BALLYFIN DEMESNE

In County Laois, Ireland, an hour and a half’s drive from Dublin, a meandering driveway leads you to Ballyfin, a lavish historic 3-Key Michelin Rated Hotel on an estate built in the 1820s. The front façade is majestically columned and guarded by sphinx, but the personal greeting at the entry makes you feel you have arrived at a relative’s extravagant country estate—let’s face it, everyone could use a relative with such a remarkable property and no strings attached!



The hotel’s history began when the prominent Coote family built the home in the 1820s. Designed by the great Irish father-and-son architects Sir Richard and William Vitruvius Morrison, Ballyfin has long been admired as one of the most lavish late Georgian houses in Ireland. The Cootes enjoyed the house for exactly 100 years, employing a large team of servants in pursuance of a most refined Edwardian way of life. However, when political change and the dawning of Irish Independence following World War I brought the Anglo-Irish idyll to a halt, the private home was sold to a Catholic teaching order who established a boys’ school there. When the successful all-boys school found themselves unable to keep up with relentless maintenance costs and had to close, Ballyfin was again sold in 2002 to American billionaire Fred Krehbiel and his Irish wife, Kay, who spent close to a decade bringing the hotel and grounds to their current exceptional state, keeping traditions of the property while sparing none of the amenities of a modern luxury hotel.

London-based designer Colin Orchard, whose reputation for classic English style that is at once grand and still informal, coordinated the hotel’s interiors. Trained under the legendary Colefax and Fowler, Orchard’s proficiency at combining sophisticated elegance and low-key luxury is apparent in every nook of Ballyfin, and he excluded no detail with antiques, textiles, and books, which you will find an abundance of in each room. Gilt-framed portraits of the Coote family gaze over you as you ascend the curved front steps that are crowned with a circular skylight, its decorative moldings elaborate enough to top a wedding cake. Robins egg blue corridors lead you to your room, every one individual.

Each of the twenty one-of-a-kind rooms feels plucked out of the Bridgerton set, reflecting the charm and details invested in the decade of restoration, art collection, and love that was poured into the property's refurbishment, considered one of the finest and most intricate historical restorations in Ireland.

Butler, the Junior Suite where I stayed, was once Lady Caroline Coote’s private suite. Hued in deep ambers with jacquard walls, a matching draped four-poster bed, and a working marble fireplace, it is perfect for a cozy night in. The bathroom features a Rojo red marble vanity, shower, and deep bathtub, original wide plank dark wood floors, and an antique crystal chandelier. Other rooms are magnificent masterpieces using textiles to tell their stories in blues, pinks, greens, and golds, delicately dancing with creams and ivories. Each one takes on a theme inspired by one of the original occupants, and from tapestry to toile de jouey, chinoiserie to hand-painted murals or a gilded canopy bed, each chamber is equally as stately.

After you settle in, let Lionel, the butler who attended school at Ballyfin, lead you to your chariot, a white horse-drawn carriage that feels equal parts magical and mystical. With hooves clicking and manes blowing, glide through the grounds hearing his tales from the past.

The 614 private walled acre grounds are the perfect setting for scenic walks, and you need not worry if you want to travel lightly—no hiking gear is required. Ballyfin provides Dubarry boots, waterproof jackets, and walking sticks for all guests to roam in comfort. Amble along the trail around the 28-acre lake, which is the largest man-made lake in Ireland, and find yourself under the umbrella of mature trees and a forest of bluebells if the season is right. Continue past the lookout castle, fields of horses, the hen house, and into the two on-property gardens where the kitchen reaps fresh ingredients for the clean and impeccably prepared menus daily. Six full-time gardeners grow nearly anything one can think of that comes from the earth: apples, pears, figs, peas, potatoes, and herbs like fennel, chamomile, horseradish, mint, parsley, and verbena. The cutting gardens are resplendent with exquisite flora from dahlias to daffodils, roses to ranunculus.

Over 15,000 tulips alone grow in the Ballyfin garden each spring. The in-house floral designer artfully uses the blooms in each suite, common space, and dining table.

The dining room is intimate, with a view and tranquil sounds of one of the estate's largest water features, which is guarded by a reclining statue of Neptune. Behind the formal dining room is a dome-topped glass conservatory built in 1848. The windowsills are lined with lush green potted plants, adding another dimension of flora to the 360-degree views of nothing but landscape and sky. Set with charming wrought iron café tables, it is the perfect place for breakfast, lunch, or cocktails; there is even a secret entry accessible through a hidden door in the library.

From dawn until dusk, you will be well-fed with extraordinarily clean and creative food prepared by Michelin star-winning Executive Chef Richard Picard-Edwards and his team. Each menu is planned with the seasons and features local and exceptional ingredients. Dinner is introduced with an incredibly innovative amuse-bouche, one most memorably topped with caviar and flakes of gold. Full vegetarian fare is always on offer, and with such breathtaking artistry in the presentation, it almost felt sinful to eat. A simple side of mixed vegetables glistened like crown jewels, lovingly topped with tiny purple edible flowers. Even the silverware and china here serve up some Irish history, much of it procured from the original family estate.

Be sure to sample the homemade jams and honey from bees they keep on the estate, as well as Ballyfin’s famous apple juice pressed with fruit harvested from 150-year-old trees in their orchard. After dinner, take tea in one of the adjacent sitting rooms while listening to the pianist or sit fireside at the cozy cellar bar and sample some of the hotel’s extensive wine and whiskey collections.

When not simply enjoying the surroundings, enjoy horseback riding, clay shooting, and falconry. One of the most glorious afternoons was spent pedaling around the property on bicycles, stopping to pet the horses and climb the spiral steps to the top of the medieval-style stone watchtower to take in awe-inspiring views of Ireland.

Ballyfin’s wellness area is a world of its own, featuring four treatment rooms, a sunlit indoor pool, a sauna, a hot tub, and a gym. The pool area invites a swim or some quiet time relaxing in the loungers, with the reflection of the surrounding greenery spilling in from more than six pairs of French doors. Even the treatment rooms spare no attention to detail and are notably decorated with Fornasetti cabinets and antique mirrors. I highly recommend a massage or facial with Brita, whose skilled hands leave you feeling completely rejuvenated.

If you have ever wondered what slower-paced life might be like in Ireland, Ballyfin certainly is the destination to put the opulent fantasy to the test.