Reaching for the stars …
THIS is a special year of celebration for the Headfort in Kells as it celebrates attaining its fourth star in early 2018. A lot of reinvestment, renovations and improvements have been evident in the past couple of years but it is moreover the team work that has resulted in this accolade for the landmark hotel in Kells.
Now in the hands of second generation Duff family, it is all about that special personal touch that means so much and is the backbone of the Headfort welcome, or as their new tagline suggests… Heartfelt Hospitality.
The hotel, which plans further expansion in 2019, currently boasts 45 bespoke rooms, Vanilla Pod Restaurant, Kelltic Bar, Headfort Lounge, Café Therese and Kenlis Suite Banqueting and Events, not to forget the best kept secret of what some might say is the best urban garden in the North East to the rear!
This commitment to customer service has paid off with a string of awards in recent months, including Best Chef in Meath for Andrew Power of the Vanilla Pod. Indeed, the well known eaterie on the regional dining scene run by the formidable Lareina Quigley is holding its own in the awards stakes having received three awards at the recent Restaurant Awards, including Best Hotel Restaurant in Meath and Best Emerging Irish Cuisine Award which is close to the heart of Olivia who represents the region as one of Ireland’s Food Ambassadors. Last month too, the hotel scooped an award for its Irish Breakfast Experience from Irish Country Hotels, the meal that dieticians have been telling us is the most important meal of the day, this has always been the priority at the Headfort.
The Headfort celebrates a coveted listing also in the ‘ Top 100 Places to Stay in Ireland’ for 2018 by the respected McKenna Guides, which reads;
‘Family hotels, which were once the backbone of Irish hospitality, are scarce things today, and the hotel world has become one of the sharpest iterations of the corporate world. But if you want to see - and feel - exactly what an Irish, family run hotel is like then take the short journey from Dublin to Kells and park up at the Headfort Arms Hotel, a grand building in this pretty town. ‘ The staff are spontaneous, the welcome is real, the comfort is understated and the cooking is soulful. The people working here care about your welfare, care that you are having the best time they can create for you.’