Connemara and County Mayo Hotels

Connemara and County Mayo Hotel Reviews

Accommodation in the area tends to the traditional; outside Westport there are few indoor pools and gyms: instead there are informal, friendly places where you will probably end up comparing notes with other travelers over a huge cooked breakfast. Add variety by alternating rural isolation with the lively towns. Both Clifden in Connemara and Westport in Mayo have lively pub scenes. Clifden attracts a younger, mainly single, crowd, especially in July and August, so be prepared: the music might be rock rather than Irish.

Lakeside Cong is a tiny village, but is a magnet for visitors. It is often pointed out that Ashford Castle, one of the most sumptuous of Ireland's castle hotels, is bigger than the village. All is perfectly manicured at this mock-Gothic baronial showpiece, built in 1870 as a country retreat for the Guinness family. Abbeyglen Castle Hotel in Clifden is a Victorian manor whose relaxed ambience and good value attract Irish holidaymakers on short breaks. Rosleague Manor, a pink-washed Georgian house on the waterside near Letterfrack, is among the prettiest Irish country-house hotels. The lake, sea, and mountain views from its 30 acres, its excellent restaurant, and elegant lounges mean you need not leave the estate at all.