On the Rugged Coast of Ireland, a New ‘Landscape Hotel’ that Puts the Focus on the Outside

Increasingly vacation time is doing double-duty as a nature fix, an opportunity to be immersed in plants and nature for immediate decompression and reconnection. At Native, a destination on the beautiful wild coast of West Cork in Ireland, they’ve fashioned a new term for it: “a landscape hotel,” where vegetation is not mere dressing but an integral part of the experience.

Founders Simon and Didi Ronan, who moved to West Cork from Dublin in 2021, spent three years looking for a site before finding (with some help from the local community after another purchase fell through) an overgrown derelict dairy farm. Simon, head of sustainable landscape studio SRLA, is originally from Wexford, while Didi is Irish but grew up in Belgium. Both have spent time living and working in London and Paris before relocating to Ireland. Part of the attraction to the area was the lively local scene; the village of Ballydehob on the Wild Atlantic Way, is home to a bohemian and arty scene with one of Ireland’s finest live music venues, Levi’s Corner House, as well as a Michelin-starred restaurant, Chestnut.

Since the opening of their guesthouse last year (the rooms can be booked individually or the whole house can be taken over), the couple have added three garden suites, each with their own private garden and outdoor bath (and for the largest suite, its own sauna too). In addition there’s the Milking Parlour, a communal event and dining space where they plan to stage supper clubs that will showcase the area’s incredible local produce, from foraged plants to artisan cheeses.

Outside the focus is on pollinator-friendly plants. Thanks to the North Atlantic Drift, this south-westerly point of Ireland enjoys warm air and water that arrives from the Gulf of Mexico. It provides a damp and temperate climate, and as a result, more opportunities for growing. The site also lies in a natural east–west valley, so that it’s sheltered from prevailing winds.

But their project stretches much farther than the 2.5-acre site that surrounds the guesthouse and garden suites. Twenty per cent of the profits from the business is used to rewild a 75-acre site, just 10 minutes from Native and open to guests. Here, the couple has been eradicating invasive non-natives and allowing the land to regenerate.

Let’s take a closer look.

Photography courtesy of Native.

Above: The exterior of one of Native’s new garden suites. The planting peaks in late summer and early autumn, when the garden hums with insects. In shadier areas, a more woodland feel is created with evergreen ferns and woodland flowers adding seasonal pops of color.
Above: The rooms have soothing interiors featuring oak joinery and hemp walls.
Above: The suites provide an opportunity to showcase vernacular Irish craft, including Mourne textiles, local hand-dyed linens, and ceramics made on Cape Clear Island.
Above: Each suite sleeps two in a king-sized bed. Sliding glass doors and picture windows keep the focus on the landscape.
Above: Suites are decorated with antique Súgán chairs contrasted and complemented by contemporary textile wall art from Naps Studio, and a collection of art books.
Above: A hand-thrown ceramic sink in the bathroom.
Above: Generous decks and immersive planting create peaceful places to while away afternoons.
Above: Each suite has its own outdoor bath and enclosed garden for complete privacy.
Above: Site-found rocks were incorporated into the beds and underplanted with ferns and mosses, echoing the local natural landscape.
Above: Pollinator plants—whether native and non-native alike—are all valued here, providing abundant nectar for insects and extend the flowering season.
Above: The landscaping team collected young willow, holly, and hawthorn saplings from the site and wove them into the scheme. They also planted multi-stemmed birch to match the multiple wild-seeded birch found throughout the site.