Moy House

Moy House Review

Built for Sir Augustine Fitzgerald, this enchanting, 18th-century Italianate-style lodge sits amid 15 private acres on an exhilarating, Wuthering Heights-like windswept cliff top that's a three-minute drive from Lahinch. It's a world away from the bustling seaside resort—a peaceful haven, where you are made to feel like you're a guest in a privately owned country house. The decor is most alluring, with period velvet sofas, marble fireplaces, and gilt-frame paintings. Upstairs, brocade curtains and Oriental rugs complement the guest rooms' Georgian and Victorian polished-mahogany antiques. Some rooms have open fires, some have freestanding cast-iron bathtubs, six have stunning sea views, and two overlook the pretty, sheltered garden. Once you settle in, enjoy a drink at the honesty bar in the elegant drawing room (help yourself, and write it down); in bad weather, curl up with a book in the peaceful library. The cozy dining room (guests only) serves an imaginative four-course dinner (€55) of contemporary cuisine. The real dessert is the vista from the veranda over Lahinch Bay.