On the shores of Lough Swilly, give in to the ‘old-fashioned demeanour’ of the Wheeler family’s hotel, as did guests this year, who found it – and its collection of lough-facing sitting rooms – ‘endearing’. ‘The Georgian holiday home is filled with antiques, but there’s an unstuffy, totally relaxed feel to the place. Family photographs share wall space with botanical prints and oil portraits of the house’s previous owners.’ Large bedrooms in the main building and the Regency-style wing are decorated with a mix of vintage pieces. ‘Our huge superior room had views down to the lough. There were contemporary touches in all the right places, down to the wool blankets on the bed.’ In the ‘lovely’ restaurant, a daily-changing dinner under the starry, tented ceiling may include pan-seared fillet of Greencastle-landed hake, potato and Parmesan gnocchi, garden spinach, wild mushrooms. Informal pizza feasts may be taken in the cellar Tap Room, with slugs of locally brewed craft beer. At breakfast, ‘a scrumptious buffet had delicious surprises from the kitchen garden’. (Lesley and Peter Sevitt, and others)