I recently returned from an eight night visit to Ireland, my first trip to this country. During our trip, we stayed in four hotels and visited seven others. This is my site inspection report. As with all of my reports, these are my subjective opinions. Others will (and should) feel otherwise! As a TA, it's impossible to evaluate service, so this is more of a reflection on the physical attributes of these properties.

Regular readers of the Luxury Hotels forum will no doubt recallthe review by Raffles of his stay at what was then the Capella Castlemartyr. It described a succession of horrific service failures that made his family's stay an unmitigated disaster. Shortly afterwards, the resort and Capella severed their relationship. It was with this history vivid in my memory when I arrived at Castlemartyr for my site inspection.

Castlemartyr was closed for 18 months following its divorce from Capella, opening under new management, the Dromoland Collection, which also manages Dromoland Castle (site inspection to follow). As I often caution, I cannot evaluate service, but I believe these 18 months were used to good effect. I had very positive interactions with the Rooms Division Manager and with Andrew Phelan, the resort's GM. We were incredibly impressed with what we saw and experienced (including lunch - a delicious seafood chowder - in Knights Bar with attentive and personable service).

Room

There were only three available rooms, as every other room was booked. We were shown the Presidential Suite, the only available accommodation in the original Manor House. This is a huge suite with Master Bedroom, Living Room, Dining Room, and Study. The suite had traditional styling with padded silk wallpaper, using an attractive color palette of golds and light blues. Baths in the Manor House are decorated in black marble, while rooms in the new wing have white marble.

While the original wing is decorated in a classic style, the new wing has a tasteful contemporary style that nonetheless coordinates well with the Manor House. We saw two lead-in rooms. They were spacious - over 500 sq ft - with everything a discerning luxury hotel guest would expect. Rooms were decorated in attractive shades of greens and tans, and bathrooms had double vanities, soaking tub, step-in shower, and WC. There is a sizable dressing room area. Lighting and other room functions are controlled by touch panels by the bed and by the door.

Location

This is a large property with just 103 rooms, and I was struck with the expansiveness of the space. The grounds are gorgeous, with a formal French garden behind the main building. The resort includes a links style golf course, five restaurants and bars, a 24,000 square foot spa, indoor pool, and jacuzzi. Activities include fishing, clay pigeon shooting, archery, croquet, bicycling, boating, and walking.

Overall

My conclusion? Definitely give this resort a second chance. It is so far superior to Hayfield Manor that unless you absolutely must be within the city of Cork, Castlemartyr is the best choice from which to explore this part of Ireland.