Hotel review: Could this be Ireland’s most perfect hotel?
Blissful, beautiful, and indulgent, everything is done seamlessly and with real charm
Very soon you’ll fall into sync with Big House life and be convinced you actually live like this in the real world.
Thu, 20 Mar, 2025 - 13:24
Jillian Bolger
Location
Ballyfin Demesne is a destination address. A handy hour and 20 minutes drive from Dublin, and easily accessible from the M7, the impressive 614-acre estate sits serenely into the rolling countryside, its house overlooking Ireland’s largest private manmade lake. The fact that it is 10 minutes from Portlaoise is moot; if it were located in the furthest corners of the planet we’d still recommend making your way there just as soon as you can.
10/10
Style & design
A marriage of impeccable taste, genius, wealth, and style, Ballyfin is a neoclassical masterpiece in every way. An embodiment of architectural brilliance (that cantilever stairs is wow), design ingenuity (the perfectly restored Turner’s glass orangerie is sublime), incredible craftsmanship (ornate stucco work dazzles everywhere), supreme comfort (just sink into those duck down-filled sofas) and impossible beauty, it’s a jewel box of pure joy. It was restored with style, precision, historic integrity and great vision: US businessman Fred Krehbiel and his wife Kay from Kerry took the bones of this wonderful old home-turned-rundown boarding school and converted it, with the deepest of pockets, into the most beautiful of hotels.
10/10
Service
Sweeping around the bend of the long driveway reveals that wow moment when you first lay eyes on Ballyfin’s imposing facade and its line of staff standing out front to greet you. They will whisk away your car to park it and walk you indoors to receive a glass of champagne by a roaring fire before a relaxed check-in and orientation.
From here on in, you will be cared for with that refined balance of five-star swish and relaxed informality. Gorgeous dinner service, fun pre-dinner drink banter, fires topped up discreetly with logs — everything is done seamlessly and with real charm. Attention to detail is king but it’s neither stuffy nor overwrought and there’s no heavy-handed hierarchy visible. Very soon you’ll fall into sync with Big House life and be convinced you actually live like this in the real world.
10/10
Guest rooms
The Lady Caroline bedroom at Ballyfin
Individually styled with fabulous art works, arresting antiques, fabric walls, deep bath tubs, crisp bedlinen, cloudlike pillows, and stacks of interesting coffee table books, you’d happily hide up here all day. Bathrooms are equally impressive, each dramatically designed with art, the most luxurious robes imaginable, and seriously fluffy towels.
10/10
In-room perks
Fresh flowers, a bowl of glossy clementines, personal welcome note, and a phone to call down for tea or coffee delivered with cookies and cake make it all rather delightful. The complementary mini bar is filled with Ballyfin nut mix, chocolate yogurt raisins, Wild Orchard apple juice and lemonade, Coke, Diet Coke and a bar of cardamom and coffee chocolate made by Bean & Goose especially for Ballyfin. Don’t miss the fizzy sandalwood bath bomb either.
10/10
On the menu
Prepare to dine like royalty at Ballyfin. Executive chef Richard Picard-Edwards was new when we last stayed in 2023, and boy has he found his feet. Recent recipient of Ballyfin’s first Michelin star, he serves up inventive, playful, and beautifully judged menus.
Highlights from dinner (after aperitifs)
include artichoke cream with chicken jelly, Kristal caviar, and pickled artichoke, a starter of pressing of duck with gingerbread and duck parfait, poached black sole with parmesan crust, white asparagus and wild garlic and beurre blanc. The pastry chef whipped up exquisite desserts of perfect hazelnut parfait, rhubarb tartlet, and exceptional petit fours. Breakfast, served on gorgeous willow pattern china, included acai bowls with the finest berries, restorative protein shots, the best avocado toast we’ve eaten and copious silver pots of loose leaf tea. Heavenly!
10/10
Activities & amenities
The Gold Room at Ballyfin
A guided house tour reveals Ballyfin’s history, idiosyncrasies, heritage, design, fantastic art collection, and jaw-dropping architecture. It’s a wonderful — and fun — way to get to grips with this magical property. Borrow a bike and cycle around the lake, stopping off at the gardens, walking trails, grotto, ice house, aviary, and tower. Or book traditional country pursuits — archery, horse riding, clay pigeon shooting, falconry, a horse and carriage ride, picnic, or boating on the lake. Indoors there’s a serene light-flooded pool, vitality pool, sauna, gym and four treatment rooms, where Pevonia products are used.
10/10
The bill
Bed and breakfast from €850 midweek for two. All-inclusive Ballyfin Experience, from €1,180.
Our verdict: 10/10
Room to improve? In a word, no.
Access for guests with disabilities? Yes.
Family-friendly? Yes. Children of all ages welcome when the house is reserved by one group for exclusive use. For individual reservations, children over the age of 9 are welcome.
