Set in woodland and among award-winning gardens, this peaceful retreat is in a beautiful and romantic mountain location overlooking Caragh Lake.
Ard na Sidhe ('Hill of the Fairies') was constructed in 1913 for Lady Edith Gordon (a keen gardener) to the designs of the English architect Percy Richard Morley Horder, in a revivalist Elizabethan style that was popular for country houses at that time, and it is one of the most impressive Arts and Crafts houses in Ireland.
In 2010 the proprietors, Killarney Hotels, commissioned Howley Hayes Architects, to draw up proposals for the restoration of the house; having worked on Sir Edwin Lutyens’ Arts and Crafts masterpiece at Lambay Castle, on an island off north Co Dublin, the architects are well placed for this work which includes the full repair and restoration of the external fabric, together with an exciting programme of internal alterations and renovations designed to restore much of the original Arts and Crafts character.
All of the bedrooms were remodelled to reinstate their original room proportions, and the internal en-suite bathrooms replaced with new Edwardian-style bathrooms, all with natural lighting.
No expense was spared to ensure authenticity of the interior, and original antique furniture will complement new contemporary, Arts and Crafts style furniture in the common areas and the bedrooms.
The hotel reopened in May 2011, following completion, and Ard na Sidhe promises to be an architectural jewel of national significance, and the finest Arts and Crafts style hotel in Ireland.
This is a sister hotel to The Europe Hotel & Resort and The Dunloe (see entries), whose leisure facilities are also available to guests.
Dooks, Waterville, Killeen and Mahony’s Point golf courses are all within easy reach.
Rooms 18 (3 suites, 1 family, 5 ground floor, 6 no smoking); B&B €81 pps; single €144; Fairyhill Restaurant Seats 45, open Tue-Sun for D 7-8.30pm. Hotel closed mid Oct-May. Amex, MasterCard, Visa, Laser
