Ballyfin Demesne

As Culture Trip Dublin reported last month, a hotel in Ireland was recently voted the best in the world by readers of the highly influential Condé Nast Traveller magazine. This in itself is an achievement worth celebrating, but even more impressive is the fact that two other Irish hotels also made the top ten. Here is a look at how high-end Irish accommodations are redefining luxury, and getting it right.
Rivalling Ballyfin in the picturesque stakes, the location of Powerscourt Hotel – across a valley from the Great Sugar Loaf Mountain – is tough to beat. A Palladian, 194-room hotel on the secluded grounds of a historic country estate dating back to the 13th century, this peaceful hotel in the Wicklow countryside offers a spectacular signature restaurant, two championship golf courses and close proximity to Ireland’s highest waterfall. With bedroom options that range from a classic deluxe up to the Presidential Suite, a room that opens onto the balcony terrace is worth the splurge for their incredible vistas.