Temple House
The anticipation builds as you follow a half-mile drive through sheep-grazed pastures to Roderick and Helena Perceval’s 18th-century classical mansion, remodelled in 1864. More
Good Hotel Guide Review
The anticipation builds as you follow a half-mile drive through sheep-grazed pastures to Roderick and Helena Perceval’s 18th-century classical mansion, remodelled in 1864. In an age when Capability Brown was laying out parkland for English aristocrats, complete with picturesque ruin, the Percevals had the real thing: a crumbling Knights Templar castle, which stands beside a mile-long lake, beyond Italianate terraced gardens. Grand though it might be, this is a family home, filled with antiques and ancestral portraits. ‘Twins’ bedroom has matching half-tester beds. Dual-aspect ‘Half Acre’ is simply vast. ‘Maple’ has the original furniture from 1864, ‘Porch’ a 14-foot wardrobe. At night, children enjoy a kitchen supper, before adult guests gather in the morning room for drinks, then sit down in a house-party atmosphere to a four-course dinner that will include such choices as Andrala Farm pork belly, with scallops, and cod with a tempura oyster, trout caviar, cauliflower purée and nori beurre blanc. Breakfast brings Irish apple juice, compote of rhubarb from the walled garden, home-made soda bread and a full Irish.
Hotel details
Address
Temple House Demesne
Ballymote
Co. Sligo
F56N N50
Ireland
Telephone
00 353 71 918 332
Bedrooms
7. Plus 3 non-B&B reserved for house parties.
Open
Apr–mid-Nov.
Facilities
morning room, dining room, vestibule, table tennis room, wedding facilities, 1½-acre garden on 1,000-acre estate, water sports on site.
Background music
none.
Children
all ages welcomed, kitchen supper for those 3–12.
Dogs
not allowed.
Credit cards
MC, Visa.
Prices
per room B&B single €125–€145, double €179–€219. Set dinner €59.
Other reviews
Good Hotel Guide articles about
Temple House
- Woman and Home: Hotel rooms with the most incredible views in Britain and Ireland
- USA Today: 20 of the most beautiful hotels in Ireland
- MSN Travel: Top 10 most beautiful hotels in Ireland
Guide Book Vouchers
This hotel accepts discount vouchers which entitle readers to a 25% discount off their normal B&B rate for a single night’s stay. Each printed copy of the Guide contains six vouchers worth in total about £150.
Buy the guideUpgrade voucher
This hotel accepts room upgrade vouchers which entitle readers to a space available room upgrade. The voucher must be presented at check-in and is entirely at the hotelier’s discretion.