Ashford Castle, on the spectacular west coast of Ireland, has been voted the number one resort hotel in the UK and Ireland in the annual reader survey of the hugely popular US travel magazine, Travel + Leisure.

Ashford Castle in County Mayo, Ireland © Tourism Ireland

In all, eight luxury Irish hotels made it onto the ‘top 10’ list – with Ashford Castle coming in at number one and Ballyfin Demesne, Powerscourt Hotel Resort & Spa, Sheen Falls Lodge, the K Club, Ballynahinch Castle Hotel, Dromoland Castle and Adare Manor also featuring.

The other two hotels in the top ten were The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland, at number three and Inverlochy Castle Hotel in Fort William, in the Highlands of Scotland, at ten.

Every year, Travel + Leisure asks its almost five million readers to vote on their favourite hotels, cities, travel providers and more, in its annual World’s Best Awards.

Dromoland Castle in County Clare, Ireland © Tourism Ireland

The UK and Ireland’s castle hotels offer guests the chance to step back in time and immerse themselves in the style and luxury of past centuries, while enjoying modern day amenities. Hotels are rated on their facilities, location, service, food, and overall value.

This year’s awards survey closed on 2nd March, just before the global lockdown resulting from COVID-19, so the results reflect readers’ experiences before the pandemic.

Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “I am delighted to see eight of our fantastic resort hotels appear in the prestigious Travel + Leisure readers’ survey. I would like to congratulate all eight properties – it is truly another well-deserved accolade. Our industry has been one of the hardest hit by COVID-19, so this accolade is extremely welcome, as we look to the future and plan for the recovery of overseas tourism.”

Ballyfin Demesne in County Laois, Ireland © Tourism Ireland

Janet Redler, Chief Executive of Janet Redler Travel & Tourism, added: “The Travel + Leisure top ten highlights some of the most desirable luxury resort hotels in the UK and Ireland. We are sure that this list will whet the appetite of many people planning to travel when things get back to normal, and we look forward to bringing our clients to wonderful hotels like these again soon.”

To view the full results of the survey click here, and if you would like to enjoy a stay at one or more of the finest hotels, please do contact our friendly team today.