Rathmullan House

Built for a bishop in about 1760, Rathmullan House has been a beacon of Donegal hospitality since the early ’60s. Happily situated on the banks of Lough Swilly (guests can step from the hotel’s garden straight on to a sandy beach), the house has been in the same family for 60 years, and is today run by Mark and Mary Wheeler. The 34 spacious bedrooms are homely rather than fashion conscious, with a smattering of antiques, and ‘crisp white sheets and artisan woollen blankets’ on the beds. Some have a balcony or patio. Downstairs, comfortable sitting rooms with open fires overlook the manicured lawn rolling down to the lough. A Victorian walled garden provides much of the produce for the Cook & Gardener restaurant where chef Abdul Muhib Azad’s modern Irish menus are locally inspired. Dinner might be pan-seared fillet of hake landed in Greencastle or steamed mussels from Mulroy Bay. Milleens, Cooleeney and Cashel Blue are all regulars on the Irish cheese plate. Stone-baked pizzas and Irish craft beers are available in the Tap Room in the old cellar of the house. The breakfast is ‘delightful’.