oliverg

Does anyone know of a good hotel on the west coast of Ireland? Possibly something like a spa or a resort, but that's not necessary if there are a lot of other attractions. It would be great if we could get good food at the place or in the surroundings. Would be nice if it was possible to rent bicycles. We need to be able to take the train there or somewhere very close from Dublin. We've never been to the area and know nothing about it.

tenaya

There are dozens of beautiful hotels on the west coast of Ireland and I'm sure there'll be lots of suggestions from posters... particularly from people who've stayed at Spas.
wwwireland-guide.com has a good selection and also irelandhotels.com.
To travel there by train from Dublin you'd need the Westport line
It's probable that you'll need to take bus/taxi at some point.
Another option is googling up Hostels. Some of them are nicer than hotels.
If you come up with a more definitive schedule I may be able to comment as I live on the West Coast of Ireland.

Bette

Westport is a lovely town in Mayo and this is a very nice hotel:
Knockranny House Hotel
http://www.khh.ie/

SeeDee

Would second the vote for Knockranny House; it delivers on both food and spa.
Recent work around the town of Westport has left it very cycle friendly and you have a cycle route out to Murrisk at the base of Croagh Patrick. There is also the added cycling option of the Newport to Mulrany track which is away from the road, using the route of the abandoned railway.
Galway city might also about make it as being on the west coast and is well served by train. The g Hotel there is a boutique hotel, if you like that kind of thing, and it has a spa facility. Galway is a substantially larger place than Westport.

oliverg

I thank you all three. I’ve had a look at the Knockranny House Hotel. It looks excellent. Looks like Westport and Knockranny could be key ingredients in a very happy second visit to Ireland. Does Tenaya have any comments? If you could choose from all over Ireland, would go there? I guess one thing we really, really loved about Ireland were the people. This time we thought we would try to add some scenery. (We were mostly in Dublin and Tullamore.)

tenaya

I'm surprised so few postings and recommended Spas. Unfortunately I'm not into them myself. Knockranny sounds like it fits the bill. I must try it.
I'm not clear on the bike part of your trip but there's a beautiful ride from Westport across to Louisburgh then south to Leenane and onwards. The hotel at Renvyle is lovely.

oliverg

Thanks.