Over the past weekend, we finally cashed in our Blue Book Hotels’ voucher we received several years ago, and made an escape to the beautiful Hayfield Manor, a stone’s throw from Cork City Centre.

In full disclosure, this was a very sad and unusual trip for us. I’ll cover in more detail, but very sadly we said goodbye to our beloved Malaysian-turned-Irish-native 15-year old pup, Angel, just the night before – and truthfully couldn’t bear to be in the house sitting in silence glancing at the doorways every few seconds. We’ll miss her terribly – but she deserves much more than a fleeting paragraph, and I will post more in time.

As a result, we looked online, booked for a stay commencing same-day, threw our cases together and headed out as quickly as possible, hoping for not much more than an escape and a chance to rest in unfamiliar surroundings.

Pulling in, first impressions were very positive; Hayfield Manor is a beautiful old building, lovingly maintained, with surrounding gardens. You’d actually be forgiven for thinking you were out in the depths of the countryside – when in fact it was only a 15-minute walk into Cork city centre later on that evening.

We were promptly checked-in, along with an offer to sample the welcome drink (of course we did), before being directed to our room, 318, a Manor King Room, up on the third floor. To my delight, our suitcases had already been delivered to the room and were sitting there waiting for us.

Our room was immaculate – very spacious, spotless, plenty of storage space across 3 sliding wardrobes, and with a little perched sitting area by the window, which faced back out to the front of the building and across the gardens.

Speaking of the perched sitting area, I was pleased to note that turndown service was part of the offering, and aside from the turndown, a bucket of ice was also left there each evening, which came in great use for the various bottles of wine we’d brought with us as a form of much-needed nightcap.

The bathroom, similarly, was pristine, with a full-length shower with Elemis toiletries, double sinks, and plenty of space.

My only feedback here, that caught me off guard while trying to shave, was that the mirrors are not anti-fog. It was a little unexpected and not exactly issue of the century, but worth mentioning if, like me, you have a penchant for shaving after a hot shower.

We also had to work from home (hotel, in this case) for one of the days too – as you can see, there was plenty of space both between our own in-room sitting area, and also a desk, for us both to be productive.

We were also very kindly accommodated with a late check-out at 2pm, so for the remainder of the day, we went down to the very cosy residents-only drawing room – which may not look it, but you’ll be glad to know had good WiFi and plenty of sockets for those of us toting power-hungry laptops. Throughout our stay, only one other group was ever in this room at a time.

We were up early for breakfast both mornings, which again, was a luxurious affair. A compact dining room hosted far fewer guests than capacity would allow, with a choice of hot meals delivered to the table – including the usual favourites, e.g. full Irish breakfast, French toast, various styles of eggs, etc. – and cold options available in a separate adjoining room, including juices, baked goods, cereals, and even Mimosa’s at an additional charge if you really need to kickstart the day properly.

The dining room enjoys views out over the rear gardens, and we made sure to nab a window seat on our second morning and enjoy the grey, Autumnal scenes outside.

On our second and – sadly – final evening, after a busy day out in Kinsale, we took to the pool and steam room. Here too, are excellent facilities. The pool is spacious, and at least in the evening, was very peaceful. There’s also a jacuzzi just outside if you fancy braving the cold Irish evening for a moment (we did and it was lovely, bar scurrying back indoors once we’d had enough).

Aside from the pool, steam room & jacuzzi, there is also a compact yet well-appointed fitness room with all the equipment you might need for a solid workout. Unfortunately, in this case, we declined any exercise possibilities – but it looked good, if you're so inclined.

Hayfield Manor seems to also be a very popular spot both for afternoon tea and evenings with locals’ as well as tourists, and there was live piano both evenings – very enjoyable, so much so, we actually took a glass of wine each out to the third-floor lobby and sat where we could still enjoy it.

If I had one piece of feedback, other than anti-fog mirrors, it would be the slightly unexpected car park attendant we encountered on our last day. Perhaps he is on guard only during weekdays? We stopped short of the entrance gates to allow pedestrians walk through, and with no obvious identification and no introduction, he came up to us and asked us could he help and did we have a reservation. When I said we’d already stayed two nights, he told us he hadn’t seen us before – but the feeling was mutual. It all felt slightly off, and a bit confrontational, where a simple introduction would've helped immensely.

Notwithstanding that very bizarre encounter, the rest of our stay – given the circumstances – was absolutely wonderful.

Overall, the facilities, room, and service was excellent and I know for sure we wouldn’t think twice about visiting again in future!