- The restoration of The Manor at Mount Juliet Estate cost €8m.
- Designers preserved Georgian architectural details throughout the house.
- Suites receive names linked to the estate’s historical figures.
- Accommodation includes The Manor Suites from €700 per night B&B.
- Guests can access golf, equestrian activities and spa facilities on the estate.
It was an evening to remember, even for a house with memories going back to 1757. Barry English, the founder of data centre developer Winthrop Technologies, hosted friends and colleagues as he celebrated the refurbishment at an event in the Lady Helen restaurant.
Mr English was joined by food writers, local officials and a hurling hero for a tasting menu prepared by John Kelly. He invested a further €8 million in modernising the 18th-century Georgian manor, while preserving its heritage, following his acquisition of the five-star resort in late 2024 for approximately €50 million from Michael McEllligott’s Tetrarch Capital and Emmet O’Neill.
That name was significant; anyone who visits Mount Juliet cannot miss reference to the beloved racehorse. The Tetrarch is accredited in four legged folklore as the fastest horse never to have won the Epsom Derby, was one of the most successful sires in Irish horsey history after he retired to stud and the foundation of the famous stud run by the McCalmont family. He sired 80 winners from just 130 foals, including three Saint `Leger winners. An elaborate tomb on the estate commemorates his memory
Tour of the 31 suites
Privacy areas are the signature of the hotel. Depending in whether you’re in a manor suite or a river view suite, you’ll see the different designs in your rooms. No two rooms rare the same and every room was so different before they had to design every bathroom sketched to match the space and then every bedroom, seven room designs for 31 bedrooms. Each suite is fitted with a marble floor. Where they could, they put a seat in the shower.
Our suite, number 22, the Grace, came with a big fireplace, massive by bedroom standards with a proper fireback and exquisite plaster work around the fireplace, four glasses for the late night tipple and a speaker for music. There were two drawers on each side of the bed, , and a makeup mirror at the right height and angle at the desk and TV remote control in its own holder.
In the bathroom was a sink, bath, shower, towel rail, toilet and the signature large mirror in the bathroom facing you There was a coffee making machine, a kettle and a safe, Barry’s tea, and Earl Grey tea bags and biscuits from the bake house, In the wardrobe were slippers, ironing board and eight hangers.
General manager Mark Dunne shared: “At home you don’t go into your house at home and just design all the rooms the same. I would love to, but my wife thinks otherwise. She’s she’s head of design. You can imagine the effort and the disussion that went into it. The lady who did these bathrooms, hand sketched them all with charcoal, old school.
According to Mark Dunne the refurb took on a whole life of its own, largely from having Irish owners, who bought it for forever. “They didn’t buy it to flip it. We have that owner who’s here, who’s invested in it, and who sees the opportunity.”
Because we’re predominately dealing with a leisure guest we wanted them to be able to pour their own drinks and have that level of experience. So your mini bar experience is in every bedroom.
Part of the lineage
There’s nothing normal about Mount Juliet. So you take on a project like the Manor House, you have to be ready for every eventuality. And sometimes the same decision in a typical hotel environment has severe repercussions in a hotel like Mount Juliet. I can give your at the outset what we wanted to do is just very much understand the house and understand where it needed to go to in terms of the operation requirement which is very much how I would view it. And then with the support of Aisling Healy, Catherine and Barry and bring to life the design and the which we’re now sitting in.
It’s one of the finest Georgian manners in in the country, but it’s just now gone to a whole new level. The original features, the corners, the centerpieces, the fireplace, just every little detail is just sensational really. When you work in a building like this, you’re conscious of the generations of crafts people and artisans who worked on it before you. To be a part of that lineage, even briefly, is a privilege. It’s incredibly rewarding to be part of this. You know, the minor house is built in 1757 because it’s steeped in so much history. You really have to be thoughtful in every single decision that’s made. They have not destroyed one inch of the original. It is so protective and so dynamic.
Mount Juliet Estate itself is situated on the river. Many of the river facing suites follow a theme of the river view. So they were really inspired by the surroundings and the view out onto the river itself. The main house was an area for entertainment, for enjoyment, for fun. It was a family home. So we wanted to keep that character alive and how we restored the mother house. I think as you walk through from the Bron to every bedroom experience, you’ll feel that.
Time to switch off
We designed everything in detail, from mattress from restaurant and then that whole sleep experience, the dining experience, the height of tables, how we delivered the writing desk with the mirror for makeup with the ladies chair to match, we went out to ensure that when you sit you were comfortable no matter what it is that you were doing within each space.
You’ve got good Wi-Fi. You can play your own music. I took a lot of televisions out of bars when I came here because people are not here for that. Room entertainment, the comfort of sleep, the comfort of dining was all very important. Because so often when you’re away, it’s different. If you’re in a corporate hotel, it’s cookie cutter, you’re there and then you’re gone. But if you’re here, typically you’re here for an important reason or an occasion, you’re getting glammed up and going out. Even if it’s corporate, they’re doing a big event within the corporate group.
When it comes to the light swtiches, we just write on the switch is what they are and make it sure that they all worked. So when you press the lights the lights worked and when you hit the curtains the work, as opposed to going touchscreen and futuristic you know which we could have done.
There’s not really a requirement for a TV in the room. There’s some hotels in where now you can you can retire your mobile phone. It’s nice to be able to just come and switch off, and that was why we just we put in the speaker, just pick up your music, you can relax and just unwind. I think one piece for here is definitely the view.
Architectural integrity
Aisling Healy shared: Anything that could be restored and brought back to its natural beauty was first and foremost. We looked individually at all the details as we went through the manor house and anything that could be preserved was preserved. For example, in the bedrooms the stunning beautiful fireplaces that really ground the bedrooms. They’re like focal points in the room and they were restored to their natural beauty, the original corners and the detailed plaster work in the ceilings which you see mainly in the ground floor. One of the bedrooms in the first floor has it as well, the sash windows and the woodwork.
When we first approached it, it wasn’t it wasn’t necessarily about isolating individual architectural details or characters within the building. It was more about looking at the Manor house as a whole and ensuring that the I suppose the architectural integrity and the architectural character and history was preserved. That was at the centre of everything.
