Opened as a sporting lodge by owner Henry Hodgson’s great grandfather in 1890, this Victorian country house is surely Ireland’s longest-standing hotel under family ownership. Devotees return year after year to inhale the ‘cosy, undemanding atmosphere’, to wander wooded grounds and parkland, to fish in Lough Corrib, or just to gaze at the ‘wonderful views’. All receive the proverbial ‘O’Kelly welcome’: the house-party ethos, with ‘easy-going, warm hospitality’. Bedrooms are large, with a traditional country house style and views of lough or mountain. Doubles have a super-king-size bed. There are no door keys, no TV – except for a set in the study, with 400 channels (pass the remote!). A gong summons guests to dinner at 8 pm, cooked by Henry’s wife, Lucy, who trained under Prue Leith. Her daily four-course menu includes such dishes as loin of Connemara lamb marinated in port and honey, with ‘attractive garniture’ (chargrilled courgette, sautéed potatoes, tomato and anise chutney). There are Irish cheeses, a ‘good, affordable wine list’. After ‘an excellent breakfast’, you can order a picnic and drive to the otherworldly Burren, or cast a fly for Corrib’s wild brown trout. (RP)