Hotel review: Be gatekeeper of your own demesne at Mount Congreve Gate Lodge, Waterford

This stately haven with a boutique edge has the potential to offer unbridled country living

Mount Congreve Gate Lodge

• Mount Congreve Gate Lodge
• Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford 
• mountcongreve.com
• Our verdict: 8/10

Location

Just as the name suggests, this newly refurbished Gate Lodge sits at the entrance to the 18th century Mount Congreve Estate and Gardens, one of Ireland’s finest country manor attractions, which reopened to the public last spring following a multi-million investment. 

Offering all the seclusion you’d expect from a county estate, the property is just a 15-minute drive to Waterford city, while within the estate, you’re just a 500m ramble to the main manor which features the newly opened Stables Café and Shop.

It’s a magical setting, even if some car park construction up the driveway towards the manor blots the aesthetic somewhat. 

Mount Congreve is already emerging as a popular tourism site so guests can expect a steady trickle of cars passing the lodge, but come evening, when the main gates close, you’re essentially the gatekeeper of your own demesne.

9/10

Design spec

Though built in 1775, the freshly renovated gate lodge, which launched this summer, has enjoyed a bold, lavish makeover and offers authentic touches of period drama with a Vogue Living twist. 

At its heart is a rather lavish living room with a statement 18th-century French daybed paired with classic wing-back velvet armchairs, a smart TV, and an antique bio-ethanol stove. 

Portrait artworks, a profusion of greenery plus a ritzy cocktail bar (and honesty box) embellish it further. 

Next door is a stylish galley kitchen where even the white fire extinguisher matches the Smeg stove. 

There’s a delightful little supper room with an oval dining table which seats four along with a retro radio to set the mood.

7.5/10

One of the rooms at the Gate Lodge

Rooms

Being a traditional gate lodge, the property’s two bedrooms are modestly proportioned but thanks to those fine high ceilings, they can still handle a stunning, and supremely comfortable Louis XVI bed which adorns each of them along with rug tapestries overhead. 

Vintage wardrobes and dressers add more period lustre while the larger bedroom features an original fireplace. 

There are no en suites but rather one shared bathroom with a walk-in shower stocked with Wild Oats Soap, a Waterford company which uses botanicals like lavender and garden thyme from Mount Congreve Gardens itself. 

It is perhaps a pity a free-standing tub could not have been shoe-horned into the space and the en suite’s frosted perspex window feels below the lodge’s spec (we understand that’s being replaced), but on the whole, the bedrooms are wonderfully sumptuous spaces.

8/10

In-room perks

Guests to the Gate Lodge receive a small, artisanal breakfast pack with a loaf of freshly baked brown bread, a half dozen free-range eggs and honey. 

Oats, tea, coffee, milk and butter as well as other pantry items are provided in the well-stocked kitchen. 

A bar of Bean & Goose chocolate also satisfies a sweet tooth.

8/10

Service and facilities

I was checked in by Caitlyn Godfrey of the Mount Congreve team who enthusiastically showed myself and my dog around the gate lodge while offering tips for our visit. 

Guests can explore thanks to the lodge’s two complimentary bikes, there’s a furnished picnic basket (unstocked) should you wish to make a meal of it on finer days, and guests can fire up the Bushbuck stone barbecue or laze in the garden hammock.

But the main attraction is Mount Congreve’s renowned woodland and walled gardens which guests enjoy their own keys to. 

They make for dreamy strolls; a classical temple overlooking the River Suir is the view not to be missed. 

As Mount Congreve is on the Waterford Greenway you could cycle here too!

9/10

Scrambled eggs and salmon at Mount Congreve Gate Lodge

On the menu

Along with the small, artisanal breakfast pack with its freshly baked brown bread, there’s a well-stocked kitchen with items like oats, tea, coffee, milk, butter and other pantry goods.

Though a self-catering property, guests can enjoy the convenience of Mount Congreve’s Stables Café where breakfast, brunch and late lunches are served. 

I enjoyed breakfast there and while prices are steep (€17.50 for a full Irish, for example), what’s served is top drawer; my buttery scrambled eggs, with Burren smoked salmon, are perhaps the best I’ve eaten. 

I later learn that The Pantry at Cliff (of Ardmore fame) is behind the kitchen, which explains the culinary calibre. 

Mount Congreve also offers afternoon tea (from €35) in their charming tack room with Glenn Millar vinyl playing.

8/10

Value for money

There’s a two-night minimum stay at the Gate Lodge but with midweek rates starting from €240 per night, there’s potential for an excellent value getaway, particularly when a party of four can divvy up the costs. 

Weekends see rates increase to €720.

8/10

• Thom was a guest of Mount Congreve.

Room to improve? The gate lodge is a gorgeous property but the living room’s day bed was almost church pew hard which did impact the comfort of the space. Also, there's only so much heritage green paint a compact property can take before it starts to feel quite dark or enclosed.

Access for guests with disabilities? The property is not wheelchair friendly.

Family-friendly? The property advertises as adults-only but Mount Congreve are launching two more of the estate's gate lodges in 2024 which are set to be family-friendly. Stay tuned!

Dogs welcome? Yes, at €15 per dog. The lodge is quite unique in that it welcomes up to two dogs. Dog bowls and beds are provided plus there’s a handy dog-friendly wetland walk behind the property. Stables Café is also dog-friendly.