Director of Guest Experience

Cashel Palace Hotel, one of Ireland’s most distinguished five-star properties and proud holder of Two Michelin Keys, invites applications for the position of Director of Guest Experience. The hotel is also home to The Bishop's Buttery, awarded One Michelin Star, reflecting our commitment to excellence across every dimension of the guest journey.

This is a senior leadership role reporting directly to the General Manager, with regular liaison at ownership level. The successful candidate will hold strategic responsibility for shaping, refining and elevating the end-to-end guest experience across the hotel’s luxury offering.

We are seeking a polished and commercially astute hospitality leader who understands that true luxury lies in detail, anticipation and seamless delivery — someone capable of balancing strategic vision with hands-on presence.

The Director of Guest Experience will define and curate the hotel’s overarching guest journey, ensuring it is immersive, personalised and flawlessly executed from pre-arrival through post-departure.

The role encompasses the continued evolution of elevated wellbeing-led guest journeys and signature events, developed in collaboration with the Director of Spa & Wellness. At the same time, the Director will lead the curation of exceptional destination experiences — crafting bespoke itineraries and meaningful local connections that reflect the unique heritage and landscape surrounding Cashel Palace.

A key dimension of this position is visible leadership in the daily management of guest relations. The Director will play an active role in overseeing VIP arrivals, managing expectations, resolving complex guest matters with diplomacy and authority, and ensuring that service standards consistently meet the highest five-star benchmarks.

The position also carries strategic responsibility for the performance and positioning of our high-end athleisure and lifestyle Boutique offering, ensuring retail aligns seamlessly with the hotel’s brand identity and guest profile.

Key responsibilities include:

• Developing elevated wellbeing programmes and signature events in alignment with the wider hotel vision.
• Designing and refining luxury guest journeys rooted in personalisation and anticipation.
• Curating distinctive local and destination experiences through trusted partnerships and suppliers.
• Overseeing guest relations at senior level, ensuring discretion, responsiveness and service recovery excellence.
• Leading the commercial strategy and presentation of the hotel’s lifestyle retail offering.
• Driving cross-departmental collaboration to ensure consistency across all guest touchpoints.
• Representing the hotel with professionalism in interactions with ownership, guests, partners and suppliers.

The successful candidate will be an accomplished hospitality professional with significant experience in a five-star hotel, luxury lifestyle brand or experiential environment.

You will demonstrate:

• A genuine interest in wellbeing and lifestyle as components of the modern luxury journey.
• Strong experience in curating experiences, partnerships and events within a premium setting.
• A sophisticated understanding of luxury guest expectations and international service standards.
• Commercial awareness across experiential programming and retail.
• Proven ability to manage high-profile guests and complex service situations with confidence and discretion.
• Exceptional leadership presence, capable of influencing at senior level while remaining guest-facing and accessible.

As a senior leader within the hotel, you will embody our leadership philosophy of KIND — fostering collaboration, accountability and respect across the organisation.

• Competitive base salary with performance bonus
• Service charge 
• Death in service benefit
• Employee Assistance Program
• On-site parking
• Employee discount (F&B, Boutique, Spa)
• Bike to work scheme
• Free meals during shift
• Uniform provided
• Mobile phone
• Company social events
• Discounted stays throughout the Relais & Chateaux network
• Exclusive hotel rates for Friends & Family
• Employee recognition program