Powerscourt Hotel Resort & Spa

A grand resort on the Powerscourt Estate in County Wicklow, about half an hour south of Dublin, with the chandelier-and-broad-staircase formality you'd expect from something this size. What softens it is a hotel-wide hot-air balloon motif left over from a film shoot on the grounds, which keeps the whole thing from taking itself too seriously. The ESPA spa is a draw, Sika restaurant leans into local Wicklow produce, and upper rooms face Sugar Loaf mountain.