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EchoLive.ie, 5 Feb
What does it take to be among the best wedding venues? KATE RYAN
chatted to the owner of Fernhill House Hotel in Clonakilty, who picked
up a number of awards recently, and also looks at award-winning Camus
Farm
Cork wedding venues honoured in national awards
Fernhill House Hotel in Clonakilty has scooped three awards from
popular wedding venue platform, SaveMyDay.ie.
Kate Ryan
FERNHILL House Hotel in Clonakilty has scooped three awards from
popular wedding venue platform, SaveMyDay.ie.
Named Best Country House Hotel, Best Family Run Hotel, and Best Winter
Wedding Venue, the four-star hotel, which has been run by three
generations of the O’Neill family, continues to be a firm favourite
among those looking to say, I Do!
In 2022, the hotel was selected for inclusion in the prestigious Blue
Book collection of historic and characterful hotel properties, received
a Gold Medal Catering Award for Best Wedding Venue, and was ranked as
Ireland’s fifth Best Hotel in Ireland by Tripadvisor.
The O’Neills consistently put their best foot forward year after year,
and the cascade of awards and achieve-ments in recent times recognises
the commitment of the family and staff to keep Fernhill House Hotel a
favourite among so many.
Michael O’Neill Jnr is the fourth-generation proprietor of the venue,
and together with his two brothers, mother and father, prove that the
family-run award is nothing short of authentic.
I asked Michael what these three awards from SaveMyDay.ie mean to his
family, and the team at the hotel.
“We’re thrilled with the awards; it’s really capped off a great few
years for us so we’re delighted,” says Michael.
“It’s deeply honouring. Your wedding day is the best day of your life,”
he says.
You’re inviting all your friends and family, and you want something
special for that. That’s what we try and create at Fernhill. It’s the
personal touch and everyone really cares.
“The awards for Best Country House Hotel and Family Run Hotel go hand
in hand because that’s our overall ethos - to create a really special
venue. Country houses are special places because they have that bit of
history.”
At Fernhill, there’s no time to rest on their laurels, and there is
much energy and enthusiasm fuelling ideas and ways to keep improving
and raising the bar. It’s a strategy that works for their guests, and
for their staff as well.
“We live and work in it ourselves,” says Michael. “My parents, me and
my two brothers are there, and we have a fantastic team here every day.
There’s never been a wedding we’ve hosted without one of our family
there.
“We’re always seeing things we want to improve because we love
Fernhill. My great-grandfather bought it, and my grandmother and
grandfather opened it as a hotel in 1967. When it’s your family’s name
above the door, you want to make sure everything is perfect, so rather
than taking money out of the business, we put the money back in, keep
reinvesting and coming up with new ideas.
It’s a great ethos here and we just want to get better and better.
During the Covid lockdown, while many hotels were shuttered and
worrying about the future, the O’Neills and their team rolled up their
sleeves and set about using the rare opportunity of a long pause to
shake up every detail.
“We turned everything upside down and went through every square inch of
the place and we’re seeing the results now.”
Michael says that in the hotel business, every detail matters - from
the interiors to the décor to the customer service to the food. Is that
Fernhill House Hotel’s secret?
“Totally,” Michael says. “We developed the brand, refined it during
Covid, and really stuck to that. Now we feel it’s really coming
together.
Fernhill House Hotel in Clonakilty has scooped three awards from
popular wedding venue platform, SaveMyDay.ie. Fernhill House Hotel in
Clonakilty has scooped three awards from popular wedding venue
platform, SaveMyDay.ie.
“Our overall guiding principle is that everything is inspired by our
garden: the fresh food, all the fresh floral displays and avoiding
anything fake, our décor is themed to it.
The garden has come out of the land and the land is West Cork, so West
Cork is a big inspiration for everything.
"It marries everything together (pardon the pun!), and gives us a
focus. It makes it more special for our guests, and they can really
savour what West Cork is all about.”
The gardens of Fernhill House Hotel are widely regarded as among the
finest hotel gardens in Ireland. Designed by Mary Reynolds, a Chelsea
Flower Show award-winning garden designer and one of the best in the
world, they blend form, function, beauty and biodiversity.
There are myriad places for spectacular wedding photo opportunities,
but also the kitchen garden provides fresh vegetables for use in the
restaurant, fresh flowers and foliage from the garden is used around
the hotel, there are fruit trees and sculptures and a mindful approach
to creating habitats for the essential workers in any garden –
pollinators.
Fernhill House Hotel has been hosting couples’ special days for nearly
60 years, but, says Michael, it’s still a buzz when they are chosen to
play such an important role.
“It’s absolutely massive,” says Michael. “We love seeing them, it’s
such an honour and there really is magic in the air when it happens. We
see the nerves beforehand and how happy they are when they meet at the
top of the altar. To us, it’s like it’s happening in our house!
Everyone’s so happy, and the job satisfaction is through the roof!”
Commenting on wedding trends for 2024, founder of SaveMyDay.ie, Shell
Holden says venues that can do everything are coming out on top for
couples.
We are seeing the continued rise in popularity of all-in-one wedding
venues, where couples can host both their ceremony and reception all in
the same venue.
"Self-contained wedding venues are preferred by some as they can allow
for better flow of the wedding day where the ceremony can seamlessly
flow into a drink’s reception or pre-dinner entertainment and speeches,
avoiding a gap between ceremony and reception. Venues that offer
private and exclusive hire are also increasingly in demand, allowing
newlyweds to be at ease with their own guests and allow them to create
their own personalised celebrations.”
West Cork’s Camus Farm was also selected to receive SaveMyDay.ie’s Best
Sustainable Wedding Venue. West Cork’s Camus Farm was also selected to
receive SaveMyDay.ie’s Best Sustainable Wedding Venue.
West Cork’s Camus Farm was also selected to receive SaveMyDay.ie’s Best
Sustainable Wedding Venue.
Set in 30 acres with panoramic views over Clonakilty Bay, Camus Farm
puts sustainability, biodiversity and animal welfare at the heart of
everything it does.
Camus Farm. Camus Farm.
As an organic farm, they offer a truly authentic farm-to-fork
experience for couples and their wedding guests, with much of the
wedding menu’s produce being grown or reared on the farm.
Ideal for eco-minded to-be-weds seeking a relaxed and romantic festival
vibe for their celebration, Camus Farm has a ceremonial circle,
award-winning licensed restaurant and covered barn with stage for
exclusive weddings.