Nestled in lush landscaped gardens, and neighbouring a chocolate-box forest, is Ireland’s first five star hotel to describe itself as "having six star aspirations".

Capella Castlemartyr in Cork opened its doors in August 2007 and its unique selling point is offering guests a personal assistant. The hotel is on the estate of a refurbished 17th Century manor house, which hosts the main reception, dining rooms, bar and conference areas. Adjacent is a modern extension, built in a Scandinavian style of dark wood and glass, where the majority of the bedrooms are located.

It’s apparent that a great deal of time and money has been invested in the hotel’s aesthetics. The décor has been tastefully put together, with traditional furniture upholstered in modern, sumptuous fabrics and contemporary art hanging on the walls.

But it’s the people that set this hotel apart from other luxury establishments. Guests are allocated a personal assistant who is a point of contact for everything from tourist information on surrounding attractions to organising a bike ride to the nearby beach and, if you so wish, soon those list of activities will include walking one of the two hotel dogs, Earl and Duchess.

The hotel’s PA service ensures that you are never left for something to do. The team occupy the Living Room, where complimentary drinks are hosted every evening, and which guests can use during the day for reading coffee table books, newspapers and magazines.

It’s not just the PAs that offer a warm welcome. While wandering around anyone wearing a Capella Castlemartyr uniform will smile and say hello. Even housekeeping, who normally never make eye contact, are encouraged to chat with you.

We stayed in a junior suite, which has a good size reception room leading through to a fantastic bedroom. The bed was comfortable, and the hotel offers a pillow menu for those who suffer allergies, or have a particular preference. For someone living in London, the best elements were the blackout curtains, quiet setting, and hence blissfully undisturbed sleep. All rooms come with rainforest showerheads, LCD televisions, wireless internet access and Ipod docking stations.

We had dinner in the hotel’s Bell Tower restaurant and went for the taster menu with wine. The multi-course meal, costing €145, started with lobster ravioli, carried on with a chunk of roast Monkfish, then a piece of succulent beef. The real treat was the cheese board, which was cart wheeled to our table by an enthusiastic waiter who couldn’t help piling our plates with a selection of delicious international and local cheeses.

I felt like Mr Creosote from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life by the time the final course, a dessert of chocolate fondant and basil ice cream, rolled around.

It’s not just dinnertime that guests can indulge in feasting. One can also arrange for a picnic by the lake, with a selection of sandwiches, cakes and pink champagne, laid on rugs and surrounded by cushions for €120. Breakfast in the Garden Room, included in the cost of the room, is equally scrumptious with a menu that includes duck eggs on potato cakes, along with the a hearty fry-up and healthy cereals.

Should you want to spend time eating marvellous food, then working it off exploring beautiful scenery or swimming in a state of art pool then this is near perfect.

Bottom line

We stayed in the Capella Room, a junior suite, which costs from €750 per night. A standard room rate is €360, and the Presidential Suite, which has two bedrooms overlooking the formal gardens and fountain, costs from €3,250.

Need to know

Capella Castlemartyr, Castlemartyr, County Cork, Ireland; www.capellacastlemartyr.com; tel. +353 21 421 9129

Access all areas

There are four rooms that are wheelchair accessible (ground level) and all public areas are on the same level. There is also a wheel chair accessible public WC and the lift can accommodate wheelchairs if necessary.

Best thing: Thing to do: an 18-hole golf course, spa and gym (the spa pool is ozone treated water so no stinging chlorine). Although it is a mid-sized hotel, with 109 bedrooms, it feels like cosy boutique accommodation. We spoke to a few guests to get their impressions and all were positive, with attentive service regularly cited as a plus.

Worst thing: As the hotel had only recently opened, work was still being done on the golf course so there was a JCB or two in sight, but that work is now completed and the offending heavy machinery has gone.

Food: 8 out of 10

Service: 10 out of 10

Room: 8 out of 10

Value: 8 out of 10

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