Radisson SAS Farnham Estate Hotel opens its doors
Farnham Estate opens to the public for the first time in three centuries, officially welcoming visitors with the opening of the Radisson SAS Farnham Estate Hotel.
The opening of Farnham is the latest and most comprehensive reinvention in the long and fascinating history of this magnificent Estate. A combination of world-class architects, spa and interior designers have been brought together at Farnham to sensitively and stylishly connect the existing elements of the original buildings, including the classical Farnham House, with sleek contemporary spaces, producing a breathtaking marriage of past and present.
Located in Cavan in Ireland’s Lakeland region, equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast, The Radisson SAS Farnham Estate Hotel offers 158 bedrooms and suites, restaurants, a lobby bar and a conference centre. The fully refurbished Farnham House provides guest suites, public reception rooms and a cellar bar. The original rooms of the Great House have been restored and guests can relax in the luxurious surroundings of the music room, the boardroom and the boudoir.
The jewel in the crown of the development is the new approximately 40,000 square foot Farnham Estate Health Spa, designed by one of the world’s leading spa designers Heinz Schletterer, based in Austria, whose previous projects include spas at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and on the recently launched cruise ship Queen Mary.
The health spa, which will open at the end of August, incorporates 19 dry and wet treatment rooms, including a trilogy suite and three luxury treatment rooms, each able to accommodate two people for simultaneous treatments, a thermal suite, relaxation rooms and lounges with soft lighting and a magnificent indoor/outdoor infinity pool designed to make the most of the stunning views over Farnham’s wonderful meadows and woodlands. In addition, there will be a fully-equipped gymnasium, a hair finishing salon, a pilates/yoga room, a retail outlet and a restaurant serving a light and nutritious menu. The health spa will offer a selection of luxurious treatments from two product houses – Kerstin Florian and Aromatherapy Associates.
The Botanica Restaurant is a contemporary lounge bar and brasserie style restaurant serving a simple but creative cuisine based on the finest Irish produce and a celebration of the Irish botanical world. The restaurant has a dual aspect outlook, on one side overlooking Farnham lawn and the other onto a courtyard. The interior is light and airy with warm accents of organic colours and whimsical detail, reflecting the ‘botanical’ nature of the menu. For an extra special dining experience, private dining can be arranged for groups of up to 12 people at the Chef’s Table, which in addition to being part of the restaurant also forms part of the kitchen.
The Botanica Bar is situated on a raised deck in the lobby, where guests can sit at the edge and look down at the scene below or retreat to the timber clad snug area. Drinks and snacks are available here all day. The atmospheric Wine Goose Cellar Bar is located in the basement of the Great House, which also features a wine cellar.
Farnham Estate provides all possible facilities required for meetings and events, with approximately 630 square-metres of function room capacity and the very latest in audio-visual equipment, making it the ideal venue for corporate events, business conferences, meetings, parties and weddings. The conference centre can house up to 300 people and has three inter-connecting major event rooms, including a ballroom, plus a suite of ten smaller meeting rooms, each with natural daylight. All delegates and guests are entitled to use Wi-Fi broadband free of charge anywhere within the hotel, as is standard at all Radisson SAS hotels.
Much of the pleasure from a visit here is to be taken outdoors. Farnham Estate has approximately seven kilometres of walking trails, and anything from a gentle stroll to a lengthy trek can be enjoyed through the incredible range of ancient redwood, cedar, copper beech, scots pine and yew trees surrounding the estate. In addition there is coarse fishing on Farnham Lake, 1300 acres of parkland and rolling pasture to enjoy and an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Jeff Howes, to include a driving range, contemporary clubhouse and golf academy, is due to open in late 2007.
Farnham Estate is blending centuries of the very best of traditions - hospitality, welcome, natural beauty – with new levels of sophistication, luxury and style, to create a uniquely special place, a destination unlike any other in Ireland.