Eco Accommodation in County Laois: Certified Stays

County Laois has one independently certified eco property: Maldron Hotel Portlaoise, which holds Green Tourism Gold certification as part of Dalata Hotel Group’s portfolio-wide sustainability programme. Ireland’s most central county, equidistant from Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Galway, has one verified eco option at its county town.

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Maldron Hotel Portlaoise: Green Tourism Gold

Maldron Hotel Portlaoise holds Green Tourism Gold certification. Green Tourism Gold is the top tier of the internationally recognised Green Tourism certification programme, aligned with GSTC global sustainable tourism criteria. The certification was achieved as part of Dalata Hotel Group’s 2024 portfolio-wide programme, with each hotel independently audited rather than covered by a blanket group certificate.

The hotel is a 4-star property in Portlaoise with 115 rooms, a leisure centre, and full dining facilities. Its direct access on the M7 Dublin to Cork motorway corridor makes it a practical midlands stop for travellers on the main north-south route who want certified eco accommodation.

The Maldron Portlaoise certification has been in place since at least 2021, predating Dalata’s 2024 portfolio-wide exercise and indicating a sustained commitment to green certification rather than a recent first-time achievement.

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Laois: Ireland’s Central County

Laois is Ireland’s most central county, sharing borders with Kilkenny, Tipperary, Offaly, Kildare, Carlow, and Westmeath. It sits at the junction of the main Dublin to Cork and Dublin to Limerick motorway routes, making Portlaoise one of the most accessible Midlands towns in Ireland despite rarely featuring in tourism itineraries.

The county’s landscapes are less dramatic than its western neighbours but contain their own rewards. The Slieve Bloom Mountains on the Laois-Offaly border rise to 527 metres and offer walking routes through upland bog, ancient oakwood, and river valley, almost entirely without visitor pressure. The heritage town of Abbeyleix, 20km south of Portlaoise, was Ireland’s first Transition Town and has one of the country’s best-preserved Victorian streetscapes.

The Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary’s iconic ecclesiastical rock fortress, is 40km south of Portlaoise.

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Laois Within Ireland’s Eco Landscape

Laois connects the certified eco clusters of the southeast with those of the Midlands. Kilkenny (three certified properties, 45km south), Wexford (five certified properties, 80km southeast), and Waterford (one certified property, 85km south) form the southeast cluster that Laois abuts.

To the north and west, Westmeath has two certified hotels in Athlone (130km northwest), and Dublin’s sixteen certified properties are 90km east on the M7. Laois sits at the centre of this network rather than at any particular tourist margin.

For eco travellers driving the M7 or M8 corridor and needing a certified midlands overnight stop, Maldron Hotel Portlaoise is the only verified option in the region between Dublin and the Tipperary-Limerick border.

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Find Your Certified Stay in County Laois

One certified eco property: Maldron Hotel Portlaoise, Green Tourism Gold certified, in Portlaoise.

Browse Certified Eco Stays in Laois