Granvue Hotel, Carlingford Lough

What a great place. It’s cosy and serves up good food and great beer. We had walked by this place quite a few times as it’s right beside the sea, along a favourite walking spot with a perfect view of the Mourne mountains, Warrenpoint and the peninsula and Carlingford bay, but never ventured in until now. We had been invited to a wedding and this was the reception venue. The venue couldn’t physically cater for a big wedding. This one was around 100 guests and it was a tad cramped. The stage is small too. The meal was excellent, fish starter, perfectly cooked tasty meats for main and a scrummy trio of desserts. For the most part Irish restaurants deliver excellent fish and meat. The country is a giant natural larder and the cold Atlantic provides everything from crab and oysters to salmon and turbot, with a mostly soft damp climate with few temperature extremes. It has to be one of the best natural food rearing, growing climates on earth. Where restaurants did disappoint was usually the vegetables which were either cooked until they disintegrated or they were not properly cooked at all. The former was more typical. This place got it right. All the vegetables were perfectly cooked. It’s also a fact or at least it’s how I find it now that the places that murder great veg by overcooking are diminishing. In terms of rating it’s probably a one star, there’s no swimming pool, no jacuzzi or steam baths. Just a basic ten room old hotel with oodles of parking. It’s not bad enough to need redecorated but it’s not at all modern if you get my drift. I wouldn’t change it as it’s period, characterful and lots of real wood and old comfy chairs. The best thing about it is the friendliness of the staff. Like so many places now, the welcome and the service is genuinely warm and has that beguiling Irish charm. Now TH’s we’ve been once, and liked it, we’ll be back to try the al a carte. One real bummer though, the coffee is crap and like the over cooked vegetables of old Ireland it’s just not acceptable to serve up this awful powdered crap any more. Oh and finally there’s free wifi.

Stayed here for one night. The staff were real friendly and helpful. The room was nice and clean with a wonderful view of the lough. The irish breakfast the next morning was top notch. The ferry dock is right outside if you wanna go to warrenpoint. There is also a bar in the hotel with a separate covered smoking section and tables and chairs outside if the weather is good. All around happy experience.
It is a 10 euro taxi ride into Carlingford. There are a couple of shops, a café and a pub nearby.