CAVAN, Ireland -- Farnham Estate opened to the public for the first time in three centuries, officially welcoming visitors with the opening of the Radisson SAS Farnham Estate Hotel.
An 18-hole championship golf course designed by Jeff Howes, to include a driving range, contemporary clubhouse and golf academy, is due to open in late 2007.
The opening of Farnham is the latest and most comprehensive reinvention in the long and fascinating history of this magnificent estate. A combination of world-class architects, spa and interior designers have been brought together to sensitively and stylishly connect the existing elements of the original buildings, including the classical Farnham House, with sleek contemporary spaces, producing a breathtaking marriage of past and present.
Located in Ireland's Lakeland region, equidistant from Dublin and Belfast, the Radisson SAS Farnham Estate Hotel offers 158 bedrooms and suites, restaurants, a lobby bar and a conference center. The fully refurbished Farnham House provides guest suites, public reception rooms and a cellar bar. The original rooms of the Great House have been restored and guests can relax in the luxurious surroundings of the music room, the boardroom and the boudoir.
The jewel in the crown of the development is the new approximately 40,000-square-foot Farnham Estate Health Spa, designed by one of the world's leading spa designers, Heinz Schletterer, whose previous projects include spas at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and on the recently launched cruise ship Queen Mary.
The Botanica Restaurant is a contemporary lounge bar and brasserie-style restaurant serving a simple but creative cuisine based on the finest Irish produce and a celebration of the Irish botanical world. The restaurant has a dual aspect outlook, on one side overlooking Farnham lawn and the other onto a courtyard. The interior is light and airy with warm accents of organic colors and whimsical detail, reflecting the 'botanical' nature of the menu.
The Botanica Bar is situated on a raised deck in the lobby, where guests can sit at the edge and look down at the scene below or retreat to the timber-clad snug area. Drinks and snacks are available here all day. The atmospheric Wine Goose Cellar Bar is located in the basement of the Great House, which also features a wine cellar.
Farnham Estate provides all possible facilities required for meetings and events, with approximately 630 square meters of function room capacity and the very latest in audio-visual equipment. The conference center can house up to 300 people and has three interconnecting major event rooms, including a ballroom, plus a suite of 10 smaller meeting rooms, each with natural daylight. All delegates and guests are entitled to use Wi-Fi broadband free of charge anywhere within the hotel, as is standard at all Radisson SAS hotels.
Along with the golf facility, Farnham Estate has about four miles of walking trails through ancient redwood, cedar, copper beech, scots pine and yew trees surrounding the estate. In addition there is coarse fishing on Farnham Lake and 1,300 acres of parkland and rolling pasture to enjoy.
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