Ashford Castle, Ireland

Ashford Castle – Medieval Castle – Converted into Five-Star Luxury Hotel

Ashford Castle, a medieval castle has been expanded over the centuries and converted into a five star luxury hotel near Cong on the Mayo-Galway border on the shore of Lough Corrib in Ireland. Placed in the heart of the County Mayo the luxurious castle dates back to the 12th century and is a romantic place to spend their vacations. It is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World organisation and was earlier owned by the Guinness family. A castle had been built in 1228 by the Anglo-Norman House of Burke on the perimeter of a Monastic site.

 Thereafter over three and a half centuries under the de Burgos, whose surname was Burke or Bourke, Ashford had been passed into the hands of a new owner after a violent battle between the de Burgos and the English officials of Sir Richard Bingham, Lord President of Connaught, where a truce was agreed and in 1589, the castle eventually fell into the hands of Bingham who added a fortified enclave within its boundaries. The estate in a Royal Grant in 1670 or 1678 was received by Dominick Browne, of the Browne Family. Thereafter in 1715, the estate of Ashford had been established by the Browne.

Received Top Honour – Virtuoso Hotel of the Year

Towards late 18th century, the castle was inhabited by a branch of the family and in early 19th century, Thomas Elwood became the agent for the Brownes at Ashford and in 1814 was recorded living there. Ashford which is one of the oldest castles of Ireland takes pride in its elegant designs and had recently been opened to the public after a €67 million restoration. Set on an area of 350 acres of land, the five-star Ashford Castled received the top honour at an annual awards event that was held by Virtuoso, a network of international travel agents.

Ashford Castle’s general manager, Niall Rochford had mentioned in a statement that `on behalf of Ashford Castle and Red Carnation Hotels, we are thrilled to have been awarded one of the luxury travel industry’s top awards, virtuoso Hotel of the Year. It is fantastic recognition of the exciting journey Ashford Castle has been on over the last few years and all the hard work has gone in the $75 million restoration by the Tollman family as well as the team of at Ashford. The three year programme, most of which had been carried out by local craftspeople has seen Ashford Castle restored as Ireland’s most luxurious hotels and one of the best in the world’.

Home to Ireland’s First Falconry School

He further added that it is also an endorsement of the training, development as well as investment of the support of the staff that enabled them to provide greater attentive and highly personalised services. The castle has 82 excessive guest rooms and is a home to first falconry school in Ireland. Standard guest rooms can be hired from €500 for a night’s stay during peak season and presidential suite can be availed at €2,500 a night. Stars like John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara had stayed at the turret rooms of the castle as well as other guest comprising of King George V, US President Ronald Reagan, Beatles star John Lennon and actor Brad Pitt.