THE HOTEL
The Montenotte, the sister property of the boutique Wilder Townhouse hotel in Dublin’s city centre, has been a premier Cork landmark since the 1820s when the manor house was built as a luxurious home for a local butter merchant. It first became a hotel in the 1940s and underwent a major redevelopment and rebranding in 2006, becoming The Montenotte Hotel.
The property sits high on a hill overlooking Cork and the River Lee and is about a 20- minute (uphill) walk or five-minute taxi ride from Cork’s central train station.
Trains from Dublin’s Hueston take around three hours.
THE BACKGROUND
In August 2024 Montenotte introduced the Woodland Suite Experience, nine standalone luxury modern cabins that sit at the bottom of the property in an area that was once overgrown forest and wasteland.
There’s two different design styles: ‘Woodland’ (slightly more private) and ‘River’ (slightly more spacious) that guests access via the property’s golf buggy path or by walking down a series of terraced levels.
These include the Sunken Victorian Garden, with its variety of plants and sculptures. The artworks are a collaboration with the Kildare Gallery to showcase contemporary pieces from both Irish and international artists.
The Woodland Suites is an initiative built around sustainability principles: for every stay Montenotte plants a tree, part of a Nights-for Nature initiative with the Irish charity Hometree, an organisation that aims to establish and conserve permanent native woodland in Ireland by encouraging land regeneration and biodiversity through afforestation restoration.
In mid-July 2025, The Woodland Suite Experience, received global recognition when it was shortlisted for the prestigious World Architecture Festival 2025, the world’s largest live architectural awards programme.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Walking into the main hotel’s reception area you immediately notice that this is an expansive property with several different elements and features to it. It was a Sunday and the hotel was busy with lunchtime guests, which included families, couples and a ‘morning after’ Stag party.
Woodland Suite guests have their own check-in area – The Clubhouse – and I was driven down in a golf buggy. As we approached, the futuristic looking suites ‘hiding’ among the trees and flora, came into view.
THE ROOM
The circular suite looks creative, innovative and modern, with integrated lounge, bedroom and kitchenhette areas – rice paper screens act as a sliding partition to divide the bedroom and living area.
An eye-catching centrepiece that features in every suite is a two-metre Red Japanese Maple curated from recycled natural wood trunks and branches.
The suite features Italian travertine (a natural stone with earthy colours) and oak timber floor finishes. The oak king-size bed occupies the middle of the room, with a self-contained kitchenette area – with a hob, toaster, kettle, etc – behind and a private glass-fronted terrace area two funky chairs and a table.
Between the bed and the private terrace is a free-standing bath – with views down to the river – with amenities by Ortegia Ambra Nera.
Electricity and blackout blinds are controlled by a card slotted into a panel of switch controls just inside the suite door. Other features include underfloor heating and a heated towel rail in the bathroom, which are automatic and based on the room temperature.
A concealed television is stored in the footboard.
Waiting in the room for Woodland Suite Experience guests is a complimentary ‘Welcome Amenity’, which includes a selection of Irish cheeses – Cashel Blue from Tipperary, Ballylisk Triple Rose from Armagh and Mileens from Eyeries, County Cork – and a carafe of Jameson whisky. There’s also an honesty bar that includes an invitation (and directions how) to make the Montenotte’s signature Jackalope cocktail, made from Montenotte Gin, on-property house-made Lemon and Lavender pre-mix and soda water.
Turndown service saw a cocoa artelier chocolate and a lavender sprig left on my pillow.
THE FACILITIES
The hotel’s main restaurant, Panorama, which features an outdoor patio area (with gas heaters and blankets when needed) offers lunch and dinner. For dinner, my selection of three types of Irish oysters was followed by pan fired halibut with baby potatoes and cooked in cider beurre blanc and a dessert of apple tart tatin with gingerbread ice cream – fabulous!
A terrace level below the main hotel lobby and Panorama is The Glasshouse, a rooftop cocktail bar that opens from Thursday to Saturday from 16.000 until late. It often regular live music.
For Woodland Suite Experience guests only, breakfast can be taken in The Clubhouse, which also offers a daily complimentary Sundowner hour (17.30-18.30). The Cameo Cinema shows classic movies nightly (which was Braveheart on the evening of my stay), while its award-winning Bellvue Spa has six treatment rooms, a relaxation suite and a menu of body and facial treatments. In the main hotel, the Motion Health Club features a 20-metre swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room.
THE VERDICT
The Woodland Suite Experience is so much more than a standard hotel stay.
Detached from the main hotel complex but with guests enjoying the property’s full facilities including restaurants, bar sunken garden, cinema and more, at times it felt like I was staying in a five-star urban holiday resort complex rather than a hotel.
The Woodland Suites Experience is a spectacular addition to a longstanding Cork icon and offers a very private and premium ‘getaway’ – and one where the tagline ”urban wilderness retreat’ is fully merited.
Clearly, a momentous amount of architectural consideration went into the cutting-edge but low-impact design, and the result is a series of suites that pulls off the illusion of seemingly being natural elements that have sprung out of the forest rather than alien structures clumsily transplanted into it.
Seamlessly blending contemporary luxury with the natural beauty of Cork’s landscape, the suites are are popular all year round, particularly in spring and summer when the wildflowers are in full bloom – but I suspect the ‘cosy getaway’ factor and all that added privacy really kicks in during the colder months.
THE DETAILS
The Montenotte, Middle Glanmire Road, Montenotte, Cork City, Ireland.
Starting room rates for The Woodland Suite Experience are from €610 per night and include a private buggy transfer to The Clubhouse, Champagne on arrival, exclusive breakfast and Sundowner cocktails and canapés from 17.30-18.30 in The Clubhouse, Nights-for-Nature tree planting in partnership with Hometree, and access to all The Montenotte’s facilities and amenities.
https://www.themontenottehotel.com/the-woodland-suite-experience/
