Hayfield Manor Hotel, Cork. Enjoy The Home From Home Of Cork’s Only Five Star Hotel

JD Murphy Finds A Warm Welcome at Hayfield Manor Hotel In Cork

While Cork is known for its food scene and trad music pubs, nightlife flowing from one to the other across lively MacCurtain Street every night of the week, to the west of the city the music becomes quieter and the hotchpotch of buildings gives way to leafy green areas around the Glucksman Gallery and University College. This is where, through a gated entrance, at the end of a private drive guarded by grand trees, you’ll find the Hayfield Manor Hotel.

Though the grounds and imposing weeping willow have been in place for over 150 years, the current stately main building was created from the remnants of a small house on the site in 1995 by the present owners the Scally Family, though you wouldn’t know it to see the ivy blanketing half the three storey façade today, making it look every bit the historic country pile.

There’s nothing haughty about the welcome here, though, even if the doorman who greets us is wearing Hayfield Manor’s signature top hat. From the moment we step into the busy reception, we’re greeted by smiles and warm words to match the original fireplace that’s glowing quietly to one side.

The dark wood panelling, the upholstered armchairs, the recessed ceiling all shine with classic sophistication. No wonder this has been the stay of choice for Cork visitors from Paul Simon and Lionel Richie to heads of state including John Major and Mary McAleese (though they turned down Noel Gallagher at the height of his fame, preferring to keep the mood and furniture intact).

A small crowd of people leaving and arriving is managed smoothly by the friendly staff under the gaze of guests soaking up the ambience from chairs and sofas in the comfortable space between the reception desks and the Manor Bar. It’s rare to see so many people making such cosy and comfortable use of a reception, creating a comfortable hubbub with their chat, but this epitomises what the Hayfield Manor does best, which is what Ireland at its best does, after all – make you feel like you’re at home.

Nathan at reception doesn’t just furnish us with our keys but with a recommendation of where to eat in town if we’re out (Gallaghers) and where to catch the best live trad music (Sin É). Five minutes later we’ve checked in and are moving up the wide, plush carpeted and dark wood balustraded staircase, our bags left at reception for the doorman who made us feel it was a great pleasure for him to lug them for us.

There’s something about opening the door to your hotel room the first time that reminds of unwrapping a Christmas present. We unveil ours to be greeted by muted tones of gold, yellow and cream, wide space and lots of light, and real presents; macaroons and chocolate-dipped shortbread, with spots of caramel and berry sauce. Later, when the turndown service slip in while we’re at dinner, Lily O’Brien chocolates will be left on our pillows.

A weighty mirrored and rattan-backed door glides aside to provide access to the twin-basined bathroom, where Elemis toiletries and half-inch thick glass on the sliding door to the shower remind that you’re somewhere well above average.

There are 88 rooms in total, one master suite, three grand suites, 18 superior rooms, and 57 manor rooms, all containing, I’m told, the same solid iron putter and practise golf hole that ours did. Don’t underestimate how much fun that is, or how much you’ll miss it in every hotel you stay in after the Hayfield Manor Hotel. Our adjoining rooms overlooked the quiet driveway with its impressive trees, but others would have looked out on the equally desirable rear courtyard and Bloom, Hayfield Manor’s newest addition.

Bloom offers a sophisticated bar with food options in a modern glass structure fronted by manicured gardens. Bloom also has retractable walls and ceiling, making it a perfect summer hideaway after a raucous day in Cork. If you prefer your dining more formal, Hayfield Manor offers you Orchids, led by Head Chef Mark Staples, who earned his spurs at The Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland after working under Gordon Ramsey at Teatro in London’s Soho. In Cork, his menu privileges partnerships with local suppliers, delivering delights like Ballycotton Smoked Salmon with a citrus créme fraiche, wakame salad and Goatsbridge trout caviar.

It’s the breakfast the next morning that really wins the plaudits from us, though, as well as having already won Irelands Best Hotel Breakfast at the Business Hotel and Catering Review Awards 2023. We’re led through two rooms of seemingly endless buffet choices, from apple and charcoal juice shots to smoked salmon and charcuterie, past untold cereals and sliced, whole and salad fruits, donuts and protein balls, cupcakes, flapjacks and scones, to a comfortable table overlooking the courtyard.

After seating us Ragon, our waiter, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, recommends to our children they ignore their mother’s proffered muesli and order buttermilk pancakes from the kitchen. She gives in and follows their order with her own for eggs Benedict. Seeing the seafood is supplied by a local fishmonger, and the eggs (free range, of course) are from a farm on the Old Blackrock Road, I order eggs Royale.

The hot food is as good as you would expect, well cooked, tasty, and served surprisingly promptly. It’s all but a supplement to the buffet, however, which is, to apply accurately an overused word, sumptuous, and we return to it with our plates several times just because each trip reveals something we’d missed last time; cinnamon rolls from the hotel’s own patisserie, a structure of real honeycomb leaking amber goodness into a serving tray, slices of a dark and moist cake that made the perfect coffee accompaniment.

Unable to do much else after such a feast, we retreat to the Beautique Spa, where one of the therapists was given a Best Therapist award by Irish Tatler a few years ago, and the spa itself was awarded Best Urban Retreat. The spa leans more to ancient Rome than urban Ireland, with pillars poolside between the loungers and mosaic tiling. The loungers are few and far between, a rare misstep in an otherwise faultless place, so get there early if you want to stretch out. Above the 16-metre pool satiny sheeting hangs from the ceiling, providing a canvas for the low lighting reflecting off the water.

Guests shuffle happily in and out of the small steam room and sauna, and best of all, they open a glass door to the elements to access an outdoor hot tub, kept private by well-placed shrubbery and fencing, in which I luxuriate with my face upturned to a fine Irish drizzle while my body gently stews. If there’s a happier place to sit in Cork, I’d like to know about it.

When it comes to being green there’s more going on at Hayfield Manor than just refillable water bottles in the rooms. The hotel is a member of Good Food Ireland, which means carefully chosen suppliers, meeting strict criteria, and an authentic Irish experience. It’s also a member of Green Hospitality Ireland and the Killarney Hotels Sustainability Group, an association of 22 hotels committed to reducing the environmental impact of their services and activities, increasing the well-being of their employees, and reducing their carbon emissions.

There are a number of accessible rooms available at Hayfield Manor for those with mobility issues, and lift access to all floors. There’s also valet parking and free parking available in the grounds, and plenty of room for taxis to pull up to the front door, where that top-hatted doorman will be only too happy to welcome you to Ireland and take your bag with a smile.