Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Ireland / Ballyfin / Ballyfin Demesne
Ballyfin Demesne
Ballyfin, Ireland · Independent · Grand Luxury
A 21-room Regency mansion designed by Richard and William Morrison in the 1820s, left to ruin as a boys' boarding school for 74 years, and rescued by a nine-year restoration that reopened it in 2011, Ballyfin was voted Best Hotel in the World by Condé Nast Traveller readers in 2016 and earned its first Michelin star in 2025.
- 21 rooms
- Opened 2011
- Neighborhood: Ballyfin ED
- Architect: Sir Richard Morrison & William Vitruvius Morrison
About Ballyfin Demesne
- The Regency mansion was completed around 1826 for Sir Charles Coote, designed by architects Richard and William Vitruvius Morrison, with a rotunda floor modeled on the Alhambra.
- Molex billionaires Fred and Kay Krehbiel bought the derelict estate in 2002 and spent eight years restoring it before opening as a hotel in May 2011.
- The building served as a boarding school from 1928 until 2002, just before its multi-year restoration into a luxury hotel began.
- Kim Kardashian and Kanye West honeymooned at the property, which holds a MICHELIN Three Keys distinction.
- The restaurant takes hotel residents only; a man-made lake on the 614-acre demesne is used for rowing.
History
Ballyfin is a Regency mansion completed around 1826 for Sir Charles Coote, the 9th Baronet, by architects Sir Richard Morrison and his son William Vitruvius Morrison, set on a 614-acre estate beneath the Slieve Bloom Mountains in County Laois. Its 13-bay Portland-stone facade and giant Ionic portico front interiors that include a rotunda floor modeled on the Alhambra and a Pompeian mosaic hall.
The Coote family home until 1928, it then served as a Patrician Brothers boys' boarding school for 74 years until 2002. Bought that year by Fred and Kay Krehbiel with landscape designer Jim Reynolds, it underwent an eight-year restoration and opened as a luxury hotel in May 2011; a member of Relais & Chateaux, it holds three MICHELIN Keys.
The setting
10 km from Portlaoise. 12 km from Mountrath Golf Club.
Restaurants and bars
- The Cellar Bar — Bar
Experiences
- Artist in Residency programme — Guests can watch artists at work and talk informally with them during their stay.
- Ballyfin Autumn Programme — Complimentary curated seasonal experiences, September to November, connecting guests with nature.
- Chapter One at Ballyfin — Exclusive evening on 8 November with Executive Head Chef Richard Picard-Edwards and two-Michelin-star chef Mickael Viljanen.
- Baron Philippe de Rothschild Wine Dinner — Wine dinner hosted in collaboration with Baron Philippe de Rothschild on 19 November.
- Thanksgiving at Ballyfin — Thanksgiving celebration stay from 22 to 29 November.
- The Wellness Retreat — Listed on the site's navigation under Experiences; no details given.
Amenities
- Spa
- Indoor pool
- Sauna
- Hot tub
- Fitness center
- Tennis
Awards
- MICHELIN Three Keys (2026)
- Andrew Harper Members Choice (2025)
Open Ballyfin Demesne in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.