Ireland

Ireland's great hotels are, almost without exception, castle estates — buildings that were constructed as the seats of Anglo-Irish aristocracy and have been converted, with varying degrees of success, into places of extraordinary hospitality. Ashford Castle in County Mayo, Dromoland Castle in County Clare, and Ballynahinch Castle in Connemara are the three most celebrated addresses in the country: places where the combination of medieval architecture, vast demesnes, and the particular quality of Irish hospitality creates an experience that is found nowhere else in the world.

Ashford Castle, on the shores of Lough Corrib in County Mayo, is the most celebrated hotel in Ireland and one of the most celebrated in the world — a 13th-century castle that has been continuously expanded and refined over 800 years, now comprising 83 rooms and suites, a falconry school, a cinema, and 350 acres of demesne. It was voted the World's Best Hotel by Travel + Leisure in 2015 and has maintained its position at the apex of Irish hospitality ever since.

The Shelbourne in Dublin, overlooking St Stephen's Green since 1824, is the most historically significant hotel in Ireland — the hotel where the Irish Constitution was drafted in 1922, where Thackeray and Elizabeth Bowen wrote, and where every significant figure in Irish public life has stayed. Its No. 27 Bar is the most celebrated hotel bar in Dublin.

Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way — the world's longest defined coastal route, stretching 2,500 kilometres from Donegal to Cork — has produced a generation of boutique hotels and country house retreats that combine the country's extraordinary coastal landscape with a new standard of Irish hospitality. The Cliff at Lyons in County Kildare and Mount Juliet Estate in County Kilkenny represent the most considered contemporary alternatives to the great castle hotels.

May–September is Ireland's best period: the longest days (up to 17 hours of daylight in June), the warmest temperatures (15–20°C), and the full range of outdoor activities. June–August is peak season with higher rates and more visitors. April–May and September–October offer the best combination of good weather, lower rates, and fewer crowds. The west coast is at its most dramatic in autumn storms (October–November) — a different but equally compelling experience.