Weekend break: The Sheen Falls Lodge, Kenmare

Is a relaxing holiday really possible when you’re travelling with four kids? Yes, says Vickie Maye after a weekend in Kenmare.

My two-year-old couldn’t contain her excitement. “Waterfall, waterfall,” she cried, clamouring over chairs to get a closer look at the rushing water. We were just as blown away. Every window in our family suite overlooked it, even in the bathroom.

Better still, you could hear the water too, no matter where you were. And there is no sound more relaxing or more grounding.

Who needs meditation in a hotel like this?

Incredibly, Seamus Crotty, the brand new manager at the Sheen Falls — he joined from Hayfield Manor just last April — says people have (on rare occasions, but still...) complained about the noise.

There’s no pleasing some. My advice?

Sixty-five of the 66 rooms face the water, make sure you don’t get that one solo room on the wrong side and you will leave as though you’ve been on a three-day meditation retreat.

(Of course the spa at Sheen Falls is a help here too.)

It’s not often you find a destination that you leave relaxed when you have four kids in tow. Especially when the younger three are four, two, and 10 months. Somehow, though, we drove away from the Sheen Falls feeling pretty zen.

Everything felt easy, effortless. Checking in can often be stressful with small kids and luggage in tow but the wide open spaces at reception were a blessing with the kids.

The staff were utterly professional, yet refreshingly and reassuringly down to earth.

Hyper toddlers? Not a problem.

Too often, family hotel rooms can be great in theory but the reality of six people in one room, trying to keep older kids quiet while baby sleeps, isn’t the ideal.

So the family suites at the Sheen Falls were a complete luxury.

Newly renovated, the carpets were so soft our feet sank into them.The hallway alone was as big as my bedroom.

To the right was the living room, with two beds that could be hidden away into built-in wardrobes, and another bed that could be folded into a couch.

This was the kids’ room, and they had their very own flatscreen TV (there were no cartoon channels but there was a selection of DVDs downstairs).

There was little need for it — the view of the waterfall had us all captivated.

The marble bathroom, enormous, with two sinks and filled with the most beautiful Voya lotions, even came with a nappy bin. Staff had thought of everything — and that thoughtfulness was a recurring theme throughout our stay.

The main bedroom had a bed so big it could have slept all six of us. There was another flatscreen TV, but it too remained untouched. Nothing could compete with that view.

The Nespresso machine was a welcome addition, as were the melt-in-the-mouth chocolates on arrival.

It was raining that first afternoon so the kids headed for the pool until it was time for dinner.

Again, dining at a five-star hotel with young kids can be a daunting encounter. But not at the Sheen Falls.

We opted not to eat at the more formal Falls restaurant, refurbished just this summer, instead choosing the casual Oscars dining option.

As the waitress said reassuringly, “the kids can run around here”.

The pressure was off. Goodie bags arrived as soon as they had their seats, full of arts and crafts, and they chose from an extensive children’s menu.

We had the choice of either menu, Oscars or Falls, and chose samples from both.

I’m still thinking about my starter — king scallops with Sneem black pudding. And for main I kept the seafood theme going with pan-roasted gambas.

A two-course menu at the Falls is €49 per person, or three-courses for €65.

If we didn’t have the kids in tow, we would definitely have tried the seven-course Culinary Experience, a tasting menu available Monday to Sunday from 7pm to 8.30pm (€89 per person including a glass of champagne).

The resident pianist completes that old-world, five-star charm.

When the children got bored there was a kids’ club to keep them entertained.

Signed in and supervised, it gives parents the potential to enjoy an evening meal alone. Think board games and movie nights.

The next morning it was down for a breakfast of muesli and hot food ordered from the menu — no self-service scrambled eggs here.

Again activity bags were supplied for the kids.

After breakfast the 10-year-old and her dad headed off for a morning of kayaking and water activities at Star Outdoors in Kenmare.

Last year we had tried out their wildlife sea cruise, but when the eldest spotted the adventure centre we had to promise there and then we’d come back.

Twelve months later, good to our word, we were on the waterfront. And it was worth the effort.

Fantastic value — just €40 for the two including wetsuit hire — they kayaked to an inflatable slide and trampoline in the middle of the water, returning home on a high.

Later we took the girls horse riding at the Sheen Falls stables (€20 for an hour per child).

It was a leisurely hour-long stroll along Kenmare’s country roads — but there are also mountain treks or shoreline canters (for those who aren’t travelling with a four-year-old and want something a little more adventurous).

There were other activities on site. Sitting on 300 acres, the world is your oyster really at the Sheen Falls.

We didn’t think the clay pigeon shooting or fishing were quite the right itinerary for a family visit, but both are there for the taking.

We ate in a cosy Italian in Kenmare that evening and headed back for an evening walk around the hotel grounds. We just had to see — and hear — that glorious waterfall up close.

Last year readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine named four Irish hotels among their Top 10 European Resorts.

After a weekend there, it didn’t surprise us that the Sheen Falls Lodge topped the list at No.1.

The five-star only changed hands a couple of years ago and there are plans for further refurbishments.

Truth be told, it’s quite perfect as it stands.

The Summer Family package offers a three-night B&B stay with dinner on one evening in the Falls restaurant.

The children can be entertained each evening with a supervised family movie along with a choice of board games from 6pm-9.30pm.

On one evening, the kids can enjoy a complimentary horse ride along the carefully chosen riverside trails, or forested mountain path.

Rates start at €1,465 based on two adults and two children sharing.

The midweek ‘3 for 2’ package includes a three-night stay for the price of two, with breakfast each morning and dinner on two evenings in the newly refurbished Falls Restaurant, with a seasonal menu prepared by chef Philip Brazil. Prices start from €610 for a classic room.