RATHMULLAN HOUSE

Country house comfort on the shores of Lough Swilly

BUILT IN THE 1760S as a summer house for Belfast bankers and run by the Wheeler family since 1963, Rathmullan House retains all the graciousness of its grand history, hand-in-hand with a welcoming informality. Set just outside the sleepy Donegal village of Rathmullan, this mostly Georgian manor house is set in the prettiest grounds.

Three warm and elegant sitting rooms replete with chandeliers, antiques, marble fireplaces and oil paintings are warmed by open turf fires in winter, offering the embracing comforts needed after a day of bracing Irish air. There's also an informal cellar bar, open in summer.

Rathmullan's bedrooms vary from the simple to swishy. Those in the newer Regency wing are best, with polished wood floors, gas log fires and clawfoot bathtubs. Double doors in ground floor suites open onto the rose-filled gardens, and each has a different decor theme range from Shaker to Cath Kidston. Rooms in the original house have more of an unpretentious  country-house feel – some having four-posters. Opt for a Doggie room is you're travelling with pooch  – these come with their own little couch.

Bracing walks and breezy dips

Outdoors, Rathmullan's seven acres of lawns and trees stretch down to two miles of deserted white sand beaches along the shores of Lough Swilly. Not up to a breezy dip? Relax in the indoor heated pool and steam room, or book a pampering aromatherapy massage in the spa.

Dinner menus are pure Ireland, using organic fruit and vegetables from Rathmullan's walled garden, locally caught seafood, and lamb grazed on the salt plains.

Donegal’s scenic coast and countryside share top honours here. Don’t miss Glenveagh National Park and Glebe House, or spend a day at the Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills whiskey distillery. There's plenty of golfing, too.


Rathmullan House was reviewed for Room for Romance by Mike North

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ROMANCE AT RATHMULLAN – Donegal

Romance is the name of the game at Rathmullan House in Donegal. Spoil yourselves  with a night in a superior room with champagne and chocolates, dinner and a massage.

You’ll arrive to a bottle of bubbly chilling in your room with homemade chocolates. Enjoy an invigorating massage each in the Spa, followed by dinner for two. The cost is EUR 530 per couple. Pay EUR 760  and your stay includes a two night stay, with dinner on one night.

* Request "Romance at Rathmullan" in the Message box on our Booking Inquiry form.

Click on any picture to enlarge it and move through the gallery.

Dining in
Dine beneath an extravagant tented ceiling swathed in Bedouin silk and sprinkled with fairy lights. Organic fruit and vegetables are grown in the restaurant garden and a seaside setting means plenty of  fresh fish and seafood. Try the pan seared Lough Swilly queen scallops with caramalised endive, sea spaghetti and salsa verde.

Breakfast
Award winning breakfasts are served until 10am

Room service
Available morning and evening




See & Do
Take the Knockalla coastal drive around the Fanad Peninsular to the lighthouse and en route gaze at fabulous Warden Beach, regarded as Ireland’s most beautiful. Admire the works of art at the Glebe House, spot red deer at the Glenveigh National Park and – if it’s not too chilly – get surfing at Donegal's Bundoran beach, where the waves are reputed to rival those at Bondi in Sydney. For lazy shoreside walks, simply stroll through Rathmullan House’s lovely gardens to the sandy beach along the lough.

Spa
Pamper yourself in the hotel’s Solace Room, whose range of holistic treatments include the cult skincare brand Dr Hauschka ‘90 minutes of heaven’ facial and massage.

Diary Dates
July
For total sensory overload see the musicians, dancers and acrobats at the Earagail Arts festival.

August bank holiday
With a packed programme of popular music from Ireland and beyond, the Ballyshannon Folk and Traditional Music festival is unmissable.

GETTING THERE

Location
Lough Swilly, Rathmullan, Letterkenny Co. Donegal

Parking
There is free guest parking

Trains
Sligo station – 32 km

Taxis
EUR 50 from the station

Airport
Donegal and City of Derry – 68 km

ESSENTIAL INFO

Rates guide
EUR 150- 350

Open/closed
Closed 10 January – 8 February

Check-in
4pm

Check-out
11.30am

Minimum night stay?
No

Children
Welcome – but there are child-free areas in the hotel

Pets
Yes – there's a specially built ‘doggie room’ inside one of the superior rooms.

Air conditioning
No

Wedding license?
Yes – held in the Weeping Elm restaurant outside peak summer months for up to 135 guests. Smaller weddings (for up to 60) are held in a more intimate private function room with a minstrel's gallery .