Dromoland Castle

The O'Brien family's Gothic castle in County Clare, now a 96-room hotel on a 500-acre estate with its own par-72 parkland course, a lake and a spa, 15 minutes from Shannon Airport.

The hotel traces the O’Briens back to Brian Boru, and Dromoland Castle is their ancestral home. The grey stone castle you see today was rebuilt between 1800 and 1836 by Sir Edward O’Brien, 4th Baronet, to designs by the Pain brothers. In 1962 Lord Inchiquin sold it to the American industrialist Bernard McDonough, who turned it into a hotel. The family of the 18th Baron Inchiquin still lives on the estate, at Thomond House.

There are 96 rooms, staterooms and suites. Twenty-nine of them are in the Queen Anne Court. It dates from between 1700 and 1730, so it is older than the present castle. At the top end are the Brian Boru Suite and the two-bedroom Lady Mary O’Brien suite.

The golf course is on the castle estate. Ron Kirby and JB Carr designed the 18-hole, par-72 parkland course, 6,824 yards from the men’s tees, and it has hosted the KPMG Women’s Irish Open. The Academy has two USGA-spec greens and a chipping area with a riveted bunker modelled on the Road Hole bunker at St Andrews. A Trackman simulator and a resident PGA professional complete the set-up. Residents pay less than visitors for a round.

The estate covers 500 acres, with walled gardens, a yew walk dating to 1740 and Dromoland Lough, where guests can take a rowing boat out for free. Dinner is at the Earl of Thomond. The cocktail bar fills an octagonal room that was once the O’Brien library. The Castle Spa uses Dr. Barbara Sturm and OSKIA products, and the leisure centre has a 17-metre pool looking over the course.

Archery, clay shooting, falconry and fishing are all offered on the estate, and Shannon Airport is 15 minutes away.