Ballymascanlon House Hotel

There was heavy rain without and a buzzing atmosphere within; a roaring trade from we arrived until we left in the rain. We were here to try the pub grub. We sat in comfy sofa seats beside the impressively long and very well stocked bar. There was the aftermath of a funeral and we could hear some of the indiscreet conversations, unkind gossip on who’s doing what or not, I suppose autopsies of the living. It was ever thus. There was also the aftermath of a wedding. so all that was missing was a christening and perhaps I just didn’t notice one. The friendly, overworked staff are worth their weight in gold here and we were looked after very well too. As is usual my chief interest is the food. I was to be very disappointed. Three of us dined: unusually for me I didn’t go for fish (hake or salmon here) as I’m not a fan of hake in fact I find it watery and I dislike it intensely. I’m not a big fan of farmed pink salmon either. So it was that I was attracted to the sirloin steak sandwich with crispy onions, fried egg, chips and a piece of ciabatta bread at 17 euro. There was coleslaw on the plate too. The steak was a fair portion. It had a good flavour, cooked as I required and the lightly fried egg was tasty but as for the rest, oh dear never again. The crispy onions were not crispy, instead they were cold, limp and oily. Grim. The chips, bread and coleslaw were all industrially produced and delivered in. The ciabatta was tasteless, without texture and spongy, the chips were also tasteless. The coleslaw was predominantly mass — produced mayonnaise and I certainly couldn’t discern any other taste than the acrid taste of cheap mayonnaise. Worst of all there was no Coleman’s English mustard. There was Heinz English mustard in a plastic sachet which isn’t a patch on re world’s greatest mustard. So there was a lot left on the plate, the chap who was obviously a floor manager eventually lifted our plates. He did not ask if we enjoyed the food nor did he remark on the amount of food still on my plate. Just as well I suppose.

Beautiful property, impeccably clean. Bed and breakfast on a larger scale. Spacious rooms full of natural light recently redone and quite modern. The bathroom alone is larger than most rooms-​particularly my last room in the UK. The gym was decently equipped and there is a wonderful heated indoor pool, with a jacuzzi and sauna. It would be nice if there were access to sound on the TV in the gym. I arrived after 11:00 pm and the front desk was there and ready to check me in. It only took a few minutes. I passed by a very lively bar area that goes until midnight I’m told. About to try the food. Breakfast was buffet style but everything replenished regularly and very fresh and delicious. Freshly fried eggs available how you like them. I have to mention that with all the positives, a couple of caveats. There is a golf course and working farms in the area. I was awakened each morning quite early by noises from surrounding properties. Lastly, I had the Di Not Disturb sign in my door but housekeeping went in anyway. I was told that calls to the room were made, a manager was notified and a supervisor accompanied the cleaning person. I was told this was policy. So, lesson learned. Let the hotel know in advance that you will not want room to be serviced.