What Does It Mean "To Live Like A King"?

Have you ever dreamed of living like a king, in an ancient luxurious castle in royal conditions? Now your dreams can finally come true! One Irish company provides its clients with royal rooms, royal services and it can even arrange a royal wedding for them!

The castle is the property and the main residence of a distinguished European family. Unlike castle hotels, this private estate has no free access, and 6.5 sq. km of adjacent natural possessions safely protect its inhabitants from prying eyes.

The castle is leased on exclusive terms for only 6 weeks a year. During the rest of the time it's occupied by hosts only.

It stands on the banks of the largest private lake in Europe.

Guests can take a boat and go fishing. There are lots of pike in small backwaters.

The castle was built in 1811 according to the design of architect John Nash whose list of outstanding works includes Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square.

A famous poet and playwright, William Butler Yeats, said after visiting the castle in 1927: "To leave this place means to leave beauty..."

The territory is surrounded by several rows of fence. The main gate is also securely protected.

After passing through the gate, you can see a beautiful 2-km road leading to the castle. 

Most of the forest was planted in the 18th century specifically for maintenance of sport hunting. Depending on the season (from September to February), guests can participate in royal hunting for pheasants, ducks or deer.

The castle is not just a big stone house in the middle of a forest. It's a whole complex of buildings, including a garden, a farm, a hen coop, a barn, cottages for guests, small houses for workers and many, many other constructions which must be constantly monitored.

Some of the living in the estate horses participate in races.

Pheasants are bred especially for hunting. Now there are 750 of them but by the opening of the season there will have already been 15-20 thousand.

Ducks and pheasants hunting lasts for only 16 days each season. And everything is planned for a year ahead. Shot birds are sold to stores and restaurants.

To prevent pheasants from fighting against each other in the aviary, special glasses are put on them. Wearing such glasses, they can't see the enemy standing in front of them and thus are not able to hurt each other.

Three dogs, including this wonderful Great Dane are allowed to sleep in the castle.

A path from the castle to the cottages which can accommodate some extra guests.

A bottle of Dom Perignon and a box of chocolate truffles, specially commissioned in Belgium, wait for the guests in their room right upon their arrival.

This is the main bedroom of the castle where newlyweds and special guests usually live. Sometime, kings and presidents slept in this bed.

The morning begins with traditional Irish breakfast.

The castle is a popular place for luxurious weddings of people who do not want to flaunt their private lives.

More than 100 professionals are involved in organization of such a wedding. The development of each part of celebration and a week vacation takes over 1500 hours of work.

Near the castle and on the territory of the estate there are many places for a beautiful wedding photo shoot.

The celebration is held in a banquet hall. It easily seats more than 100 guests.

If the weather is good, cocktail parties are organized on the terrace.

To entertain guests the Irish dancers from the Riverdance group are invited to the castle.

Now let's see more thoroughly what is hidden behind the thick walls of the castle.

Have you ever wondered how a doorbell of an ancient castle looks? It's an old rusty button with a nice melodic ring tone.

A fireplace with black moors on the sides meets the guests in the main hall.

In this room guests usually taste whiskey or communicate with each other by the fireplace.

There are a lot of hidden doors in the castle. Look carefully and you will see one of them in the wall.

All free surface in the castle is occupied with photographs, statuettes, vases, plates, boxes and other gizmos.

The main reception room. During weddings all furniture is taken away from here and tables are placed in its place.

Otherwise, while celebrating guests can accidentally spoil truly unique things. For example, those white sofas dated to the 17th century. 

This is a very unusual feeling. The things and furniture that most of us got used to see only in museums here can be freely used by any of the guests.

A dining room. A lot of famous people sat at this table.

According to the rules of etiquette, a husband can't sit next to his wife at the dining table. This is done to ensure that spouses talk not only to each other but to other guests as well.

A charming hostess of the castle prepares and serves dinner.

Tender lamb with mint sauce, young potatoes grown in the local vegetable garden and stewed tomatoes.

For dessert - bananas baked with brandy and cream.

A huge spiral staircase leads to the second floor.

The hall of the second floor.


A great amount of books.

The room of the youngest son of the owners of the castle. On the walls are the photographs of his ex girlfriends. Some of them are very immodest.

A warmer is near the bed. To heat the huge castle is very expensive, so not all the rooms are always warm.

But the castle is really cosy. If you prefer the stiffness of the Ritz, then this place is definitely not for you. Here, everything looks like a normal house of British aristocrats with their way of life and interests: horseback riding, hunting, art, cycling.

The room of the elder son.

The room where political leaders and celebrities once lived.

A bathroom is behind the hidden door.



The view from the window of the bathroom.

A window with a blue jug in it.

This picture shows how thick the walls of the castle really are.

This round room occupies the entire second floor of one of the towers.

An Egyptian bathtub.

This room is called a "throne room" for the toilet looking like a throne (the next photo).

Stairs lead up to the attic which hadn't been used for a long time until the toilet was made here. This is the very top of a narrow tower.

The stairs leading to the roof.

The scenic view from the roof of the castle looks different depending on the weather...

via sergeydolya