The Good Hotel Guide has just announced its hot list for 2010. Pól Ó Conghaile picks his favourites around the country.Rosleague Manor, Letterfrack, Co Galway
Those familiar with the Foyle family's manor house in Connemara won't be surprised to see it win the César Award for Irish Hotel of the Year 2010. Mark Foyle, who has taken over day-to-day running of the business from his father, Edmund, is singled out as "a personable manager, involved in all aspects of the hotel". The guide also sings the praises of Pascal Marinot's "uncomplicated menus", Rosleague's elegant lounges and stunning views. Nice.
Details:
Rosleague Manor (095 41101; rosleague.com) has B&B from €80pp, set dinner at €48 and B&B with dinner from €105pp. Open from Easter to Halloween; accepts group bookings off-season.
Lorum Old Rectory, Bagenalstown, Co Carlow
Bobbie Smith's mid-Victorian pile is perfectly positioned in the Barrow River Valley, just beneath the Blackstairs Mountains. Good Hotel Guide readers are enamoured with the communal dinner Bobbie serves around a large mahogany table ("I plan what I am going to cook and discuss it with the people staying," she says). The spacious, high-ceilinged bedrooms (ask for a four-poster bed) also merit a mention. There's a leisurely breakfast, and Lorum is an ideal staging post for Carlow's garden trail.
Details:
Lorum Old Rectory (059 977 5282; lorum.com) has B&B at €70pps, set dinner at €48 and B&B with dinner from €123pps. Open from March to November.
Seaview House, Bantry Bay, Co Cork
The Good Hotel Guide commends Seaview's value for money. "The hotel runs like clockwork," chimes one report -- due in no small part, one suspects, to owner Kathleen O'Sullivan ("nothing passes her by"). Set above Bantry Bay in Ballylickey village, other clever touches in the Victorian four-star include fresh flowers, an airy conservatory extension to the restaurant, mini-suites, rich fabrics and a triple AA rosette dinner menu that is priced, in a zeitgeisty gesture, according to the number of courses taken.
Details: Seaview House (027 50073;seaviewhouse hotel.com) has B&B from €70pps, set dinner from €35 and B&B with dinner from €95pps. Open from March to November.
Richmond House, Cappoquin, Co Waterford
The "pleasantly old-fashioned feel" of Paul and Claire Deevy's Georgian house, set in the Blackwater Valley, has once again caught the eye of Good Hotel Guide readers. Interiors stuffed with antiques and chintz furnishings are singled out, as is the long-serving staff. The cooking "majors" on local produce, there's an "imaginative" wine list and scones arrive straight from the oven. Background music is the only criticism.
Details: Richmond House (058 54278; richmondhouse.net) has B&B from €70pps, set dinner from €55 and two nights' B&B plus one dinner from €160pp. Open from mid-January to mid-December.
Flemingstown House, Kilmallock, Co Limerick
Imelda Sheedy-King can permit herself a blush. The owner of this 18th-century gem is "the heart and soul of the place", the "perfect hostess, attending to every detail", according to Good Hotel Guide reports. The five-bed house is "comfortable" and guests are advised to give plenty of notice (and bring their own wine) if they wish to avail of Imelda's cooking. Add-ons include "fluffy towels" and Wi-Fi, and spacious bedrooms boast views of the Ballyhoura Mountains.
Details: Flemingstown House (063 98093; flemingstown.com) has B&B from €60pps, set dinner at €45 and "special rates" for stays of more than one night. Open from March to October.
Currarevagh House, Oughterard, Co Galway
Currarevagh House (pronounced 'Curra-reeva') is run by June Hodgson and her son Henry. Henry's wife, Lucy, is the chef. June's husband, Henry Sr, is retired, "though he still takes pleasure in greeting guests old and new". Still with us? It's a family affair, you see.
Fresh flowers, hot water bottles, afternoon tea and an Edwardian breakfast buffet are the highlights of this 15-bed country house, and the family has its own boats and ghillies on Lough Corrib.
Details: Currarevagh House (091 552312; currarevagh.com) has B&B from €80pps, set dinner at €49 and B&B with dinner from €120pps. Open from March to October.
Ballinkeele House, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford
"The real charm of the place lies with the family who look after you," says a regular visitor to this Victorian mansion. John and Margaret are the fifth generation of the Maher family to live here. They offer "well-appointed" bedrooms with communal dinners, plus a Euro-Toques menu featuring home-grown vegetables. The house stands on a working farm and a large park, with lakes and woods all crying out for ambles.
Details:
Ballinkeele House (053 913 8105; ballinkeele.ie) has B&B from €90pp, set dinner at €48 and B&B with dinner from €108pps. February to November.
Coopershill, Riverstown, Co Sligo
Enjoy old-fashioned hospitality in a Palladian mansion where candlelit dinners are served with the family silver and "we can boast that the distance from farm to plate for 75pc of the ingredients is 200 metres", the O'Hara family says. Set on a Sligo estate teeming with mature woodland and red deer, Coopershill is plump with 18th-century furniture. Ask for a room with a four-poster.
Details:
Coopershill (071 916 5108; coopershill.com) has B&B from €109pp, set dinner at €59 and B&B with dinner from €159pp. Open April to October; house parties by arrangement.
Mornington House, Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath
Owned by the same family since 1858, this Anglo-Irish pile is the centrepiece of a 50-acre estate near Lough Derravaragh. Good Hotel Guide reports recommend Warwick and Anne O'Hara as "wonderful, welcoming hosts, great conversationalists" and find much to admire in the "grand yet homely" house. Features include original furniture, country-house cooking and colourful if "idiosyncratic" bedrooms. Dinner is communal and we're told Warwick serves a "very good" breakfast.
Details:
Mornington House (044 937 2191; mornington.ie) has B&B from €75pp, set dinner at €45 and B&B with dinner from €120pp. Open April to October.
Gregans Castle, Ballyvaughan, Co Clare
Last time I visited Gregans, Steven Spielberg had just been for dinner. Squirreled away in the Burren, Simon and Freddy Hadden’s Georgian manor is that kind of place — unassuming and luxurious; somewhere you’d happily disappear for a week without your mobile (and there are no TVs). The food is raking in rave reviews too. The Good Hotel Guide singles out Mickael Viljanen’s “inventive” modern dishes and an “excellent” wine list.
Details:
Gregans Castle (065 707 7005; gregans.ie) has B&B from €97.50pps, with set dinner at €65 and B&B with dinner from €145.50pp. Open from mid- February to the end of November.
