Ballymaloe House
"Spread across a 400-acre estate in rural eastern Cork, this seventeenth-century stone mansion earns a perfect score for "service that has to be experienced to be believed." Accommodations vary from those in a Norman tower to modern rooms in multiple settings, including cottages in a farmyard. Rooms are furnished in country style, with plenty of chintz. Lunch and dinner menus change daily, depending on the local supply and the house’s gardens. The cooking school amid the 100-acre organic farm is an experience "no foodie should miss." Guests can try their hand at croquet."
