par excellence

Luxury and warmth combine at this country manor with a Ryder Cup-worthy golf course and Michelin-starred dining

- MICHELLE HARBI

A dare Manor is on a roll. Last July it was confirmed that the luxury Limerick hotel would stage the 2026 Ryder Cup at its new Tom Fazio-designed golf course. Then, in October, its fine-dining restaurant, the Oak Room, was awarded a Michelin star less than two years after it opened. Add to that the UK and Ireland’s only La Mer spa and everything from a plush cinema to expansive grounds to explore, and it makes the range of what the recently renovated property has to offer pretty formidable – both indoors and outdoors.

Which helps when you’re in the west of Ireland. We visited in the midst of typical August summer weather. Greeted by pelting rain on the half-hour drive from Shannon airport, by the time we had been welcomed warmly by the top-hatted staff at the entrance gate, checked in and taken a window-side seat in the drawing-room for some light lunch, dazzling sun had broken out across the formal gardens and 840 acres of immaculate grounds. (I’ll come back to the greenskeeping later – it turned out to provide an unexpected highlight of our visit.)

Built on the banks of the River Maigue in the mid-19th century and a hotel since 1988, Adare Manor has long been among the country’s top five-star addresses. Still, it is its multimillion-euro full-scale refurbishment by Limerick tycoon JP McManus – who bought the hotel in 2015 and is a co-owner of Sandy Lane in Barbados – that has cemented its status as one of Ireland’s most illustrious properties.