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Rathmullan House

Set in lovely gardens on the shores of Lough Swilly, this gracious nineteenth century house is fairly grand, with public areas which include three elegant drawing rooms, but it's not too formal - and there's a cellar bar which can be very relaxed. It was built as a summer house by the Batt banking family of Belfast in the 1800s, and has been run as a country house hotel since 1961 by the Wheeler family.

Recently, under the energetic management of William and Mark Wheeler, and Mark's wife, Mary, an impressive extension was completed to a design that is in sympathy with the surroundings. Here they have ten very desirable, individually decorated bedrooms, and The Gallery, a state of the art conference facility for up to 80 delegates.

Bedrooms in the original house vary in size, decor, outlook and cost, but all are comfortably furnished in traditional country house style. Donegal has an other-worldliness that is increasingly hard to capture in the traditional family holiday areas and, although now larger, Rathmullan House still retains a laid-back charm and that special sense of place - and it is greatly to their credit that the Wheeler family have developed their business (and extended the season) without compromising the essential character of this lovely place.

* Rathmullan House was our Country House of the Year in 2007.

Conference/banqueting (80). Swimming pool, steam room, tennis. Children welcome; (free under 12 months, cot €15, baby sitting arranged). Pets permitted by arrangement. Pets permitted by arrangement (special pet-friendly room available). Gardens.

Rooms 32 (21 with separate bath & shower, 9 ground floor, 1 for disabled). B&B €140 pps, ss €45, SC 10%.

The Weeping Elm:

The dining room was revamped and extended in the recent renovations, but the famous tented ceiling (designed by the late Liam McCormick, well known for his striking Donegal churches) has been retained. It is a pleasing room that makes the most of the garden outlook - including a formal garden beside the extension, which is maturing nicely - and provides a fine setting for Ian Orr's modern Irish cooking, as well as the tremendous breakfasts for which Rathmullan is justly famous.

Cooking here is upbeat traditional and meticulously-sourced menus are based on the very best of local and artisan foods - and fresh produce from their own restored walled garden.

There are many beautifully conceived combination dishes, and you can look forward to specialities like Fanad Head crab plate, assiette of Pat Patton's Rathmullan lamb, with loin, braised shoulder, kidney and mini shepherd's pie, with rosemary gravy, roast carrots fennel and, perhaps, a fine farmhouse cheese selection or a refreshing compôte of garden fruits with carrageen pudding. (Both cheeses and carrageen are equally at home as part of the legendary Rathmullan breakfast too.)

And a particularly attractive feature of Rathmullan is the Children's Menu - a proper little person's version of the adult menu, with lots of choices and no concessions to 'popular' fare, this is education on a plate.

Like everything else here, the wine list is meticulously sourced and informative - unusually, the alcohol content is given along with other details; it also includes half a dozen organic & bio-dynamic wines, lots of lovely bubblies, a wide choice of half bottles and a section dedicated to wines selected to complement the menu, some of them available by the glass.

All this plus caring service and a beautiful location... Rathmullan is in peak form.


Seats 100 (private room, 30); D daily 7-8.45 (to 9.30 Fri/Sat); Set D €50/55, 2/3 courses; house wine from €22; SC 10%. *Informal meals are available in Batts Bar & Café and the Cellar Bar: L, 1-2.30pm daily; Early D is also available in The Cellar Bar, 5-8pm daily in summer. Children welcome before 8pm (children's menu, high chair and baby changing facilities available). Closed 7 Jan-9 Feb. Amex, MasterCard, Visa, Laser.

Directions:

Letterkenny to Ramelton - turn right to Rathmullan at the bridge, through village and turn right to hotel.