Staycation review: A Michelin-starred feast at Adare Manor

It feels ludicrous to say that Adare Manor feels like home, but no one is more surprised than me.
It’s not that I was to the manor born, far from it. Rather, the iconic five-star hotel manages to feel like both a grand estate and an intimate home thanks to an ambitious renovation and a savvy design quirk.
Don’t be fooled, the trappings of luxury are everywhere: from the shimmering chandeliers in the bedrooms, to the pristine white tablecloths in the Michelin-starred restaurant, The Oak Room. Ornate and expressive floral arrangements top every table, and the hotel itself smells perfumed. It is everything a 5-star hotel should hope to be.

But walking past its plush couches, roaring fires and families eating together, it’s hard not to feel a bit… at home.

This, I’m told, is down to a design vision. Instead of a hotel interior designer, a home interiors expert was brought on board to revamp the hotel. For one of the most coveted hotels in the country, it does feel pretty cosy.

After an 18-month renovation and the various stops and starts of the pandemic, it feels like Adare Manor is finally hitting its stride, and when I visited recently the hotel was abuzz. I was invited to the Manor to experience both a meal in The Oak Room and the hotel’s new Padel Club, the first of its kind in Ireland. Recruiting my boyfriend, we set off.

Read the full article on https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/travel/2022/0304/1284382-staycation-review-a-michelin-starred-feast-at-adare-manor/