Christmas and home comforts go together like partridges and pear trees and, for many, the idea of leaving even their postcode over the period is anathema to the festive sensibility. For one, seemingly growing cohort of Irish people, however, it’s a time to retreat – and what better way to reset the batteries after a busy lead-in than to luxuriate in one of Ireland’s five-star hotels?
It certainly does not come cheap. But for those with the means to do so, repairing to some exquisitely decorated country pile or even one of the capital’s high-end hotels for Christmas is worth the outlay, evidently: hotel operators say they tend to see the same faces year after year.
From family portraits to sleigh rides to lake cruises and visits from Santa himself, lavish spreads with all the bells and whistles await those who can afford them.
At Ashford Castle, on the banks of Lough Corrib and the river Cong in Co Mayo, the festivities start on Christmas Eve, but preparations begin months in advance. The staff go to great lengths to make the experience as special as possible for the guests, many of whom have celebrated Christmas there for decades.
“Sometimes, we’re fully committed for Christmas by April or May,” says Ashford Castle’s rooms division manager Catherine Kenny, who spearheads the property’s Christmas operations.
About 15 years ago, we saw an opportunity to start marketing Christmas as a celebration – which, of course, we now take for granted
“Then the communication starts in its intensity, because once we get to [the week before Christmas], it’s important we have all the information, all the small details in place. Someone could want a certain type of pillow in their room. That’s the level of detail that we’re at just now.”
With three-night packages for two starting at €7,100, rising to €18,000 for three nights in the presidential suite, customers certainly pay for that level of detail.
Kicking off on Christmas Eve with a mulled wine reception followed by afternoon tea, the evening rounds off with a cocktail reception in the drawingroom and dinner in the George V diningroom. “Then Santa Claus arrives,” says Kenny, played by senior porter Paddy Costello, who has performed the role for more than 40 years. The highlight of the evening, Kenny says, is a carol service, performed by students from the national school in Cong.
Christmas morning starts with breakfast in the George V followed by a mid-morning boat cruise on the lake, replete with hot whiskeys and traditional Irish music. After a buffet lunch followed by a movie screening, there’s wine tasting throughout the afternoon before the main event – a black-tie dinner in the George V restaurant. “Before that, we have a resident photographer. She comes in, she takes family photographs by the Christmas tree,” Kenny says.
The third and final day included in the package sees guests take part in a range of activities, from falconry to a guided history tour and more boat cruises. “There’s as much to do or as little to do as you want,” says Kenny. “People can dip in and out, but all that’s available for them.”
On the Mount Juliet Estate in Kilkenny, recently acquired by Winthrop Technologies founder Barry English for a reported €46.5 million, Santa Claus has to make his rounds to not one but two hotels – the Manor House and the more contemporary Hunter’s Yard. Naturally, Mark Dunne, general manager of the estate, and his team must make sure St Nick’s ingress is unimpeded. Not every room has a fireplace, so for the team, it means delivering an elf door to all the children in the hotel on Christmas Eve.
“That goes up to every room with the milk and cookies and a carrot and then Santa Claus himself will do the deliveries to every bedroom,” he says. “We’re quite specific on all that to make sure we get it right.”
Someone could want a certain type of pillow in their room. That’s the level of detail that we’re at just now
The Christmas experience at the Manor House, where a three-night stay started at €1,750 this year, and Hunter’s Yard, where a two-night stay would have set you back at least €950, is slightly different. In the latter property, a six-course Christmas lunch is served in the plush McCalmont Suite while dinner in the Manor House is delivered by the Michelin-starred team behind the Lady Helen restaurant on site.
“It’s really spectacular,” says Dunne. “Right down to the bread sauce with your turkey and ham. We did our tasting today and our employee Christmas lunch. If we can replicate that in a week, we’ll be doing very well.”
Guests of both hotels, however, have the liberty of the 500-acre estate plenty for guests to do and explore.
While the generational profile of the average Christmas guest varies from hotel to hotel, most generally expect to welcome a good mix of people.
“We have every age group,” says Brian Loughnane, general manager of the five-star Sheen Falls Lodge outside Kenmare, Co Kerry, where this year’s three-night Christmas package started at around €1,700 per person.
“We wouldn’t have many children, but it is a mixed-aged profile. So, we’d have couples that are new in their relationships or other couples who have children that have left the house.” Much of it is repeat custom, he says, and the guests are mostly Irish with a smattering of visitors from abroad.
From family portraits to sleigh rides to lake cruises and visits from Santa himself, lavish spreads with all the bells and whistles await those who can afford them
Sheen Falls, part of the Mayrange Hospitality Group, deliberately does not sell all of its rooms available over Christmas. “We really want to preserve the atmosphere,” says Loughnane. “We have a capacity that we feel is comfortable, so the guests aren’t feeling rushed or overwhelmed.”
Food, entertainment and plenty of Christmas cheer are included in the price.
“We’re not an all-inclusive hotel but we do a signature hot whiskey on arrival, there’s champagne with Santa on Christmas Eve, pairings with dinner, champagne breakfasts. It’s not cruise-ship-unlimited, but there is a lot in there.”
