Bloomberg’s ‘travel Czar,’ the New York based bureau editor Nikki Ekstein has named Ashford Castle as the fifth best premium hotel in her personal list for 2023:
- Ashford Castle,
- Le Bristol, Paris
- Claridge’s, London
- Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World
- Montage Palmetto Bluff on the May River in South Carolina’s low country.
In her citation, Ms Ekstein said: Great hotels must transmit a clear sense of place. This 350-acre, 13th century Irish castle, owned for generations by the Guinness family, has not only a sense of place but a sense of time. Arriving at its front entrance means passing an ancient-looking stone gate with the castle’s crest on it, being greeted by kind doormen who could double as royal guards and passing through a grand mudroom of sorts where Barbour boots and jackets can be hung up after horseback riding, falconry, fishing or shooting excursions. The food is refined and modern and it beautifully celebrates the local bounty—I was there in the spring, so that meant lots of smoked salmon and mushrooms, my favorites. A small provisions store in a quaint cottage on the grounds stocks homemade jams and chutneys that make excellent souvenirs. Never mind the pure fantasy of my room: a duplex suite seemingly wrapped in green velvet, with views over the gardens and sparkling Lough Corrib. Rooms from €740 ($805)
