History

For millennia before the opening of the hotel, Parknasilla witnessed the trials and tribulations of the nation's mythology and history, from Noah's Ark to the arrival of Cromwell, from guest arriving by steam train to their landing by helicopter.

It is one of a little group of marine paradises on an inlet of the great sea-Lough known as the Kenmare River. Parknasilla Resort & Spa  is nature at its best combined with the luxuries of a four star hotel in Kerry, it is now a great location for a hotel break in Ireland and is a spectacular wedding venue in Kerry.

The Bland family built Parknasilla House in the mid eighteenth century.Eventually they built Derryquin Castle which was on the grounds. It was burnt in 1922 during the Troubles. In the mid nineteenth century Parknasilla house was leased and subsequently purchased by Bishop Charles Graves. The hotel started out in the Bishop's House in 1895 which still stands in the grounds a few hundred yards from the current hotel, for which a more commanding position was chosen in 1897.

Royals such as Her Serene Highness, Princess Grace of Monaco stayed in the Parknasilla, but the area is not immune to royalty. Gaelic dynasties roamed the area for many years. Before the hotel came into being, Dora Bland, a daughter of Francis Bland of Parknasilla House, became mistress to the Duke of Clarence. She bore him 10 children; he later became King William IV.

It was a grand hotel, but not too preoccupied with being grand to be friendly. Writers including Alfred Perceval Graves, George Bernard Shaw and Cecelia Ahern have come under its benign influence.
The mildness of the climate, in which many varieties of tropical flora flourish throughout the year, constitutes Parknasilla as an ideal resort.

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