parknasilla hotel

The grandfather of poet Robert Graves rented the original house at Parknasilla as a summer residence. It was bought by Southern Hotels, who in 1890 erected a new hotel nearby, designed by the architect of the Park Hotel and Ashford Castle. Southern Railways, who found themselves in the curious position of owning a winter resort hotel nowhere near a rail station. Their passengers had to be conveyed by horse and carriage the not inconsiderable fifteen miles from Kenmare.

The view is magnificent: the bay is spread out before the hotel and is scattered with small islands - the hotel owns two, and you can walk to them over a footbridge and picnic there if you wish. There is also a little private rocky cove, hidden beside the indoor pool, where sailing boats and a motor boat for water skiing await your pleasure. There are large, well-tended grounds with palm trees, horses if you wish to ride, and a prize winning village to explore a few miles down the road.

The hotel has been entirely refurbished and a new wing added since its Victorian heyday.