Ferrycarrig Hotel

This stylish modern hotel is in a lovely location overlooking the Slaney estuary and has excellent amenities, including a superb health and fitness club. Public areas include an appealing contemporary bar, the Dry Dock, which has a large riverside deck where you can relax and enjoy the view and also lunchtime barbecueing at the Courtyard Grill (Mon-Sat); it is a popular meeting place for local people as well as residents, and appeals to all ages.

Good food is served here - real beef burgers, steak, ribs, pasta and fish, and desserts like pear and almond tart and rhubarb & mascarpone fool, also an excellent cheese board with John Hempenstall’s Blue Brie and Wicklow Bán cheeses; a separate children’s menu includes spaghetti bolognese and chicken curry as well as old favourites.

Alternatively Reeds (see below) offers a fine dining option which is more appropriate for adults. Accommodation is contemporary in style, and very comfortable - unusually, all of the well-appointed bedrooms have splendid views across the water, and some also have balconies with wooden loungers; well-equipped family rooms have bunk beds or adjoining rooms, depending on your requirements, and there’s a private baby station room for guests.

It’s a very family-friendly and child-friendly hotel, especially in July and August when children between four and 12 can enjoy ‘Crazy Clubbers’ facilities in the leisure centre, which offers a programme of daytime activities and evening entertainment but it is not a babysitting service, as an adult must be on the hotel premises at all times; there’s an excellent swimming pool for younger swimmers, with its own fountain and Jacuzzi jets, and a separate room for ‘baby clubbers’ where parents can entertain babies and toddlers.

Staff are exceptionally welcoming and friendly, and special breaks are offered.

Conference/banqueting (400/300); free broadbandwi/fi; business centre. Leisure centre (swimming pool, jacuzzi, fitness room, sauna, steam room), beauty salon. Garden, walking. Fishing and golf nearby. Children welcome (cots available, baby sitting arranged; playroom, playground. kids club & creche - limited hours). No pets. Heli-pad.

Rooms 102 (5 junior suites, 4 executive, 2 for disabled, all no smoking). Lift. 24hr room service. Room rate from about €75. Open all year.

Reeds Restaurant

Good food has always been a strong point at the Ferrycarrig, and Reeds offers adult guests accomplished modern cooking in the atmosphere of an independent restaurant rather than an hotel dining room. It has its own reception/bar area, and formally appointed tables are arranged to make the most of the waterside position.

Imaginative and well-balanced à la carte menus are interesting and, although the style is international, there is real emphasis on local foods - Killurin lamb, fresh fish from Duncannon or Kilmore Quay, and speciality cheeses from Wexford and Wicklow are likely to be among the produce named, for example.

Food presentation is fashionable but not over the top, and service is pleasant and professional, ensuring a relaxing evening.