, no Michelin three starred restaurants, and Crepel was to be disappointed when his first shot at the stated target fell short with just one Michelin star awarded to Terre at the awards ceremony in March 2023. However, Crepel's fusion of French and Asian influences brought to bear on a judicious combination of Irish and imported produce hit the magic formula at the second time of asking when Terre received its second Michelin star just 18 months after first opening. As it was a stated ambition from the off, it is to be presumed the Castlemartyr Resort owners will be very keen to ensure both Michelin Stars are retained and while chef Josef Zammit successfully ensured the Cliff House Hotel retained its star at the last time of asking when he took over from departing head chef Tony Parkin, there are no immediately obvious Irish-based candidates to ensure a transition that sees Terre retaining both stars so they may well now be looking abroad for Crepel's successor. However, the identity of Crepel's successor will remain unknown for the moment as, when asked about a succession plan for Terre, the response from hotel management was 'no further comment at this time.'
The Irish Sun
18 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Urgent reminder to Aer Lingus passengers as new boarding and luggage changes set to affect thousands of flyers
AN urgent reminder has been issued to Aer Lingus passengers about the airline's new boarding and luggage rules. Ireland's Advertisement 2 Aer Lingus has introduced new changes to their boarding and luggage process Credit: Getty Images - Getty 2 It's set to improve the travel experience for jetsetters flying with the airline Credit: Reuters The new changes will apply to both Aer Lingus' European and transatlantic flights, affecting thousands of jetsetters flying in and out of Ireland. And The boarding system will now use groups to organise passengers before they board the flight. For Advertisement READ MORE IN TRAVEL Group 1 includes AerClub Silver, Platinum, Concierge members, AerSpace customers and Group 2 is for passengers allowed to bring a 10kg carry-on bag which will be noted on their boarding pass. All other passengers board with Group 3 - which the airline said will help to reduce crowding at the gate. For transatlantic flights from Advertisement Most read in News Travel Passengers needing special assistance get to board first to ensure they have enough time and support. Business Class travellers make up Group 1 for long-haul flights and have priority boarding. I'm an Irish holidaymaker and I upgraded to Aer Lingus' business class for FREE Group 2 includes AerClub Silver, Platinum and Concierge members. Economy passengers are then split into Group 3 and Group 4, with those seated at the back boarding first to make cabin boarding smoother. Advertisement This new approach is part of Aer Lingus' efforts to improve the travel experience for passengers, including enhanced digital services and Your boarding group will be printed on your boarding pass or available on the Aer Lingus app, so check before you arrive at the gate. The airline said that flyers should arrive at the gate on time and follow the boarding group order to avoid any delays. Meanwhile, Aer Lingus has Advertisement NEW ROUTE A brand-new direct route from Flights will operate twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Sundays, from until March 25 with one-way fares available from €99.99 including taxes, charges and carrier-imposed fees. With its unique location within the Northern Lights Belt, Tromsø is an ideal destination for visitors hoping to experience the beauty of the Aurora Borealis. Chief Customer Officer, Susanne Carberry said: 'Our new direct service from Dublin to Tromsø introduces Norway to the Aer Lingus network for the first time . Advertisement "This is a fantastic opportunity for our customers in Ireland to discover the natural beauty and unique experiences of Northern Norway this winter. "The new route also offers the people of Tromsø and surrounding areas a convenient connection to Dublin and a chance to explore all that Ireland has to offer.'
