I'm not sure that Adare is actually a better hotel than any other in the entire world, but it's certainly one of the nicest that I've ever stayed in. The service was amazing, the staff was so friendly and helpful. There was a tablet computer in the room that operated everything (the lights, the TV, the curtains, ordering room service, booking restaurants or spa, etc). The hotel sits on a gorgeous 18 hole golf course, and includes several large gardens. They closed for 21 months for a complete renovation and just opened back up 11 months ago.
When we got to the entrance to the golf course, a gate attendant wished us a happy anniversary, gave us directions through the course to the courtyard in front of the hotel, and called ahead to let them know we were on our way up.
The valet took the car from us at the front door, and the porter retrieved the luggage from the trunk. The doorman showed us to the check-in desk which was an actual desk in a room, and not a counter in a lobby.
We arrived early so our room wasn't quite ready yet. Leaving our luggage with the porter, we took a walk through the gardens.
Upon returning, the receptionist guided us to our room, and showed us how to work everything from the tablet. The luggage arrived a few minutes later. The porter hung our jackets in the closet, and set our luggage out on racks. We relaxed for a bit before heading down for afternoon tea in the gallery room.
Tea was a fun experience with plenty of small sandwiches and desserts. They had dozens of tea brands and flavors to choose from. I really didn't know which to pick, so I just asked the waitress to surprise me with something she would enjoy. It was a very nice black tea with just a hint of vanilla. Lisa doesn't care for tea (or coffee), so she got a hot chocolate and a diet coke.
We returned to the room after a couple of hours to rest and enjoy the amenities. Later in the evening, we ordered room service, including brownie and ice cream desserts. They offered to bring our desserts up 45 minutes or so after the meal so that they'd be fresh and unmelted when we were ready to eat them.
When it was time to leave the next day, I lifted the handset of the phone and pressed the touchscreen button with the large Adare "A" logo. I was connected directly with reception and I explained that we were ready to depart. A porter came a few minutes later to collect our luggage. After he left, we double-checked to make sure we hadn't left anything behind, and then strolled down the hall to the main entrance. By the time we got there, our car was pulled up and our luggage was loaded in the trunk. We stopped at the reception desk to review and sign our receipt, and then headed to the car.
The porter was standing in the courtyard, so before leaving I asked him if he could take a look and see if perhaps I just didn't know how to turn the headlights on in an Irish car. He tried many of the same things that I had tried, with no success, but we attracted some attention with him calling out the driver's window "how about now?" while I stood in front of the car shaking my head "No". The valet, the doorman, and another hotel guest all wandered over and started suggesting things to try. They were all quite surprised to discover that the rental car agency would have rented me a car with headlights that didn't work.
Eventually we all agreed that the headlights just don't work, and that I should either bring the car to the nearest office for the rental car agency, or I shouldn't drive the vehicle after dark. And with that, Lisa and I were on our way to Limmerick and Ennis.
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