Park Hotel Kenmare

"This dining room is set within a luxury hotel dating from 1897 and surrounded by mature gardens and acres of grounds – so the views are certainly delightful. The elegant, comfortable room comes with smartly laid, candlelit tables, while the service is well organised and comes courtesy of a smart and eager team. Classically based dishes feature the best local ingredients, along with produce from the kitchen garden, and aren’t afraid of exhibiting the occasional modern flourish." - Michelin Inspector

"Driving along the Ring of Kerry, a 111-mile circular route that carves through the Iveragh Peninsula, and you’ll see some of Ireland’s most stunning scenery and iconic landmarks. You’ll find Park Hotel Kenmare located right off this journey in the quaint town of Kenmare, where pink, green, and yellow-painted storefronts, picturesque churches, and pubs abound. It was built in 1897, originally as a stopover for railway riders. Today, the classic five-star hotel is home to a destination spa and a fine dining institution offering an opulent tasting menu. Christmastime is a special affair. Each room has its own sparkling tree, a live band plays in the drawing room while guest dance, and get this—you don’t even have to go near your oven."

"Driving along the Ring of Kerry, you’ll find Park Hotel Kenmare in the quaint namesake town of Kenmare where pink, green, and yellow storefronts, picturesque churches, and pubs abound. It was built in 1897, originally as a stopover for railway riders. Today, the classic five-star hotel is home to a destination spa and a fine dining institution offering an opulent tasting menu. Christmastime is a special affair, when each room has its own sparkling tree, a live band plays in the drawing room while guests dance, and you won’t have to go near an oven to cook for anyone." - CNT Editors, Nicholas DeRenzo

"If a hotel has a swank spa that administers treatments using ultra-expensive (and effective) Sisley products, it’s probably something special. And if those treatments come in a Victorian manse overlooking the placid waters of Kenmare Bay in Southwestern Ireland ’s Ring of Kerry, it’s yet more likely to engage even the jaded traveler’s predilections for plush resorts. Kenmare Manor, a turn-of-the-19th-century stone building backed by patchwork hills and forests, looks like something out of a storybook. But it’s more than attractive: At SÁMAS spa, the treatments, which are indeed high-caliber, come with views of the misty woods (from the pool) and the bay and mountains (from the relaxation room). Staff are attentive to even tiny details, like buttery Irish shortbread at turndown. Breakfasts of smoked salmon and eggs and flaky scones are served by smartly dressed waiters rather than set out at a buffet. The hotel’s restaurant is known as one of the best in the country for wild-mushroom risotto and Kerry lamb loin with eucalyptus-flavored peas."