THE K CLUB – EUROPEAN RESORT OF THE YEAR
When Condé Nast Traveler magazine named The K Club as its Best European Resort for 2005, it was a delight – but hardly a surprise.
The K Club already is garlanded with so many awards, a whole wall has been dedicated to them at the County Kildare Hotel. Egon Ronay Hotel of the Year 1997, five Red Stars from the AA, the RAC Gold Ribbon and, of course, the unique distinction of being the first Irish venue in the history of the Ryder Cup, when the K Club hosts the 2006 battle between Europe and the United States.
Set amid 550 acres of rolling parkland on the banks of the River Liffey, the former Straffan House – modelled in 1832 on the chateau at Louveciennes, west of Paris, by Hugh Barton, grandson of legendary winemaker Thomas Barton - was converted into a sumptuous hotel and country club in 1991. |
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It was a landmark moment in the Irish hospitality industry that created new standards of décor and service, standards that, as the latest award has proved, have not been surpassed elsewhere.
The hotel’s allure is in the opulence of the fabrics and the grace of the public rooms. It is in the intimacy of the cosy Vintage Crop bar and the unforgettable flavours of the cuisine at the Byerley Turk, Ireland’s most elegant dining room. It is in the deep peace of the bedrooms and suites, and the indulgent embrace of The K Spa. It is in the joy of stumbling across a room hung with the extraordinary art of Jack B Yeats, Ireland’s greatest Impressionist painter.
And it is in the exhilaration of testing golf skills on the gently contoured but deceptively challenging Palmer Course, venue for the 2006 Ryder Cup – and on the more exacting, and more recent, Smurfit Course, already a legend after just two years.
Although The K Club features every modern amenity, the pace of life on a grand estate is preserved. Guests can fly-fish on the Liffey or go coarse angling in the lakes; they can shoot clay pigeons or ride out on a horse matched to their ability; or they can simply walk or cycle in the breathtaking grounds.
The K Club and its two golf clubhouses offer a range of dining options, from casual to cuisine on a grand scale – guests can choose from the formal French influences at the Byerley Turk, eat Italian or Asian at the Smurfit Clubhouse or select from the tempting menu of Irish meat and fish at Legends in the Palmer Clubhouse.
No evening would be complete without an aperitif, or nightcap, at the Vintage Crop Bar, named after Dr. Michael Smurfit’s Irish gelding that won the 1993 Melbourne Cup and the 1993 and ’94 Jefferson Smurfit Memorial Irish St Legers.
The hotel also offers a range of conference options for between 25 and 300 delegates, configured in every style from boardroom to theatre, at various locations across the main building and clubhouses. Weddings are also catered for – from smaller parties in historic rooms in the hotel to the Legacy Ballroom at the Smurfit Clubhouse.
And the recently opened K Spa – 20,000 square feet of pampering on an epic scale – already is winning unprecedented plaudits. The London Sunday Times called it ‘vast and glamorous’, a place where ‘the sense of serenity left me swooning’.
At the end of the day, the bedrooms beckon. This is one of just a handful of hotels in Ireland where no rooms are identical in size or décor – and each features vast marble bathrooms that deserve acclaim in their own right. They even come with their own rubber ducks.
All rooms offer direct dial telephone, satellite television, wireless internet access, DVD and CD player, video player, minibar, electronic safe, 24-hour valet service, morning and evening maid service, welcome chocolates and seasonal fruit on arrival, slippers, bathrobes and a selection of oils and shampoos.
Each of the 69 rooms – whether superior, de luxe, river room or suite – overlooks the garden and river, or the golf course.
The 22 superior rooms boast individually hand-painted en suite bathrooms and exquisitely decorated bedrooms. The 34 de luxe rooms are slightly larger than the superior rooms and boast magnificent views of the resplendent gardens.
The four river rooms are spacious and airy and host all the amenities common to the de luxe rooms but with the added bonus of views of the River Liffey from every window. These rooms also feature a separate living area to relax in while reading or enjoying the views.
The seven suites consist of a de luxe room with interconnecting opulent living room. The premier suite is known as the Imperial Suite; it has two bedrooms, a sauna and a kitchen where a chef will be only delighted to come and cater if required. This suite is extremely spacious and enjoys glorious views of the gardens.
The Viceroy Suite features a four-poster bed and Jacuzzi, ideal for honeymoon couples – and there is a range of other one- and two-bedroomed suites available, some including interconnecting bedrooms.
Adjacent and linked to the main hotel are the superb Garden and Fountain Courtyard Suites, of which there are 23 in total. As in the hotel rooms, each suite is individually appointed and consists of an en suite master bedroom with king-size bed, a twin room with separate bathroom, living/dining room and kitchen. These magnificent suites are accessed from the hotel by a covered walkway.
But while the rooms are world-class, what makes a hotel memorable is the service. At The K Club, the management and staff like to believe they have anticipated everything – from plug adaptors and transformers to babysitting services, from in-room fax machines on request to helicopter access, from the use of a laptop computer to secretarial services, even a selection of videos and DVDs for those who want to make the most of their time in the bedrooms.
It all adds up to a potent package and one that has been recognised time and time again by guests, industry peers and the travel media as that which sets the benchmark for hospitality in Ireland.
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