2021 Award Winners HOTEL OF THE YEAR 2021

HOTEL OF THE YEAR 2021

5-Star Hotel: Park Hotel Kenmare Co Kerry

So, who, other than Francis and John “At Your Service” Brennan, would go into a pandemic with an historic hotel in the midst of long-planned restoration and, albeit maybe a little later than envisaged, emerge many challenging months later not just with a re-imagined ground floor and more outdoor space on The Terrace, overlooking the gardens – but also a new hotel across the road, The Lansdowne Kenmare, which opened in July. Even for the Brennan brothers it’s a remarkable achievement. And they didn’t hang around at nearby Dromquinna Manor either, where the recent lack of weddings soon triggered diversifications including the development of some very successful new food products at The Boathouse among other things – and there’s also a growing commitment to sustainability including productive kitchen gardens and a hardwood tree planting scheme. If they didn’t exist we’d have to invent them!

4-Star Hotel of the Year: Cliff at Lyons Celbridge Co Kildare

Where many in hospitality quite reasonably feared disaster as a result of the long closures and restricted openings of 2020 and 2021, others saw opportunity - a chance to look at things differently and use the enforced downtime to develop and diversify. Few achieved as much as Cliff at Lyons, the former Lyons Demesne which became home to numerous interlinking enterprises including Jordan and Majken Bech Bailey’s destination restaurant Aimsir (the Guide’s Restaurant of the Year 2020, among many other well-deserved accolades) and the Cliff at Lyons hotel, where Majken is now operations manager and her influence can be seen in many stylishly simple changes. Recent successes at Cliff at Lyons are down to many factors, including the spread out restored ‘village’ accommodation (some pet friendly), which creates a comfortable ambience for social distancing. And, as well as reinventing an atmospheric banqueting room to create The Mill restaurant and building a new terrace at the hotel, activities over at Aimsir have included developing a new garden and farm – and their ‘Every Cloud’ pop-up food truck, which created quite a sensation. Stellar stuff all round.

3-Star Hotel of the Year: The Station House Hotel Kilmessan Co Meath

Set in the heart of the Boyne Valley on twelve acres of woodland and manicured gardens, the Slattery family’s unique property is an old railway junction, closed since 1963, and they converted all the various buildings to create an hotel of charm and character. It has always been an interesting and unusual place to visit, with a well-earned reputation for good food with a local flavour, and - as well as being a comfortable base for business, or for exploring this fascinating county - its quirky character and colourful gardens make it a pretty wedding venue. The property had perhaps become more old-fashioned than old-world of late however, so it will be a big surprise to some guests returning post-pandemic to find that it has been refurbished throughout, introducing a lighter and more elegant country house style - especially in the beautifully appointed bedrooms – and re-establishing it as a must-visit destination on the enchanting Boyne Valley Drive.