The Cashel Palace Hotel, designed by Reddy Architecture, Mark Kennedy Architect, Jonathan Dinnewell of Smallwood Architects with interiors by Emma Pearson and Landscape design by Tommaso del Buono, involved the adaptive reuse and restoration of a protected structure, a former Bishop’s Palace built in 1732, to meet 5-star hotel standards. The client’s brief required the addition of a ballroom, luxury spa facilities, and 46 new bedrooms.
Existing outbuildings were significantly refurbished into guest suites, and the surrounding landscaped grounds were reimagined as a coherent sequence of outdoor rooms. The design carefully conserved the historic fabric of the original house while introducing a contemporary wing linked via a glazed corridor. These facilities were essential to meet the client’s brief that the hotel could deliver on guests’ high expectations and to ensure it became an important economic component for Cashel Town.

The Magnier Family, with their longstanding equestrian legacy through Coolmore Stud, expressed their passion for horses throughout the property via an equestrian programme. A proud Relais & Châteaux member, the hotel sources produce from the surrounding Golden Vale pastures, with Executive Chef Stephen Hayes creating a culinary experience in the Michelin-starred restaurant. The gardens, enclosed within historic stone walls, follow
the original designs by Edward Lovett Pearce.

The hotel’s evolution involved a revised planning permission in 2018, increasing the spa, enlarging the ballroom, and simplifying the façade treatment to prioritise historic stonework. The restoration included rebuilding chimneys, retaining pitch pine timbers, reinstating flagstone floors, and integrating modern services discreetly. New wings used high-quality local limestone, smooth plaster, and lime render, respecting the heritage setting.

Cashel Palace epitomises the finest of Irish hospitality, set within a magnificent landmark Palladian manor, built in 1732, and meticulously restored to create a truly desirable destination hotel for the luxury traveller.