An Irish country house takes the top place in two lists
Condé Nast Traveler named Ballyfin Demesne the No.1 hotel in Ireland in both of its 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards lists. The US gallery published on 6 October 2026. The UK winners list published the same day under the CNT Editors byline.
The US list scores Ballyfin at 98.77. Killarney Royal Townhouse follows on 98.63, The Westbury in Dublin on 98.33, Cashel Palace Hotel in County Tipperary on 98.31 and The Morrison Dublin on 98.29.
The vote count behind the ranking
The magazine’s US awards hub states that readers cast 798,867 votes in its 39th annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey. Hospitality Ireland renders the same total as more than 798,867 survey responses from readers across the United States and the United Kingdom.
The UK list is the 29th edition of that event. Its opening line records that the results rest purely on votes from the UK readership, as in the two previous years.
What the house holds
Ballyfin sits at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains in County Laois. The property carries twenty-one bedrooms and a 614-acre estate. It is a member of Relais & Châteaux and of Ireland’s Blue Book.
Guests have Michelin dining, an indoor pool and a spa, and country activities that include fishing, horseback riding, clay pigeon shooting, archery and falconry. The house ran eight years of restoration before it opened as a hotel in 2011.
Crotty: deeply honoured
Seamus Crotty, managing director of Ballyfin, said the property was delighted and deeply honoured to be recognised as the No.1 hotel in Ireland by Condé Nast Traveler.
He called the result a testament to the standards of the Ballyfin team. He said the house holds the Condé Nast Traveler Triple Crown award alongside three Michelin Keys and a Michelin Star.
The property’s own site describes Ballyfin as a three-Key Michelin hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Two headlines on the US page
The page title reads “Readers’ Choice Awards: 12 Best Hotels in Ireland 2026”. The heading on the page reads “Top 10 Hotels in Ireland: Readers’ Choice Awards 2026”. Ten properties are ranked, and the page carries the date 6 October 2026.