Ireland's manor houses and country estates offer exceptional hospitality deeply rooted in a sense of place. These properties - from intimate Relais & Châteaux estates to family-run country houses - connect you to the landscape and culture around them through thoughtful details: chefs who source from nearby farms, gardens that supply your dinner, and owners who genuinely want you to understand what makes their corner of Ireland special.

Staying in a castle is an iconic experience when planning a trip to Ireland. If you're coming from North America, where castles are few and far between, you might think your castle stay should be the center of your itinerary. It absolutely can be—properties like Adare Manor and Ashford Castle are peak hospitality experiences worth planning a trip around. But castle accommodations are available throughout Ireland to suit a wide variety of budgets. Whether you're looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience or simply a pleasant and convenient stay full of Irish character, there's a castle hotel to suit your trip—it's just a matter of figuring out which one.

I'm not saying you need to stage Iron Chef at your campsite, but if you do a little prep and think of cooking as something to indulge in rather than just fuel up on, you'll eat better and have more fun doing it.