21-04-2025
Hotel review: Limerick's Adare Manor has luxury down to a tee – who doesn't want to watch TV in the bath?
Tiger Woods famously described Adare Manor's golf course as 'the Augusta of Europe', which is why it'll play host to the Ryder Cup in 2027 – and some 10,000 spectators per day.
The castle backdrop will be beamed out to an audience of millions who will be none the wiser that Adare Manor is a rare example of a so-called calendar house, with 365 leaded windows, 52 ornate chimneys, 12 fireplaces, seven stone pillars and four towers, marking the days, weeks, months, days and seasons in a year.
The Manor House as we see it today dates back to 1832, the seat of the Dunraven family who made their fortune in coal mining in south Wales. But a manor here was first recorded in the 13th century and changed hands between the FitzGerald and Quinn families, before Limerick businessman JP McManus snapped it up for an estimated €30 million in 2015. One 18-month and an estimated €70-€100 million renovation later, a star hotel was born.
Imposter syndrome
The sweeping avenue into the estate set the scene, and the glad rags I'd packed to wear for dinner were itching to be pressed. Although, had I arrived wearing a bin bag and carrying a valise of horsehair sacks, I'd have been received just as generously.
Staff throughout my two-night stay, from check-in at the lavishly panelled reception desk to doormen and bartenders, were genial and ever-ready with historical nuggets about the property.
High oak beams, marble fireplaces, fine art, silk wallpaper and gold leaf ceilings could all feel intimidating, but not here. Just add squishy sofas, candlelight, floristry and the aforementioned service, and the castle is homely and relaxed.
Suite dreams – or stuff of nightmares?
The original part of the castle comprises 62 guest rooms. I was in the tasteful, sensitively rendered 'West Wing' (42 rooms) which was completed in 2017 and joins the Manor by a covered walkway, literally bridging past and present.
My pin-drop quiet suite overlooked the castle, its elegant colour scheme echoing its wall paintings of pastoral scenes and stern-looking aristocrats – chestnut brown, burnt gold, honey, caramel – in contrast with the lighter, brighter bedroom contemporary flock-patterned wallpaper. There were chandeliers throughout, a free mini bar and fruit basket, and a child's-play lighting system.
The double doors into the glorious marble bathroom were a bit of a nuisance – but there was a TV at the foot of the bathtub, so who cares? And while Acqua di Parma is welcome in most bathrooms, it feels like a misstep on an estate where a recently extended retail outlet takes great care in championing Irish indie brands (Memmo fragrance, Moon + Mellow sleepwear, Linen Shirt Company, etc).
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On the doorstep
Adare Manor is 'an acre short of Central Park', enthused the guide taking our small group on a horse-drawn tour of the estate, who also pointed out the Lebanese Cedar tree dating back to 1625, the Teddy sculpture by Patrick O'Brien and the 18th century oak tree below which the Quinn family buried their beloved furries.
In the castle's swish spa, I was underwhelmed by my treatment, Coladh Samh/Sleep Sound, which whimsically includes cooling ogham stones and was designed to promote a sedative effect, but for me was ineffectual and felt gimmicky. I got greater benefits at the off-site Padel Club, a surprising modernist building, a vision in larch cladding.
There I had the swimming pool, steam and sauna all to myself on my final morning, gazing out at trees while simmering blissfully in the infinity hydro pool (no, I didn't try padel. Too lazy).
The wooded area between the castle and the club is apparently ripe for spotting red squirrels; alas no such sightings on my visit, though I did see, and hear the thrilling trills, of goldcrests overwintering in the shrubbery.
Nor did I see the elusive otters while rambling along the River Maguire – but I was treated with seven swans giving a majestic flyby. Twice. Even better than watching TV in the bath.
Fine dining – or dog's dinner?
I breakfasted like a king in the showstopping Gallery, one of the longest rooms in Ireland at more than 40 metres long and nearly eight metres high, lavished with wall tapestries, high beams, decorative wood panels, huge fireplaces and stained glass windows. It's difficult to keep your gaze on the ritzy cold buffet and à la carte dishes.
Adare Manor has Limerick's first Michelin-starred restaurant, The Oak Room, where tasting menus are exquisitely commandeered by Chef Michael Tweedle. Chances are the seasonal menu has already changed by the time you're reading this, but trust me that every bite is that most trite of critiques: a taste sensation, with many ingredients hand-foraged, certainly most sourced within Ireland.
There are big flavours in the contemporary Clubhouse too, a short transfer or golf buggy ride away. But do leave gut space for Adare Manor's newest launch: Harry Lowe chocolates. One of the estate's quaint cottages has been transformed into a chocolatier, where guests can indulge their inner Willy Wonka sampling all manner of confections made in-house. My favourite? The uniquely smoky Madong 70pc Dark Chocolate Bar, and the miscellany of pralines.
Conclusion Two nights, and I still didn't get time to try the in-house cinema, take a picnic, or watch an owl or falconry display. I headed home in a cloud of Memmo's seductive Irish Leather scent, which I doused myself in at the Adare shop before departure, and laden with Harry Lowe bonbons in the literal hope of taking a slice of Adare Manor home with me.
A milestone stay here really is well worth the indecent public transport from the likes of north Dublin (four and a half hours!) if you don't have a designated driver, helicopter, or chauffeur.
