Ballywarren House

'Delightful stay; splendid hosts, very good food.' Praise for David and Diane Skelton's creeper-covered replica Georgian home in farming country between Lough Corrib and Lough Mask. There are open peat fires, an oak staircase, and books and magazines in the sitting room where tea with home-baked cake is taken. 'There is no such thing as fast food at Ballywarren House,' says Mrs Skelton, who posts her four- to five-course daily-changing table d'hôte menu on a blackboard, discussing likes and dislikes in advance. She cooks French/Irish dishes in her Aga, using local free-range and organic produce. The short wine list is entirely French. The Skeltons sometimes join guests for after-dinner drinks. There are 'pleasing little touches' in the 'well-equipped and comfortable' bedrooms. A room with a four-poster bed had 'good white linen; the huge bath was deep and double-ended, and there was a pile of lovely thick towels'. Breakfast has a 'brilliant buffet spread', a choice of six cooked dishes, home-made bread, jams and marmalades; eggs come from the hens which roam the grounds. Good fishing nearby; 'we have our own ghillie'. (JC)