Landmark hotel to close for €55m redevelopment

DROMOLAND Castle Hotel is to close to allow it to undergo a €55m redevelopment, which will for the first time being the number of rooms over the 100 mark.

The well-known resort in Newmarket-on-Fergus will not open to guests between November 2026 and June 2027.

During this time, its championship golf course, club house, leisure centre and private lodges will remain operational.

The closure comes as hotel bosses kick off the largest redevelopment in the hotel’s 63-years as a luxury hotel.

The 16th century property’s €55m transformation will spanits accommodation, public spaces, plus health and wellbeing, food and drink, plus arts and cultural events.

At the heart of the renovation will be a 3,200-square-foot glass-enclosed atrium, which will open July next.

It will reimagine the historic courtyard as the new social heart of the castle, and provide an area for morning coffee, light bights, before in the evening becoming an atmospheric setting for cocktails and live music.

A new grill restaurant will introduce what the hotel describes as a “more immersive dining experience”, which is basically a meal which is designed to be more than just sitting down and eating food.

To meet this goal, there will be an open show kitchen and live fire grill.

The menu will showcase Ireland’s finest ingredients, from expertly dry-aged Irish meats to seasonal vegetables.

Currently out of use, a walled garden in the hotel complex will be brought back into use through a new farm concept.

Produce will be grown here for the estate’s kitchen.

Meanwhile, Dromoland’s Earl of Thomond restaurant is being refurbished, with a return to traditional fine dining and some old-fashioned tableside service. Dishes including Crêpes Suzette, flambéed in front of diners, Pressed Duck and a traditional cheese service will feature on the menu.

Twenty-five new rooms and suites will be introduced as part of the revamp.

The rooms are being redesigned to reflect the castle’s history and its traditional country-house style. They will combine modern comforts with traditional Irish materials, including Connemara marble, custom-made metalwork, linen, wool and velvet.

There will be 13 new guest rooms in the former stables, which is a five-minute walk from the castle.

Sixteen further guestrooms will be added on a newly constructed floor opposite the main entrance of the castle.

The interiors have been redesigned, as has Brian Ború Hall, the hotel’s ballroom and event space.

Two new meeting rooms are in place for corporate and group events.

Dromoland Castle is expanding its spa and will introduce new treatments focused on sleep, recovery and wellbeing. The expanded facilities will include thermal treatments and new technology, alongside treatments provided by therapists.

Two glass-fronted saunas will debut on the shores of Lough Dromoland, the property’s private lake, creating a natural connection between thermal experiences and wild swimming.

Dromoland will expand the activities available to guests.

Falconry, archery, boating and whisky tastings will be joined by new activities like Irish language lessons, embroidery workshops, art classes and even gun dog demonstrations.

Resort general manager Mark McSorley said: “This landmark redevelopment will honour what makes Dromoland extraordinary while opening a new chapter for the estate. The ambition is not to change the essence of Dromoland, but to reveal the full breadth of what it can be – a place where the castle and the estate are experienced as one. “