The Quay House

The harbormaster certainly picked a pretty site for his home on the quay, with its wide vista of the inlet of Ardbear Bay and the town of Clifden winding up the hillside. Since 1820, Quay House has served variously as the harbormaster’s home, a convent, a monastery, and a hotel. Julia and Paddy have given them a new lease of life as a stylish hotel. They decorated the whole in a refreshingly eclectic style; blending old, modern, and unconventional in an idiosyncratic way with little jokes and quirks such as Vegetarian Alley, a corridor of hunting trophies. Breakfast in the conservatory is the only meal served. For dinner, a five-minute walk brings you into town where there are several good restaurants. There are seven spacious studios, of which six have small fitted kitchens and balconies, and seven bedrooms. All rooms have spacious bathrooms with separate showers and tubs. Several are “traditional country house” in their decor, others light, fresh, and more bohemian. Particular favorites are Napoleon, a tribute room to the famous Corsican which enjoys a sitting area with panoramic views of the harbor, Out of Africa, a safari-themed studio; and The Bird Room, a studio with a few wacky stuffed parrots and a couple of large pictures featuring parrots.