After a welcome reception on Christmas Eve, guests have the option of dinner in the Falls restaurant – if they want the full fine dining experience – or the Stables Brasserie for something a bit more casual. Once Santa Claus has made his appearance on a horse-drawn sleigh, bus transfers are available for evening Mass in the scenic surrounds of the local church in Bonane on Christmas Eve.
It’s really spectacular. Right down to the bread sauce with your turkey and ham. We did our tasting today and our employee Christmas lunch. If we can replicate that in a week, we’ll be doing very well
Christmas Day at Sheen Falls Lodge, which starts with a champagne breakfast, takes on a more “relaxed” tempo, says Loughnane. “Guests really have the chance to set their own pace. We have people who kind of join the local Christmas community for the day,” he says. That might mean participating in a charity run on Christmas morning on the local GAA pitch, or sea-swimming with the locals. Later, a “traditional” buffet Christmas lunch with all the trimmings is served.
Then, St Stephen’s Day arrives, with horse-drawn carriage rides in tow and other activities, like clay pigeon shooting and treasure hunts, available for the guests, followed by a gala dinner and a singsong. “So it’s just a real homely, family event,” says Loughnane.
While Christmas at Sheen Falls Lodge books out well in advance, the hotel does have some availability for the period before new year. “Twixmas”, as it’s marketed in the industry, is becoming an increasingly busy time for the hotel trade, with many booking last-minute trips from December 27th on. “They can escape for two or three nights,” says Loughnane, “and come down and make use of the hotel. Not just exclusive to ourselves, but the hotels are so beautifully decorated around the country for Christmas.
The customer dynamics and demand for Christmas getaways have also changed quite a bit over the years, particularly in Dublin, says Peter MacCann, the general manager of the Merrion Hotel in Dublin 2. Once upon a time, Dublin hotels were busy in the weeks before the big day but merely a last resort for some over the festive period.
“If I go back to when we started here, which is nearly 30 years ago,” MacCann recalls, “Christmas in the city wasn’t really a celebratory time. It was my experience that if you went away for Christmas to a hotel, you went down the country.”
City hotels at that time seemed to be more geared towards people who, to some extent, were almost trying to get away from Christmas. “If you had lost someone in the family or you just couldn’t face it at home”, MacCann says. “You wouldn’t call it a celebration. It was sort of a perfunctory day.”
It’s not cruise-ship-unlimited, but there is a lot in there
Attitudes, however, have shifted in the past two decades. “About 15 years ago, we saw an opportunity to start marketing Christmas as a celebration – which, of course, we now take for granted. Now, like all the hotels [in Dublin] we’re 100 per cent occupied for the duration.”
Starting at €1,090 per person sharing for a two-night stay and €1,683 for a three-night stay, which includes a six-course dinner in the Garden Room, the Merrion’s Christmas package is all about choice, says MacCann. “It’s highly personalised to the individual guest.”
The package includes the option of transfer to the Leopardstown races on Stephen’s Day. “If you don’t want that,” MacCann says, “we organise alternatives, be it horse-drawn carriages around the city to something else you might like. The vast majority do head to Leopardstown because they love it. We would coach them out there, coach them in.”
The Merrion, which had sold out for Christmas by the first week of October this year, offers plenty of distractions for children, including dedicated kid zones with electronic games, board games and on-site childminders.
For most hospitality businesses, 2024 has been a year of struggle. While general price inflation eased significantly throughout the year, many are still feeling the pinch from elevated operating costs and a slightly quieter peak summer tourism season, certainly when compared with a record-breaking 2023.
Despite this, businesses at the higher end of the price spectrum say 2024 was another year of growth, albeit at a slower pace. What 2025 will bring is anyone’s guess, but most five-star operators say that forward bookings are looking very healthy. They are hopeful that the strength of the US dollar to the euro will contribute to another bumper tourism season.
“I think the hotel side of the hospitality industry is [looking] positive for the year ahead,” says Seamus Crotty, managing director of the luxury Ballyfin Demesne property in Co Laois, where a three-night package for Christmas would have set you back at least €1,960 per night this year.
“It’s the non-hotel side of the industry – restaurants, bars and cafes [that have struggled]. My hope for them for the year ahead is that a bit of the pressure eases up in terms of operating costs. All that side of it for them is very difficult. I know that just from talking to colleagues in the industry. But I think we need them as a [wider tourism] industry. They add the character to the locality, the extra bit to our overall offering.”
It would also be “naive” to assume that higher-spending consumers are less sensitive to price increases, says the Merrion Hotel’s MacCann, and even five-star hotels will have to remain “conscious of pricing” next year. “Everything has a value,” he says, “no matter how good you are.
“We’re very conscious of trying to give the best possible value for the prices we charge. I’m aware we’re in a five-star market, and we’re at the higher end of it, so our prices are higher. But that’s why we work very hard on giving value for money.”
This story was updated on December 20 to clarify that the price for a three-night stay at Ballyfin Demesne this Christmas started at €1,960 per night
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