We've chosen over 240 special places to stay throughout Ireland, north, south, east and west: from tiny simple places to luxurious ones, including Northern Ireland. B&Bs in fascinating family homes, hotels of all sorts; fishing lodges, keeps and castles; self-catering cottages, farms and seaside houses. Ireland's bounding tiger has not left behind the age-old sense of spontaneous hospitality; these openhearted people simply love sharing their space and their rich conversation with all who come to make genuine contact.

This popular guide has delightful places to stay with fascinating gardens; from grand estates to small town plots, all over the country. In these places, you will meet owners with hugely different gardens: some will be finished masterpieces, others will be works in progress, but all will be talking points. Our owners are experts on their own gardens of course, but they can often organize private visits to other gardens, direct you to good local nurseries and give you the low-down on which public gardens to visit nearby.