Hotel Review: Liss Ard springs back to life with ‘Sky Garden’ and lakeside saunas

It’s not hard to feel that love. Walking the 183-acre West Cork estate took us from hilly vistas to heavenly forests, a reed-fringed lake and James Turrell’s ‘Sky Garden’ — a 25-metre oval crater in which you can lie on plinths to peer up at the sky. Liss Ard is loaded with stories, too — owners ranged from the O’Donovan clan to a Swiss spy; 1990s festivals hosted Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Lou Reed and others. Bono has also celebrated a big birthday here.

Johnston and his business partner Colin Best bagged all of this for a cool €3.5m in 2021, and are transforming Liss Ard — the former interiors of which he called “just tragic” — into a Blue Book bolthole in Skibbereen.

“I want people to feel like they’re in their best friend’s villa or estate,” he says. Now it’s reopened, I returned for a proper stay.

The rating: 6.5/10

Arrival & location

A Victorian manor on a West Cork hill... Liss Ard lays on all the character and drama that suggests. Set just outside Skibbereen, its estate gates lead to a drive of a kilometre or so up a winding, well-tended road through gorgeous grounds, before arriving at the 19th-century hideaway.

The house looks crisply painted, with fresh planting underway and blue tits nesting in old stone walls. A sparse drop-off area could be softened with more smart planting, however. Service vans are using the same space.

Inside, there’s a friendly greeting at a desk under a large window, and help taking luggage to our suite, one of five rooms upstairs. If you’re using Google Maps, incidentally, chart a course through Skibbereen to avoid a tangle of country roads for the last leg of the journey. 7/10   

Service & style

Liss Ard reopened in April, and highlights include an elegant bar framed by woodland decals, a lounge with open fires and shelves full of books, games and vinyl, as well as striking artworks by Donagh Carey. It’s an airy, unstuffy vibe; the kind of place you’d love to book out for a party.

But for now, it doesn’t feel finished. Bare hallways and console tables cry out for a few plants and objects d’art, and two drawing rooms at the end of the hall feel like their use hasn’t been figured out yet (despite the baby grand piano). They should beckon for a read or drink, but there’s little feng shui to the assorted furniture. Without rugs or fabrics, the restored wooden floors carry a lot of sound around the house, too. “It’s a work in progress,” GM Shelley Steadman tells me — additions are on the way.

Outside, the Sky Garden (which you can book for 20-minute slots), 12km of trails and Scandi-style wooden saunas and workout studio by the lake are world-class. Steaming in the sauna, with picture views of a lake we then plunge into, is a brilliant blend of luxury and nature, and a moment when Johnston’s vision makes absolute sense.

Staff are lovely and friendly, but operations may need a little time to meet Blue Book guest expectations. We see some long waits for breakfast, and some confusion over whether initial weeks were a ‘soft opening’ or not. 6/10

The rooms

Twenty-six rooms include period suites in the manor and ‘Cosy’ or ‘King’ mews stays kitted out in contemporary country luxe style. Some of these have ground-floor access, with patios by the walled garden; four are pet-friendly. Separate Lake House rooms are due to open in June.

We stayed in a Manor Suite, with bird’s-eye views of the estate. It’s a lovely space, with a modern four-poster, sleek desk that opens into a vanity unit and a big, bliss-out bathroom with standalone bath, walk-in shower and gold trims on taps, towel racks and shower glass edges.

However, I think it needs more layering. There are no robes or turndown, a small kettle and Nespresso machine feel like an afterthought in a wardrobe with UHT milk and no snacks (a missed opportunity for fresh West Cork goodies), and I spend some time rearranging the furniture. It’s great to see refillable dispensers fixed to the shower wall, but there are none by the bath. 6.5/10

Food & drink

‘Garden’ is Liss Ard’s basement restaurant, with a laser focus on local, seasonal produce. This is West Cork, so lip service won’t cut it, and chef Alex Petit’s menus deserve its two AA Rosettes.

The room needs work in terms of sound and décor, but that’s coming, and service is warm and informed. An amuse bouche of Union Hall salmon on a homemade crisp sets a delicious tone, and the presentation of dishes like scallops with asparagus, nettles and coco de Paimpol beans, St Tola goat’s cheese with a flake of beetroot meringue, or cod Provencale, is artful without feeling precious.

There’s a yummy side of smokey spuds with sour cream (don’t miss it), and the chef’s appearance to introduce our mains is a lovely touch. Coeliac needs are well-handled, which is reassuring, and you can also book lunch, afternoon tea or picnics. 7.5/10

Insider tips

Extended stays will be possible in the off-season; check the ‘work remote’ tab on its website.

Eat out on a second night at The Church, a much-loved Skibbereen restaurant rebuilt after a fire in 2006. The monkfish scampi (€22.90) are plump perfection.

The bottom line

Liss Ard’s gardens, trails and lakeside saunas are superb, and dining is worthy of West Cork. But its design, service and experience have a way to go before hitting the heights of great, immersive Irish estate stays like Marlfield House, Ballymaloe or Tankardstown. I feel more excited about the potential than the present, but when interiors are complete, service honed and the Lake House opens this summer, it should be a smashing place to spoil yourself.

Rates

B&B from €179 to €329 in mews rooms and €249 to €495 for Manor Suites. Pól was a guest of the hotel. lissardestate.ie