Our own Downton
If you want to spend Christmas at Ashford Castle this year, it’s going to cost you €1,750. That’s per person — by any estimate, a whack of money to spend dodging the washing up.
As ever with these things, mind you, the three-night package offers some value to those who can afford it. Amongst the trimmings included in the price are dinners in the George V restaurant, a visit from Santa, activities ranging from carol-singing to cruises on Lough Corrib, lunch, afternoon teas, cookery demos, evening entertainment and lashings of mulled wine and mince pies.
Ashford Castle cuts a fine dash on the wooded shores of Lough Corrib. Viewed from the water, in silhouette during the opening credits of The Quiet Man (1951), or at the end of the thin bridge over the River Cong as you approach along its leafy avenue, it’s an unforgettable sight.
George Moore noted the “noble wilderness” and “fairy-like silences” of the estate surrounding this former Guinness family bolthole, the oldest parts of which date from 1228. 783 years later, new arrivals from America still feel like they are in heaven.
Our own arrival (not at Christmas, alas) had five-star written all over it. A doorman in top hat and tails greeted us by name. The receptionist walked us to our room. The oak panels, oil paintings and sculpted lawns made us feel like characters in Downton Abbey.
We stayed in Room 221, a high-ceilinged suite in the oldest part of the castle. Like the hotel itself, the atmosphere was one of fusty luxury — a decanter of sherry stood by two cut-crystal glasses, and antique pieces stretched all the way to a mahogany toilet seat.
There are 83 rooms in total, but don’t expect the kind of state-of-the-art spotlessness you might find in, say, Castlemartyr. The odd sun-faded fabric, frayed carpet and chipped piece of furniture is par for the course here — which some will find scruffy, others proof of its character.
But a jacuzzi bath and flat-screen TV anchored us in the 21st century, and L, being coeliac, was mightily impressed by a plate of gluten-free chocolates on the coffee table. I had only mentioned her diet weeks earlier, on the phone.
“We kindly ask gentlemen to honour the elegance of the George V dining room by wearing a jacket and tie to dinner,” reads a note on the hotel’s fine dining restaurant.
Taking our seats in a dining room crowned by a dozen or so Waterford Crystal chandeliers, we tuck into a sumptuous feast, the highlights of which are a medley of yellow fin tuna (€18), a roast rack of Mayo lamb (€29) and a wild sea bass with red wine butter sauce (€31).
The chef is Stefan Matz and his commitment to local ingredients is obvious. At breakfast, don’t miss the roast ham, mouth-watering slices of which are carved right in front of you.
Readers may be surprised to learn that Ashford Castle doesn’t have a swimming pool. That’s unusual for a five-star hotel, but there’s no shortage of alternatives to keep you busy.
We took a lovely walk amongst the oak, beech and chestnut trees in the estate, passing guests trying out falconry with Harris hawks (from €50pp). We wandered via a low, winding tunnel into the walled gardens, and passed the broadwalk, overshadowed by oak, beech and chestnut trees.
Elsewhere, fishing (best during the mayfly hatch in May and June) and a nine-hole parkland golf course are options, or you could escape below deck to the health and beauty rooms.
Lough Corrib laps up against the castle lawns, and David and Patrick Luskin’s Corrib Cruises (corribcruises.com; €20pp) depart right outside the door. Stops include Inchagoill, where St Patrick is said to have been banished after cheekily trying to convert the local pagans.
Beyond the castle, Cong (which doubled as Innisfree in The Quiet Man) is lovely for a mosey, there are mountain bike trails on nearby Derroura Mountain, and Maam Valley and Lough Nafooey throw up the pick of the scenery. See Discoverireland.ie/Connemara for more ideas.
Ashford Castle’s three-night Christmas package costs from €1,750pp. From December 27, one night’s B&B plus dinner costs €450 per room. Contact 094-9546003; Ashford.ie.
Yes, it’s mind-bendingly expensive. And the recent closure of an alleged right-of-way through the estate hasn’t gone down well with locals. But Ashford Castle’s faith in its own exclusivity has paid dividends. It’s one of only a handful of Irish hotels with a globally-recognised brand, US business has been performing well this year, and room rates are on the rise again.
If you can afford it, you’re in good company. Ronald Reagan visited in 1984, and his is just one of many letters and photographs in a memorabilia room that honours a cast of guests ranging from Alex Ferguson to Brad Pitt and, of course, John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.
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