Connemara has always attracted visitors from across the world. Its landscape alone provides breathtaking inspiration to painters, poets, photographers, and writers. Beginners and professional artists alike love to capture the unique light and shade of the landscape, including the magnificent Twelve Bens, as well as the awe-inspiring coastline around Killary Harbour and Clifden. Adventure-seekers travel west each year to hike or climb through the picturesque, yet challenging, landscape, run the quiet, never-ending roads, venture into the sea to surf or dive, relax on the placid lakes and spend the day fishing, and everything in between.
Others seek the quiet beauty and solitude, the craic and ceol of unique little pubs, friendly faces and delicious fresh food of hotels, restaurants, and cafés.
Whatever your reason for travelling west, you are sure to find the lure and intrigue of Connemara undeniable.
Between the rolling mountains, rugged land, placid lakes, and wild sea in the heart of Connemara lies an elegant old fishing lodge-turned-hotel.
With only 13 rooms, two cosy reception rooms, refined dining room, and quaint bar, Lough Inagh Lodge House is a gem in the wild west.
In fact Lough Inagh is the true definition of a picture-perfect manor house on the shores of a lake, surrounded by mountains, and untainted by urban life.
The Lodge House is only 100 meters from the shores of Lough Inagh, just outside the sleepy village of Recess in the heart of Connemara.
Encompassed by the Twelve Bens, the hotel is right beside the Great Western Greenway. Suitable for walkers of all levels, this trail through the west will take you to the small town of Leenane in just two hours.
Here you can indulge in some pampering in their famous seaweed baths before getting a taxi back to the hotel and relaxing in one of the two welcoming reception rooms with their wood fires, beautiful art, quirky trinkets, and dog-eared books for you to peruse.
The house offers a great resting point on your travels across the country. Whether you’re simply escaping from city living for a couple of nights or going further along the west coast of Ireland, a visit to Lough Inagh Lodge House is a must.
The hotel offers up friendly service from the moment you walk into the reception hall.
The staff are relaxed and helpful. They will happily help you to your room, which promises beautiful views onto either the lake or mountains.
Dining in the hotel is informal, and delicious, freshly cooked meals can be enjoyed in the bar or dining room, which offers breathtaking views of the Twelve Bens and Lough Inagh.
The food itself is sourced locally when possible. Each evening the chef offers a catch of the day special as well as other seafood dishes, which are guaranteed to be fresh. The menus change seasonally, and the best produce is used at all times. Great thought and skill is put into every part of your meal, from the simply-cooked scallops in a beurre blanc sauce, mouthwatering fresh catch of the day, and their selection of tempting desserts which can be enjoyed in the reception rooms in front of an open wood fire with a coffee or something stronger!
The bedrooms themselves are tastefully decorated to tie in with the old-world charm of the lodge house. They are spacious and comfortable, with large, elegant bathrooms. A lot of thought and effort has been put into the layout and design of Lough Inagh Lodge House.
Artwork inspired by the surrounding landscape is dotted around the hotel, which adds a delightful personal touch.
The hotel is an ideal getaway for couples looking for that romantic hotel that allows you to shut out the outside world and relax by the fire with a glass of wine, enjoy luscious food, and peace and quiet.
Close to Galway, Westport, Clifden, and Killary Bay - not to mention Leenane and Letterfrack - it is an ideal base for anyone looking to take in all Connemara has to offer, while still having a welcoming home away from home to retreat to after a long day touring the countryside.
On your travels make sure to stop off at Gaynor’s Pub in Leenane, where scenes from The Field were shot, and wander through the village of Cong, where The Quiet Man was filmed. Lough Inagh Lodge House also has a claim to fame: Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson filmed parts of Marley and Me in the front garden of the lodge.
But Lough Inagh doesn’t need any excuses or Hollywood connections, you’ll want to visit this beautiful boutique house hotel purely because it is unique and welcoming.
One visit and you’ll be back for more.
For more information log on to www.loughinaghlodgehotel.ie
