Currarevagh House

Surely Ireland’s oldest hotel in continuous family ownership, Henry and Lucy Hodgson’s Victorian country house on the shores of Lough Corrib was taking paying guests as a sporting lodge in 1890. Not that it hasn’t been updated since – ‘several licks of paint have sharpened up the decor’, writes one devotee on an annual visit this year. The manor house remains old-fashioned in the best sense, with antiques, button-back armchairs, fringed lamps, ‘friendly and long-lasting staff’ and ‘contented guests – some nearly as long-lasting’. Bedrooms are spacious, with views of lough or mountains (who needs TV?). Henry Hodgson is an ‘attentive’, wryly amusing host; Lucy Hodgson cooks daily-changing, no-choice dinner menus. Guests, summoned by the gong, might find seared Corrib trout, rump of Connemara lamb, with inventive twists (here nori, there wood sorrel or redcurrant jus). Afternoon tea and an Edwardian-style breakfast with a ‘frequently replenished buffet’ contribute to a house-party atmosphere. Sausages are local, orange juice is freshly squeezed, soda bread is home baked. (Richard Parish)