Award for Ashley Park House
Ashley Park House in Nenagh was the winner of the Small Stay Country House title in the Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards 2023.
Celebrating 25 years in their current incarnation, the independent Georgina Campbell Awards represent the four corners of Ireland and are the country’s longest running food and hospitality awards. They recognise and honour the standard-bearers in food and hospitality with particular focus, this year, on genuine hospitality, consistency, innovation and good value. They also pay special tributes to some of the giants of Irish food and hospitality – and the brave newcomers who, against the odds, continue to delight with inspiring new businesses.
Speaking at the awards held recently at the new Bord Bia Global Hub in Dublin, food writer and author, Georgina Campbell, said: “It’s been a joy to travel freely again this year but accommodation shortfalls (partly due to the continuing negative effects of short lets replacing serviced B&B), short weeks, reduced hours, early kitchen closures, minimum two-night stays and other restrictions related to staff shortages and high costs, notably energy costs, have been challenging to work around.
“As always, we have been seeking out genuine hospitality and those striving to give the best possible guest experience, ahead of convenience to the host business. Each year a theme emerges in the awards, reflecting the weight of nominations proposed by the assessment team. This year suggests a swing away from cities towards rural destinations and smaller towns, possibly reflecting post-pandemic preferences and/or a levelling up of standards. And words like unshowy, consistent, genuinely hospitable, customer-focused, and kind are typical of our nominations.”
The individual citation for the award winner read:
From the moment you turn off the busy Nenagh - Borrisokane road to Ashley Park, you enter a time warp. Margaret (née Mounsey) and David Mackenzie's home is one of those beautiful 18th century houses where all is elegance and comfort. Offering its own special style of family hospitality, every member of the clan has their shoulders to the collective wheel - in reception, in the kitchen, and in the bar – all contributing to the warmth of the Mounsey family welcome. Although mainly known as a wedding venue (and a very good one it is too), at other times it is also a perfect destination for individual travellers to find peace and comfort in splendid surroundings and to marvel at the restoration journey that has occupied the family’s lives for more than three decades. And there’s fine dining too, in a restaurant serving produce from the 72-acre estate, often with views of Lough Ourna glistening in the moonlight beyond… Simply magic.