The Drawing Room HourNotebook No 154June 2026
When the staff stop asking and the room starts to know you.
Collected by Deborah. Read her editorial perspective
Your first evening at Sheen Falls unfolds easily. We find the bar welcoming, the river's sound drifts in through the open window, and the evening meal meets the high standards of a Kerry country house in October. You will sleep soundly and deeply.
Adare
It is your second night that truly settles you. The bar staff anticipates your drink order as you approach, and at breakfast, the waiter remembers your preference for tea over coffee, serving it before you even see the menu. You will find yourself drawn to the river path past the falls, the one suggested by the porter, strolling it twice because the quiet holds you.
Two nights just begins to scratch the surface.
The Ireland Edit Way
Cut the itinerary in half, then cut it again. The letter we send before every first visit.
Every hotel change costs you half a day. Luxury, in Ireland, is staying put.
Six questions we apply before booking any room in Ireland. The November test, the dinner-twice test, the landscape-over-room test.
To understand Ireland, stop looking at the castles and start looking at the kitchen table.
From the notebook
Collected notes. A few times each season.