Check out: The Cashel Palace Hotel

Cashel Palace Hotel, Cashel, Tipperary, Ireland, Historic Hotel

The Cashel Palace, the landmark property and now Tipperary’s only five-star hotel finally opened its doors last spring following a stunning restoration by its owners, the Magnier family. Already a member of Ireland’s Blue Book and the exclusive Relais & Châteaux collection, the property heralds a new era of luxury tourism to the Premier County and this week, I made a luxury trip to Tipp to check it out…

First Impressions

Sequestered down an avenue off the town’s Main Street, Cashel Palace almost unexpectedly appears with an air of a true urban oasis in the heart of Ireland’s Ancient East.

The short avenue, dotted with impeccably landscaped boxed hedging and white hydrangeas, is flanked by an inviting collection of renovated stable house properties and just beyond them, I pull up before the manor’s red-bricked Palladian façade, as a number of valet drivers mill around me.

I decline the offer of parking but am then left (*checks watch*) seven minutes in the set down area before the jeep parked before me unblocks my way to the car park. It’s a small niggle, but after a long drive, it’s an irksome first impression from a property aiming to wow from the get-go.

Inside, that wow does kick in. I’ve a brief glimpse of the lobby lounge, flames glinting from the first open fires of the season, before GM, Adriaan Bartels (who plays a very visible role throughout the hotel) offers a warm welcome, ushering me into the adjoining reception chamber adorned with oil paintings and willow pattern china. The aesthetic is clearly painstakingly curated, but pays off with pure impact.

Room 302 at the Cashel Palace Hotel

Suite Talk

Cashel Palace offers 42 rooms from compact deluxe in the manor’s characterful top floor to rather regal suites located throughout the property. My friend, Finola, and I were staying in one the hotel’s new garden wing suites which overlooks the ground’s pretty fairy-tale walled gardens — just beyond, centuries-old mulberry trees — and the Rock of Cashel itself.

It’s a dramatic vista, and I suspect even more so in autumn when those mulberry leaves surrender to the season.

My room, which taps into the plush elegance of the neo-Classical period, is a soothing, spacious suite with dreamy twin king beds, a stunning white marble bathroom, walk-in wardrobe and an adjoining living area brimming with plump armchairs and sofas.

There are several eye-catching touches: coffee, from Tipperary’s very own Ponaire roastery; complimentary pantry stocked with local goodies such as Con Traas’ apple juices and O’Donnell’s Crisps; plus cappuccino-toned bathrobes, the most luxurious I’ve ever experienced. In all, the suite is palatial in proportion and comfortable even if the interiors, particularly in the living area, are a little more subdued and conservative than I expected.

The five-star spa and swimming pool at the Cashel Palace Hotel

At Your Service

On brand with its opulent nature, The Cashel Palace offers a trove of boujee experiences from afternoon tea in its exquisite Queen Anne room to outdoor seaweed baths in the hotel’s luxury spa.

There are also a whole range of bespoke culinary and cultural tours from a visit to the home of Cashel Blue cheese to experiencing the Tipperary Thoroughbred Trail which honours the area’s rich horse-racing heritage. After all, this is a property with its own horse concierge.

We enjoy our post-check-in hours at the spa, a blissful, airy space with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the gardens. Noteworthy are unisex changing rooms featuring individual dressing cubicles with private showers and vanity area and wouldn’t be out of place in the Monte Carlo Yacht Club.

We head straight to the pool and hot tub, including an outdoor infinity pool with views out to The Rock. It’s a wonderfully relaxing spot though guests can wander the grounds at very close range, so discretion is advised for any PDAs or tea-spilling.

Back inside, the spa also features a steam room, a particularly gorgeous sauna and a number of themed therapy showers which have lighting and sound effects from Atlantic storms to Caribbean showers. I was transported from Tipp to Trinidad with a flick of a switch (and a bit of imagination). Also worth noting is that the hotel features a stunning hotel gym kitted with walnut-clad weights and gym equipment which caps the air of retro chic.

The Drawing Room at the Cashel Palace Hotel

Food & Drink

Tipperary’s food scene is becoming increasingly renowned across the country and since its launch, The Cashel Palace and executive chef Stephen Hayes have been chomping at the bit to showcase it. We ate at the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, The Bishop’s Buttery, a cavernous and wonderfully ambient space set in the palace’s basement.

We were dining on the restaurant’s table d’hôte menu (€85 excl. drinks) and a nonchalant offer of “... a glass of Champagne or cocktail before your meal?” captures the luxurious soirée the hotel are pitching.

The meal starts with a selection of delicious home-baked gluten-free bread (a novelty for this coeliac) followed by a sublime selection of amuses bouche; the highlight being an olive tapenade fashioned into a delicate leaf.

My starter of bluefin tuna with avocado and wasabi was a total flavour burst while local beef filet with morel mushrooms, creamy pommes Anna and luxurious Madeira jus was a top drawer dish.

Dessert was a heavily architected lemon and raspberry affair all capping an exceptional dining experience, not least thanks to our supremely savvy server, Dianne, and sommelier, Farrah.

The bar was admittedly set high but breakfast the next morning didn’t quite hit the culinary heights of dinner. The setting in the Queen Anne Room is stunning and our table overlooking The Rock is the best seat in the house but while the menu, featuring the classics from the Full Irish to the usual Eggs Benedict, was satisfying, it didn’t offer anything I haven’t experienced at numerous other properties with less fanfare — even some potato and Tipperary apple hash could add some local flavour to the menu.

No gluten-free alternatives to the pastries provided may also leave some coeliacs feeling a little short-changed.

For casual dining, note that the hotel also offers Mikey Ryan’s Bar & Kitchen, Cashel’s hugely popular gastropub, just next door.

Check out?

Cashel Palace is an extremely exciting addition to Munster’s accommodation scene and my stay was a memorable occasion, particularly the meal at the Bishop’s Buttery, our highlight.

The spa, grounds and curl-up drawing room are sublime and that connection with one of Ireland’s most unique heritage sights is truly special. I’d like to have seen more breakfast options and my room interiors hit the “next-level” comfort zone I’d expect for a €899 suite but for a future stay I’d have my eye on those characterful deluxe rooms from €349 per night (and dipping to from €279 in the off season) which would offer all the luxury I’d need.

• Thom was a guest of the property.
• cashelpalacehotel.ie