Gemma Tiptonvisits Mount Juliet Conrad in Co Kilkenny.
IF YOU ARE AVERSE to the idea of being engulfed by golfers, Mount Juliet Conrad mightn't seem the obvious place to stay. This is, after all, the home of the course that Tiger Woods called "absolutely gorgeous" and the greens he described as "absolutely pure". But I'm a sucker for loveliness and horses, and the place has a reputation for both, so I was willing to risk a few Pringle sweaters and plus fours in pursuit of a little bliss.
There are plenty of golfers here, but the gorgeous grounds seem to soak them up, and, although it is undoubtedly different in the bars connected to the golf course, the old house feels a world away from bunkers, irons, swings and putting greens.
Having arrived after an easy drive from Dublin, I wandered in past a group of jocular Americans who were sitting at an outside table, with large bottles of two kinds of gin (and some tonic) in front of them. The setting seemed perfect for them, "real Ireland", in a luxurious, undemanding sort of a way.
The front door of the main house is flanked by beds of chocolate flowers (official name Cosmos astrosanguineus). Stoop and smell these wine-coloured blooms and you discover that they really do have the aroma of chocolate.
Covered with wisteria, climbing roses and clematis, the house was built by a man who rejoiced in the name of Somerset Hamilton Butler, 8th Viscount Ikerrin, 1st Earl of Carrick (or Carrick for short).
Siting it on the banks of the Nore around 1750, and overlooking glorious parkland, he named it Mount Juliet for his wife. Later, I sat over a little drink in the cosy bar, musing whether he had done this either cheekily or in more innocent times.
The country-house feel of Mount Juliet is maintained inside. It is run by the Conrad group, but I was pleased to discover very little hotel-chain feel.
The double-doored bedrooms are named for former denizens of the house. I slept in the Earl of Shannon, and very comfortable it was, too, with an enormous bed, a choice of pillows (with more available on request from reception) and a huge arched window overlooking the river. It's all very charming. The minibar is a leather box (you can buy them downstairs). The glassware is from nearby Jerpoint Glass Studio, and the hotel even has its own chocolatier.
Later, strolling through the rambling, mature and lovely gardens, I discovered the croquet lawn (a vicious game, wrongly considered civilised) and wondered whether I'm cut out to be a critic: I felt so ready to be delighted by everything I saw.
So I decided it was time to get critical. First up, I don't really like trouser presses in bedrooms. Perhaps this is because, never having had a pressing need to press slacks, I don't see the point of them. All they seem to do is reinforce the fact that you are in a hotel rather than some charming mansion you have dreamed or discovered.
And, in the interests of being picky, I was also quite pleased to be given a glass of flat champagne in the restaurant, so that I could give out about it, but the charming French waiter (the kind you'd like to bring home with you) whipped it away and returned with a satisfyingly fizzy one. Full marks.
Eating alone in restaurants can be an odd, uncomfortable business: you get self-conscious and either eat too fast or get bored with your own company halfway through. Here I was offered a table by the window, plus a newspaper to while away the meal (a tasting menu, of seasonal food, with herbs grown on the estate). They gave me The Irish Times. "I hope it's all right," they said. "Me too," I answered.
The staff at Mount Juliet hit that right note of friendliness that makes you feel welcome but not fawned over. The atmosphere, unless you're an American drinking two types of gin, is neither riotous nor rocking with idiosyncratic fun (in the way of, say, Bellinter or Castle Leslie), but there definitely is loveliness here, just a more sedate sort.
In the morning I went for a trail ride over the estate. Mount Juliet's equestrian centre is horse heaven, and it has a talent for picking the perfect ride to suit you.
With a gallop to the top of a hill, and a pause to survey the Co Kilkenny landscape, including its complement of happy golfers, I found a little bit of the bliss I had come looking for.
• WhereMount Juliet Conrad, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, 056-7773000, www.mountjuliet.ie.
• WhatFive-star hotel on large grounds with championship golf course and equestrian centre.
• RoomsMain house has 32. Also 10 Rose Garden lodges (two-bed apartments) and 16 Hunter's Yard rooms.
• Best rates€155 B&B in Hunter's Yard. €205 B&B in main house. Internet deals available.
• Restaurant and barBars and restaurants in the old house and clubhouse. Lady Helen dining room is the one for silver candlesticks.
• AccessOne fully accessible room in the main house.
• Child-friendlinessChildren welcome. There's a play area for them in the grounds, although you get the impression that they'd need to be decorous in these parts.
• Amenitiesgolf, tennis, horse-riding, spa, swimming, walks, snooker, croquet, fishing, clay pigeon shooting.