The Lodge is a stunning boutique hotel which oozes charm and luxury and sits within the magnificent 350-acre estate of Ashford Castle overlooking Lough Corrib.
The four star property offers a real country house experience, with a bar and high quality restaurant with lots of delicious locally sourced Irish cuisine.
The Lodge was built in the mid-19th century as a home for the manager of the Ashford Castle estate and it is stylishly designed with very attractive architecture, classic and new furnishings and striking artwork.
It was a wet afternoon when I arrived with a friend and we had some lunch and drinks and relaxed in front of a hearty and welcoming open fire at the Quay Bar.
The staff at the Co Mayo hotel were very friendly and attentive without being overbearing and it was the ideal way to acclimatise to our new surroundings.
Guests can enjoy activities such as riding horses along the water, clay pigeon shooting, archery, play a round of golf at the beautiful nine hole parkland course or fish in the lough.
We stayed in the ‘Murphy suite’, which encapsulated luxury and had sweeping and beautiful views of Lough Corrib.
We had a delicious dinner at the multi-award winning Wilde’s Restaurant run by head chef Jonathan Keane and I ordered the wild turbot and it was full of flavour and beautifully presented.
My partner also thoroughly enjoyed her traditional roast stuffed turkey and ham main course and our organic salmon and st tola goats cheese starters were delicious.
We decided to do the Hawk Walk with Ireland’s School of Falconry, the oldest established one in the country and it was a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable experience.
Tommy also taught us how to command 11 year-old Swift and 13 year-old, Samhradh and with his help we mastered a range of flying and landing manoeuvres using hand gestures.
After a little bit of a shaky start on my part, the sense of trust between us and the harrier hawks came on leaps and bounds over the 90 minutes.
The birds have exceptional eyesight, their speed and agility and usually -during non-Covid times - they attract about 10,000 visitors each year.
It was a thrill to see Swift and Samhradh at ease with us and we were also introduced to Dingle the owl who has been resident on the estate since 1999.
The veteran Eurasian-eagle owl has been known to deliver engagement rings and love letters to couples to mark their special day.
There is an abundance of tranquil and romantic walks on the sprawling grounds.
Motown legend Stevie Wonder was among the guests who stayed at The Lodge and played the piano on the estate when Irish golfing superstar Rory McIlroy married Erica Stoll in Ashford Castle in 2017.
For more details on The Lodge visit the website at www.thelodgeac.com
Prices for one night’s B&B start from €175 based on two people sharing
