Viewmount House right at the heart of Ireland’s lakeland district
The flat midlands are shrouded in dense, freezing fog when we pull up at the door of Viewmount House.
So there is something gloriously inviting about the dimly-lit drawing room with its roaring fire.
Once you park yourself on the Chesterfield sofa next to the magnificent hearth, you won’t want to leave especially if you’ve got a good novel at hand.
A new entrant in Ireland’s Blue Book — the loose collection of fine country houses and historic hotels — this place has been attracting visitors since it first opened in 1998, and especially since its exquisite restaurant, VM, started to put Longford on the culinary map in 2008.
These smaller hotels may lack swimming pools, spas and 24-hour room service, but they have charm in spades, especially as every guest is welcomed by its lovely owner Beryl Kearney, whose warmth and customer-centred focus encapsulates all that’s special about Irish hospitality.
She and husband James bought this lovely 400-year-old three-storey farmhouse in 1989 and spent years restoring it in a manner that’s faithful to its past but sensitive to the needs of modern visitors.
It’s best to visit somewhere like this and disconnect from the online world, but those who simply can’t ignore their Twitter feed will find the wifi works perfectly.
Viewmount began its hotel life with five rooms: now there are 12, the majority of which are to be found on a newly-built wing whose parquet floor and period furnishings feel like a continuation of the main house.
Our room was spacious and tasteful. It featured a mezzanine level with armchairs and sofa for those who want to read or watch TV.
The bed is a giant vintage piece whose mattress sits unusually high above the ground.
Both my wife and I like a firm mattress and this one was certainly on the softer side.
But then, others would find it intolerable to lie on the sort of orthopaedic one we favour, so even the most perfect hotels can find themselves on a hiding to nothing.
Viewmount has much to recommend it including, a cleverly constructed Japanese garden, but one senses it’s the food that helps mark it out from the pack.
There’s a seriously good chef at work at an established named by Georgina Campbell as the best restaurant in Ireland in 2014.
His name is Gary O’Hanlon. You might know him from The Restaurant on RTÉ 1 or TV3’s Seven O’Clock Show.
He cut his teeth in Boston, and has been heading up the VM Restaurant since day one.
It’s worth making a drive just for his rare breed pig-cheek starter — a wonderfully slow-cooked piece of porcine loveliness that will last in the memory for a long time.
My rare sirloin steak was perfectly tender and works a treat with a creamy dollop of kale mash.
My wife opts for a fish starter and main: first up, delicate concoction of Irish prawns in the lightest of pastries, then an artfully arranged medley of monkfish tails, charred cauliflower and almond purée.
Both are far superior to what one might reasonably think of as Irish country house cooking.
I have the cheese board in lieu of dessert.
It’s a celebration of Ireland’s farmhouse cheese production, but I’ve had better elsewhere.
A glass of 40-year-old port certainly enlivens it.
Lynn’s peanut butter parfait is more successful thanks to its dark chocolate and array of delicate mini-macaroons.
There’s a good wine list with an array of reasonably priced wines including the Portuguese Douro at €32 a bottle.
It’s well worth trying the local brew too — St Mel’s, brewed just up the road — which typifies the qualities of Ireland’s burgeoning craft beer industry.
A word too for Kash, our Mauritian waiter, whose exemplary service is an exercise in friendliness, but not obsequiousness — a tricky balancing act.
As is usually the case, a busy chef like O’Hanlon is excused breakfast duty but James has little difficulty cooking decent fry-ups and egg dishes to order.
Care is taken to source quality local ingredients, including free-range eggs, though the bland toasted white bread needs changing, as does a pot of something that tastes suspiciously like margarine.
The breads at the dinner the night before demonstrate what proper bread should taste like.
And those who truly love their caffeine are unlikely to be rhapsodising about the basic filter coffee available.
Viewmount House sits on the outskirts of Longford.
The town centre is a 20-minute walk away, although, in truth, it’s not looking its best right now.
Vacant shopfronts pockmark the main streets — the recession has left a significant toll here.
However, there is one cast-iron reason to stop off at Longford town: St Mel’s Cathedral.
Those of any creed and none are likely to be spellbound by the church’s quite stunning interior.
Originally built in 1856, it was devastated by fire on Christmas Day, 2009.
It reopened after five years and a €30m investment: every aspect has been carefully designed, from the confessional boxes to the curved door to the toilet.
Further afield, lovers of the great outdoors will find much to explore around the picturesque Lough Ree.
This is the heart of Ireland’s lakeland and waterway district and its attractions includes a stretch of the Royal Canal that’s ideal for a brisk hike or more sedate stroll.
Doubles from €130 per night.
The five-course dinner menu costs €60 per person. Viewmount House, Dublin Road, Longford. 043 334 1919.
www.viewmounthouse.com
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