Best luxury and boutique hotels, B&Bs in Ireland

A private drive loops through native woodland and pastures to this classical mansion overlooking a ruined Knights Templar castle and teeming fishing lake in W B Yeats country.

Gregans Castle Hotel, Ballyvaughan

It may not be a castle but this rambling 18th-century manor house, wrapped in gardens and with views over the otherworldly karst landscape of the Burren, has its own romantic charm.

Enniscoe House, Ballina

Solitary Nephin, Ireland’s highest stand-alone mountain, provides a dramatic backdrop to this classic, pink-washed Georgian country house in wooded grounds on Lough Conn.

Newport House, Newport

On a historic estate once home to the O’Donels – a factious crew, by all accounts, transported here by Cromwell – Kieran Thompson’s creeper-clad Georgian house has long been a fishing destination.

Rathmullan House, Rathmullan

Pass the little gate lodge to drive up to this bay-fronted country house in wooded grounds edged by a beach on Lough Swilly.

Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry

‘We enjoyed a walk in the extensive grounds with the hotel’s biodiversity champion,’ write readers on a visit to this legendary Irish country house hotel that is passionate about locally sourced food.

Ballyvolane House, Fermoy

With breakfast served until noon, afternoon tea by the drawing room fire, shooting, fishing and communal dining, a house-party atmosphere prevails at this Georgian country house.

The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge, Ballingarry

Every painting, sculpture and piece of furniture feels cherished and chosen at John Edward Joyce’s Victorian country mansion in landscaped gardens.

Sheedy’s, Lisdoonvarna

The perfect base for exploring the Wild Atlantic Way and the Burren's dramatic karst landscape, the Sheedy family’s farmhouse has been welcoming guests since the 1930s.

Newforge House, Magheralin

There is a happy sense of continuity at this classic Georgian country house, where sixth-generation owners Louise and John Mathers have been welcoming guests since 2005.

Killiane Castle Country House and Farm, Drinagh

Guests are welcomed with tea or coffee and home-baked biscuits at the Mernagh family’s farmhouse B&B beside a 15th-century fortified tower house.

The Wilder Townhouse, Dublin

'One of Dublin's best boutique hotels', this former home for retired governesses five minutes from the Museum of Irish Literature is now a glamorous hotel with a bookish bent.

Frewin, Ramelton

On the outskirts of a Georgian port town on the Wild Atlantic Way, peaceful, old-world charm is found at Regina Gibson and Thomas Coyle’s relaxing B&B in a Victorian rectory.

Ghan House, Carlingford

Beneath Slieve Foy Mountain, stepping distance from the sea and within walled gardens, the Carroll family’s Georgian house affords views at every turn.

Schoolhouse Hotel, Dublin

More Hogwarts then Dotheboys Hall, this ‘charming, rather fairy-tale-like Victorian schoolhouse with gables and tall chimneys’, now a quirky hotel, moves up a grade to the main Guide after a visit from our school inspectors.

Wild Honey Inn, Lisdoonvarna

Within the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark, Ireland’s only Michelin-starred pub attracts discerning diners with its refined bistro cooking and country-cosy accommodation.

Pax House, Dingle

‘A haven of peace’, John O’Farrell’s ‘terrific’ contemporary B&B sits on a hilltop with 180-degree views over the harbour and Dingle Peninsula.

Rosleague Manor, Letterfrack

Drive under a leafy canopy to this pink-washed manor house ‘in rhododendron-filled gardens rolling down to the shore of Ballinakill Bay’.

Roundwood House, Mountrath

Rattle over a cattle grid and watch out for roaming ducks and geese as you approach this imposing Palladian villa in native woodland, home to Hannah and Paddy Flynn and their family.

Currarevagh House, Oughterard

‘A long private road through woodland’ leads to Henry and Lucy Hodgson’s Victorian country house, ‘lost in time’ in 180 acres, overlooking Lough Corrib.

Coopershill, Riverstown

Simon and Christina O’Hara and rescue collie Juno delight in welcoming guests to their Georgian ancestral home, a mile off-road, on a 500-acre wooded estate with deer park.

Castle Leslie Estate, Glaslough

The Leslie clan's High Victorian pile overlooking a lake is a stupendous trove of Grand Tour treasures and family lore.

Rayanne House, HOLYWOOD

Rayanne House is currently available for private bookings only. There is great zest for life at Conor and Bernie McClelland’s B&B – a Victorian merchant’s house above Belfast lough – from the exuberant decor to Titanic dinners and gargantuan breakfasts.

Lorum Old Rectory, Bagenalstown

Bobbie Smith and her daughter Rebecca welcome guests to their Victorian rectory B&B, in a peaceful situation four miles from town on the slopes above the River Barrow.

Stella Maris, Ballycastle

Though it styles itself a ‘country house’ and stands amid gently rolling hills, the sea provides the drama at Frances Kelly-McSweeney's former coastguard’s HQ on the Wild Atlantic Way.

Lough Bawn House,

‘A long, romantic, tree-lined drive’ climbs gently to this classical Georgian house ‘overlooking sheep-filled pastures and a glistening lough’.

Hunter’s, Rathnew

Enveloped in olde-worlde charm, with ‘staff who really make an effort’, this rambling, ‘extremely comfy’ hotel in ‘lovely grounds by the River Vartry has been owned by the same family for almost 200 years.

Ard na Sidhe Country House Hotel, Killorglin

On the wooded shores of Lough Caragh, the extensive gardens of this Irish sandstone manor house are ripe for discovery: hidden paths lead to the water and the mountains beyond.

Ravenhill House, Belfast

Handsomely restored, this double-fronted, red-brick B&B is just a short bus ride from the city centre.

The Old Rectory, Belfast

A welcoming home away from home, Mary Callan’s guest house is in a conservation area just south of the centre.

Inis Meain Restaurant and Suites, Aran Islands

Remote and remarkable, Ruairí and Marie-Thérèse de Blacam’s sustainably run restaurant-with-suites blends in to the rugged landscape of Aran island.

The Montenotte Hotel, Cork

In tiered gardens, an impressive panorama spreads over the city and harbour from this large, modern hotel with an artistic bent.

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How to decide where to stay in Ireland

Beautiful hotels, historic hotels, hotels for salmon and trout fishing, hotels for golf, and hotels for walking are all easily at hand.

But above all it is the charm of the natives that is reflected in some of the Good Hotel Guide's favourite hotels where the warmth of the welcome remains truly Irish. In many of the smaller places, you will be received as a friend and given an unforgettable insight into the gentle Irish way of life.

Our directory presents some of the Guide's selected Hotels in Ireland. Here are some of the popular cities and areas in Ireland:

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