2009 Award Winners

  • Dromoland Castle Hotel
    The West of Ireland is this country’s greatest tourism asset and, in many ways, this hotel sums up the hopes and dreams that many people have when visiting Ireland – a beautifully loca ...
    more...
    • Pearl Brasserie
      Just a few doors away from Dublin’s finest Georgian square and some of the city’s most exclusive restaurants, Kirsten Batt and Sebastien Masi’s stylish basement restaurant has q ...
      more...
      • Richard Corrigan - Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill
        This well known UK-based Irish chef burst onto the Dublin dining scene in the summer of 2008 with the opening of Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill on St Stephen’s Green and – alth ...
        more...
        • Balloo House
          This famous old coaching inn enjoyed a great stroke of good fortune in 2004, when it was taken over by Ronan and Jennie Sweeney, an energetic couple with extensive experience in the hospitality in ...
          more...
          • The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge
            “Customers are increasingly looking for information on how their food is produced and where it comes from - providing supplier and country of origin information on menus assures diners where ...
            more...
            • O'Connor's Seafood Restaurant
              This long-established seafood restaurant is right on Bantry’s main square (site of the May mussel festival each year), and has been completely refurbished since Peter and Anne O’Brien ...
              more...
              • The Lobster Pot
                Near Carnsore Point and just a few miles from Rosslare ferry port, Anne and Ciaran Hearne’s handsome country pub, in elegant dark green with lots of well-maintained plants, is a welcome sigh ...
                more...
                • Food eXtra Award 2009
                  Sponsored by Fáilte Ireland
                  Longueville House
                  This recently introduced award can perhaps be seen as a signpost to the way food and hospitality are developing in Ireland, as time-poor visitors – whether from other countries or travelling ...
                  more...
                  • Natural Food Award 2009
                    Sponsored by Fáilte Ireland
                    Rathmullan House
                    A pleasing dining room overlooking the lovely gardens and Lough Swilly provides a fine setting for upbeat traditional cooking at the Wheeler family’s Rathmullan House. Menus are based on the ...
                    more...
                    • Hideaway of the Year 2009
                      Sponsored by Fáilte Ireland
                      Carrig House Country House & Restaurant
                      Dozens of interesting places hidden around Ireland come under the microscope when we’re considering this much sought-after award, and we’re happy to report that this country is very we ...
                      more...
                      • Waterways Hospitality Award 2009
                        Sponsored by Waterways Ireland
                        The Oarsman
                        This new award introduces a topic very close to the Guide’s heart - we have published a little guide to hospitality along Ireland’s inland waterways for almost a decade, and it has had ...
                        more...
                        • The Twelve
                          For the last couple of years establishments recommended by the Guide have been invited to submit wine lists for competition and there has been a great response, ranging from the very grand to rela ...
                          more...
                          • John Moriarty - Lord Baker's
                            In all the years we’ve been travelling around the country seeking out the best hospitality - a ‘hobby’ that goes back over 20 years or more, certainly far beyond the life of the ...
                            more...
                            • Kingsley Hotel
                              While it is not unusual for an establishment to receive more than one award award from us – the cream always floats to the top, after all – this one is unique in that the Kingsley Hote ...
                              more...
                              • Renvyle House Hotel
                                A wonderful place to visit at any age or any time, Renvyle House appeals to people with a yen for the rugged west of Ireland - and a love of the cosy contrasts you find indoors, where a snug conse ...
                                more...
                                • Ethnic Restaurant of the Year 2009
                                  Sponsored by Patak’s / Blue Dragon
                                  Jaipur Group
                                  This year’s Ethnic Restaurant Award is unusual as it goes not to a restaurant but to a group, and pays tribute to the people who have developed this small chain of stylish, quality-driven r ...
                                  more...
                                  • Chez Hans
                                    This is a very special award, because it invariably goes to an establishment that is really outstanding in every way – and has that special extra ‘something’ that makes a great a ...
                                    more...
                                    • Cliff House Hotel
                                      Clinging to steep cliffs on the edge of the heritage village of Ardmore, this hotel opened to some acclaim a few months ago and, with its fresh contemporary style, ambitious cooking and emphasis o ...
                                      more...
                                      • Ballyvolane House
                                        A gracious mansion surrounded by its own farmland, magnificent wooded grounds, a trout lake and formal terraced gardens… the Green family’s home, Ballyvolane House, is the quintes ...
                                        more...
                                        • Ard na Breátha
                                          Although in what has become a mainly residential area on the edge of a thriving town, Albert and Theresa Morrow’s welcoming guesthouse is tucked into a quiet corner of a busy working farm an ...
                                          more...
                                          • Heron's Rest B&B
                                            The name of Sorcha Molloy’s delightful B&B is far from fanciful - when looking for it along the Longwalk, in the heart of Galway city, you may well find it signed by Arthur the visiting ...
                                            more...
                                            • Flemingstown House
                                              Flemingstown House is a little off the tourist track, but those in the know beat a path to the door of this traditional farmhouse in the heart of the Golden Vale - knowing, as they make their way ...
                                              more...
                                                • - B&B Breakfast
                                                  Heron's Rest B&B
                                                  The wise B&B owner makes a big deal out of breakfast these days – and, although there are plenty of other reasons people love staying at this one, the delicious and sociable way that eac ...
                                                  more...
                                                  • - Guesthouse Breakfast
                                                    Teach de Broc
                                                    Great hospitality and outstanding breakfasts go hand in hand, so it is not surprising that these former Hosts of the Year should now be highlighted for  beginning each day so well for their f ...
                                                    more...
                                                    • - Country House Breakfast
                                                      Ballyvolane House
                                                      Country houses do tend to make a speciality of breakfast, and this year’s country house breakfast award winners, Ballyvolane House, are a class act: they don’t have a huge number of ro ...
                                                      more...
                                                      • - Hotel Breakfast
                                                        Lisloughrey Lodge
                                                        Breakfast is often the least enjoyable part of a hotel stay and, all too often, can obliterate the memory of an enjoyable meal the evening before – not so at a growing number of caring and & ...
                                                        more...
                                                        • - National Winner
                                                          Lisloughrey Lodge
                                                          Breakfast is often the least enjoyable part of a hotel stay and, all too often, can obliterate the memory of an enjoyable meal the evening before – not so at a growing number of caring and & ...
                                                          more...
                                                          Park Hotel Kenmare - County Kerry
                                                          Nobody understands the importance of attention to detail better than the Brennan brothers, stars of RTE’s quirky ‘hospitality hospital’ programme, 'At Your Service'. Legendar ...
                                                          more...