Mount Juliet, Thomastown

Hotel Overview

A superb hotel focusing on quality and not quantity, Mount Juliet was the AA Hotel of the Year 2020. Part of the excellent Autograph Collection Hotels, it is a country retreat of 500 acres from which you won’t want to move.

There are 32 individually-appointed bedrooms and the Lady Helen Michelin-starred restaurant in the Georgian manor house and 93 contemporary bedrooms in the adjacent Hunter’s Yard. There are ten room categories in total, all five-star in every way varying from cosy to very generous, and two gorgeous self-catering cottages (two- and four-bedroom) if you’re looking for more flexibility and privacy.

The Hound is the informal but excellent brasserie in Hunter’s Yard and there is fishing, walking, biking and jogging trails around the estate. Of course, there’s a fine spa, indoor pool and gym., Plus, there’s plenty of sights to see around the County of Kilkenny including horse-racing and the golf courses of Waterford and Carlow and nearby Kilkenny which is rated in Ireland’s Top 50.

On-site golf can’t be faulted with Jack Nicklaus having built one of his finest. Host to the World Championship in 2002 and scheduled to have hosted the 2020 Irish Open, the parkland design takes in plenty of water and 80 bunkers over 180 areas of woodland and parkland and presented to sublime standards. It’s a pretty golf course and potentially open to a good score if you plot your way around the course and not try to take the short cuts presented to you. It’s typical and fun Nicklaus where brains beat brawn.