Established in 1792, the Murphy family’s large hotel in Adare has somehow retained the comfortable ambience of a country inn. A very luxurious inn nevertheless, and operated under the personal management of Bryan and Louis Murphy.
The furnishing standard is high throughout, with antiques, private dressing rooms and well-planned bathrooms a feature of most rooms, plus excellent amenities for business and private guests (interconnecting family rooms are available), all complemented by an equal standard of housekeeping.
It’s a great base for sporting activities - equestrian holidays are a speciality and both golf and fishing are available nearby - and also ideal for conferences and private functions, including weddings (which are held beside the main hotel, with separate catering facilities).
The hotel has earned an unrivalled reputation for the quality and value of short breaks offered, and there is an ongoing determination to combine personal service and quality with value, which makes Dunraven Arms an outstanding example of contemporary Irish hospitality at its best.
This dedication to quality extends to the superb breakfast offered - an area where many hotels seek savings, to the detriment of the overall guest experience. Not so at the Dunraven Arms, where the dining room is set up as smartly for breakfast as it is for dinner in the evening and well-slept guests are treated to an extensive buffet display of the freshest foods and drink, including fruits and juices, yogurts, cheeses and cold meats, a range of freshly baked goods and a magnificent ham set up for carving to your liking. Cooked to order breakfasts are equally impressive, with a lovely range of dishes offered and everything served, perfectly cooked, to your table by helpful staff.
The relatively recent addition of a safe path from the hotel to the beautiful nearby riverside walk has made an enormous difference to the enjoyment of a stay here.
Maigue Restaurant:
Named after the River Maigue, which flows through the village of Adare, the restaurant is delightfully old fashioned - more akin to eating in a large country house than in an hotel. Head chef, Chris Starr, continues the tradition of pride in using the best of local produce.
Menus offer a balanced selection of about half a dozen dishes on each course and, although particularly renowned for their roast rib of beef (carved at your table from a magnificent trolley), other specialities like River Maigue salmon and local game in season, especially pheasant, are very popular.
Menus are not overlong but may offer some dishes not found elsewhere, and little home-made touches add an extra dimension - farmhouse cheeses are served with home-made biscuits as well as grapes and an apple & date dressing, for example.
Service, under the direction of John Shovlin, who has been restaurant manager since 1980, is exemplary - as elsewhere in the hotel.
A wide-ranging wine list offers some treats for the connoisseur as well as plenty of more accessible wines.
