If you did a list of some of the most fanciest hotels, not just in Ireland but the world, Adare Manor would be pretty high up in the standings and while not without a few minor flaws, it’s a fantastic place to stay.
Once past the gate lodge, where your credentials are checked, it’s a short drive up to the manor and like all the best places, you’re greeted by the staff, your bags are whisked away and your car is driven off and parked. The entrance hall is very inviting and here you’ll also find the concierge desk and reception area. Just a note, unlike say, Ashford Castle, if you are not booked in for the night or say, afternoon tea, you won’t even get into the grounds.
Once the formalities of check in are done, a member of staff escorts you to your room and goes through all the room features. By this stage of course, your bags have already arrived. Most of the room and guest service features are all controlled by an iPad. Whether you want to open and close the curtains, dim the lights or order room service, it’s all controlled here which is fantastic.
The hotel has a number of activities that you can partake in, such as, clay-pigeon shooting, archery, axe throwing and falconry to name a few, however, it’s the world class golf course that is the main attraction. There’s also an on-site spa and small pool if you fancy having a more relaxed stay.
Rather than have lunch, we booked the afternoon tea which is served in the fantastic Gallery which is a long room with stained glass windows, art work and fancy wood panelling. For any of you who have read our blog before, you already know that I usually find afternoon tea underwhelming. Thankfully though, the afternoon tea at Adare was better than most, not outstanding, but decent and the service was top notch.
After ‘tea’, we hit the grounds for a wander around and although the weather was not the best, it is nice to stroll around and take it all in. We headed toward the coach house for a drink, they also serve food here and is an option if you don’t fancy eating in the main manor. The staff member in the bar was easily one of the most friendly bar men and it was interesting to note that it was just his second week, let’s hope his enthusiasm continues.
After our enjoyable drink, we headed back to the manor to relax for the remainder of the evening. We had booked dinner in the Michelin star Oak Room restaurant for 8:00pm, but as always, there was time to grab a pre-dinner drink in the Tack Room, kir royals of course, they were actually really nice, if we had time, we would have gone for seconds. Once done we made our way to the Oak Room for dinner.
At the time of our visit, there are three options to choose from – the ‘market’ menu, the ‘signature’ menu or the option we went for – the ‘surprise’ menu which incorporates elements from both the market and signature menus. I’ll let the photos do the talking…..
Overall the food was decent, while it did not meet our expectations, as far as Michelin star dining goes, the service was friendly and efficient, the ambiance is relaxed and the décor is really nice. To be fair, we were coming off the back of an outstanding meal and level of service just a few weeks previous, this meal even before we arrived was already on the back foot. As for the outstanding meal, you can have a look here.
After dinner we had one last drink before calling it a night. The following morning, breakfast was served in the Gallery, the same place as the afternoon tea. On our previous visit before COVID, you could help yourself to the buffet section which was really impressive, however, as of this visit, while the buffet is back, you can’t help yourself and a member of staff will bring whatever you like to your table. It has the usual choices of granola, fruit, scones, muffins etc.
It’s unfortunate that at breakfast, the service took a turn downwards, the staff, perhaps under undue pressure were not the most friendly bunch and when we asked for something it was met with a sort of confused look. We got the impression that asking for something meant they had to ‘go out of their way’ to get it. Anyhow, bad service aside, my full-Irish was reasonably tasty and C’s poached eggs with bacon while nothing special was decent.
After breakfast we popped into the gift shop and picked up some marmalade, which is made in-house apparently. We had time for one more short walk around the grounds before our car was driven up to the front door and our bags loaded back in.
Overall the stay at Adare was fantastic, the food, was decent, the service overall was really good, we can forgive the breakfast team on this occasion. Our room was well appointed with all the mod-cons you’d expect from a top hotel and it was very comfortable. A night at Adare is pricey and is certainly a treat. The one downside of staying at Adare though is that one night is really not enough and to make the most of the amenities on offer, two nights, at the least, is really the way to go – which is our plan, next time.
Until next time
Bye for now
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 