A Victorian parochial house and former convent, this hotel has the ambience of a private country house, furnished over time with love and happy serendipity. John Edward Joyce had been manager for 25 years when he took ownership in 2016, and he nurtures both house and guests. Bedrooms, some in the adjoining schoolhouse, range from ‘standard’ with an over-bath power shower, to deluxe with bath and separate shower, maybe a four-poster. Mixing contemporary and antique pieces, they are beautifully presented, with fabrics by Zoffany, Cole & Son and Jane Churchill, toiletries from the Handmade Soap Company. Tea-making facilities can be provided but it’s their pleasure to make it for you. Two suites share a kitchenette and sitting room with patio doors to a terrace. In the restaurant with wedding-cake plaster ceiling, chef Angel Pirev uses produce from vegetable garden, glass house and orchard to create dishes such as octopus, bass, mussels, wasabi, garden peas, dill; lamb rack, braised neck, wild garlic, tuille, polenta, purple broccoli, spinach purée – each a work of art. Breakfast on home-grown fruit, whiskey porridge, new-laid eggs, a full Irish. Ten minutes away, impossibly pretty Adare village must be seen.