More a professional operation, less an intimate Irish country house experience, Mark and Mary Wheeler’s hotel on the shore of Lough Swilly, in ‘wild and wonderful’ Donegal, has something for everyone. A Georgian house, built for a bishop and much extended over time, it has cosy lounges with lough views and blazing turf fires, a splendid bar, walls adorned with china plates, ‘portraits of former owners, botanical prints’. There is an indoor pool, a playroom, a croquet lawn and a ‘spectacular’ sandy beach. Bedrooms, including interconnecting family suites, are individually and traditionally furnished. Those in the Regency wing, which was added in 2004, are more contemporary, with balcony or patio. Some of the bathrooms have a freestanding bath. You can enjoy stone-baked pizzas in the Tap Room or try the Cook & Gardener restaurant, where locally raised, fished or foraged ingredients, and produce from the ‘incredible’ walled garden, grace weekly-updated menus. For instance, roast Slaney valley lamb, gratin potato, confit carrot, pea purée, rosemary jus. ‘Breakfast is a delightful buffet with surprises from the kitchen garden. Scrumptious and all home made.’ (L and PS)