Luxurious Carton Estate, Maynooth Hotels

The Chinese Boudoir

Queen Victoria's "Bedroom", the beautiful Chinese Room is in its original state and once housed the four poster bed in which the Queen slept. Hugely extravagant, Lady Emily specially commissioned gilt-wood and hand-drawn papyrus wallpaper from China for the walls.

The intricate wallpaper has been delicately restored by historians. It is extremely sensitive to light and kept at a different temperature and light-setting to the rest of the luxurious house.

The Gold Salon

The original and beautifully ornate room, the Gold Salon heralds "pomp and splendour", a barrel vaulted "Occasion" room that signalled the highly fashionable "Baroque" ornate style throughout, with commissioned stucco work by the famous Franchini Brothers of Switzerland - the room's soaring ceiling is covered in intricate gold swirls and motifs with a continuing set of French doors which open out to an uninterrupted view across the golf course; a view which, Queen Victoria once remarked, "should never be spoiled".

Tyrconnell Tower

The Tyrconnell Tower is named after the Earl of Tyrconnell, Sir William Talbot who is said to have built the first house of Carton in 1603. Tyrconnell was born in Carton House and was a member of the Talbot family who held the estate throughout the 17th century. The tower was intended to be a mausoleum for his family but was never completed. Nowadays the tower is a symbol of Carton House. In the early 19th century, Augustine Frederick 3rd Duke of Leinster restored the tower as a folly. It was as a folly that the duke brought Queen Victoria to view the tower when she visited Carton in 1849.

The Boat House

Sitting on the edge of the River Rye on the approach, the Boat House is thought to have been built for one of Queen Victoria's visits to Carton House. The Fitzgeralds were informed that the Queen had a dream that she was rowing on the lake at Carton House so it is said they built the Boat House and commissioned a special boat for her visit.

Did you know?

The Carton Estate was lost by the Fitzgerald family in the 1920s after over two centuries of ownership when the 3rd son of the 6th Duke sold his birthright to Lord Brockett to pay off an immense gambling debt.

Carton House was a favourite of Queen Victoria and counts Princess Grace, Prince Rainier and Peter Sellers as its one-time inhabitants.

Lady Emily is credited for converting the Carton Demesne parkland.

Lady Emily Fitzgerald was very fond of spotted cows and kept a collection of them so she could watch them grazing on the land.

Carton Estate has a Special Area of Conservation Status and is home to a herd of red deer, badgers, otters, foxes, owls, buzzards, kingfisher, hawks, falcons, bats and many rare species all of which add to the hotel's fine reputation as being one of the most unique luxury hotels in Kildare, Ireland.