Originally owned by the Jameson family of whiskey fame, Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links enjoys a wonderful beachside position overlooking the islands of Lambay and Ireland's Eye.
Convenient to the airport, and only eleven miles from Dublin city centre, the hotel seems to offer the best of every world - the peace and convenience of the location and a magnificent 18-hole Bernhard Langer-designed links course.
This comfortable Dublin hotels recently been refurbished throughout, giving it a fresh and more contemporary ambience.
Accommodation is imaginatively designed and furnished to a high standard of comfort, with good bathrooms, but there is a choice of outlook - garden, golf links or sea view. All are pleasant but it is worth asking for a sea view room; there is usually a premium but prices at this pleasing hotel are much more accessible than formerly, with frequent special offers at off peak times.
The Jameson Bar is in the old house and it has character. It is the main socialising area in the hotel and, unless you are staying at a weekend, this is where dinner is served. There's also an informal Links Bar and Restaurant next to the golf shop (12-10 daily).
Conference/banqueting (350/140) Business centre. Golf (18). Oceana, health & beauty: gym, sauna, steam rooms & a wide range of treatments. Children welcome (under 4 free in parents' room, cots available without charge, baby sitting arranged). No pets. Garden.
Rooms 138 (1 suite, 2 junior suites, 40 executive, 14 family, 3 disabled). Lift. 24 hour room service. B&B from about €99 per room. Open all year.
Osborne Brasserie:
Named after the artist Walter Osborne, who painted many of his most famous pictures in the area including the view from the Jameson house, the restaurant is in a semi-basement overlooking a garden courtyard at the centre of the hotel. First-time visitors may not find it easily, so inquire at reception.
When it first opened in 1996 this restaurant was an important addition to a sparse north Dublin dining scene, and a succession of distinguished chefs put this formal dining room firmly on the map. Now it is less a culinary destination and more a semi-formal weekend dining option for resident guests and a 'special occasion' restaurant for local residents - but those who have not eaten here for some time will be agreeably surprised by the smart new décor and more contemporary food currently offered.
While the Osborne Brasserie is only open Friday & Saturday evenings, the Jameson Bar serves food every day (times vary); there is also live music in the bar on Friday and Saturday nights.
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