Art of The Welcomes

Famous the world over for our hospitality, the Irish know how to make people feel at home, but even the most welcoming know there are insights to be gained from the experts.

Set in gorgeous grounds in Co Kerry, the Park Hotel Kenmare was one of a series of grand hotels built in Ireland in the late 1800s as the railway network opened up the West Coast of Ireland to travellers from the UK and beyond. Previously, people would have ventured forth by horse drawn carriage, on journeys that took uncomfortable days. The Park Hotel Kenmare’s owners, renowned hoteliers, brothers John and Francis Brennan are known for their impeccable and uniquely Irish hospitality. They also have a genuine warmth and sense of fun, a passion for what they do, and are a mine of intriguing anecdotes and fascinating facts

An Exotic Escape

“The hotel was one of the original Great Southerns,” says Francis. “The gentry would come from London, take the train and stop at The Park on their way to Parknasilla.” Coming to enjoy the healthy fresh air of the West of Ireland, warmed by the Gulf Stream was the short-haul version of a trip to Mustique back then, and the original hotel had just 14 rooms. Of these, six were suites for the gentry, with the remaining eight being accommodation for their servants.

“That makes the ambiance of the hotel very residential,” says John. “We have a wide staircase that adds a sense of grandness, but you feel at home here immediately.” The combination of style and comfort, and the ability to make guests feel at home, while also lifting them out of the ordinary is one of the hallmarks of the best places to stay, so what else makes a good hotel a great hotel?

People and Places

“It’s the people,” both Brennans say, immediately and in unison. “From Sean, the doorman when you arrive, to Sean, the doorman when you leave.” Perfecting that easy, unassuming friendliness at the high end of the luxury scale is, nevertheless, an art. You want to feel as if you’re among friends, while also being looked after discretely by experts. Having a good backdrop helps too. The Merrion is more than a hundred years older than The Park, and both take you back in time through their beautiful buildings. Meanwhile, unobtrusive updates add more modern but necessary delights, such as central heating, hot and cold running water and, more recently, internet connections and charging ports. The work never stops.

The Brennans have been busy, having also just bought and renovated the Lansdowne Hotel, across the road from the Park Hotel Kenmare, while the Park itself reopened last year, following a multi million refurbishment by acclaimed Kenmare native, Bryan O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan’s brief was to make changes that would, in John’s words, “transform the hotel without threatening any of our regular clients.” It’s a little like cosmetic surgery – where you want to look better, but don’t want anyone to notice you’ve had it done. On opening night, the Brennans invited friends and neighbours in, to give the restaurant a chance to get up to speed. One woman asked Francis “did you do anything to this room?” “I was thrilled they hadn’t noticed,” he says. He’s being tactful – the refurbishment is unobtrusive, yet gorgeous.

Hunting and Gathering

Changes in any great hotel are always necessary. John produces a Park brochure from 1980, which Francis reads out. The hotel was proud to boast that all its suites had televisions, while the regular rooms featured bathrooms, radios and a telephone. It goes without saying now that your hotel room will have its own en suite, but imagine showing off about a radio… “Expectations have changed,” says John. “People now have bathrooms at home to beat the band, so now we go the whole nine yards.”

Expectations of chefs have changed too. Now that we avidly consume cookery shows, even if we’re eating TV dinners as we do it, our idea of fine dining has changed, while also being more subject to the vagaries of fashion. From molecular gastronomy to smoke filled cloches, and from foam to things that look like one thing but taste like another, some dining rooms choose to continuously pursue the new. Like The Merrion’s Ed Cooney, James Coffey at the Park Hotel Kenmare prefers to rely on fresh, sustainable local food, cooked with sensitivity and flair.

“A ferocious amount of food is talked about these days,” the Brennans agree. “And it can be harder to serve people because their expectations are based on something they can’t achieve. But our chef is a hunter [he also loves foraging and fishing], and we serve a lot of venison that comes from his farm. On his menus – the sauces, the delicacy and richness – that would be very different from what you could do at home.”

A Faster Horse

Then there’s the question of wine. “People know you serve red wine at room temperature, but did you know rooms used to be an awful lot colder?” Coffee can cause more tricky moments, as today “coffee types” prefer a more bitter blend to those who just like their morning jolt of caffeine. Hoteliers have seen it all, so what can you do about that adage that the customer is always right? The expert host knows better than that. John gives the example of the American industrialist Henry Ford, saying that if you had asked people what they wanted back in the late 1800s, they would have said a faster horse. Instead he perfected the mass market motor car.

That’s where the training and expertise come in – the ability to gauge what people want from their visit, and the space and resources to offer it to them. It’s the magic of letting people feel they’re right, while giving them what you know they really actually wanted or needed all along. Then there’s the question of discretion. A great host knows that you never share secrets. Still, the Brennans excel at tactful tales.