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Originally built in 1730 as a residence for Church of Ireland archbishops, this mammoth redbrick Palladian mansion has been a hotel for over 30 years. It has an ideal location, right in the middle of Cashel town yet within its own walled grounds, and recent owners have thoroughly updated the property and filled it with antiques and designer-coordinated fabrics. The house itself is a proud display of lofty, corniced ceilings, Corinthian pillars, mantelpieces of Kilkenny marble, and a paneled early Georgian staircase of red pine. Guest rooms in the main house are beautifully appointed to reflect the taste of the 18th-century upper crust, and have big four-poster or mahogany beds and spacious bathrooms. The 10 rooms in the charming Mews House give visitors a cozy nook next to the hotel. The Bishop's Buttery restaurant offers splendid views of the revered Rock, especially at night when it is floodlit. The well-tended back garden holds mulberry bushes planted in 1702 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Anne, and a private pathway known as the Bishop's Walk that runs up a hill to the Rock of Cashel.

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