In Clifden : the Quay House

The Quay House: Ireland's Dreamiest Bed and Breakfast

Quirky, homey, even a little bit odd.

• By Jo Piazza 
• Published Oct 24, 2014 

The exterior of the Quay House in Connemara, Ireland.   (Photo: John Kehely)

You make a reservation, but you don’t know what a hotel is really like until you stay there. There are hundreds of thousands of hotels worldwide, and with new ones opening every day, it’s impossible to know what you’re going to get. Yahoo Travel takes the guessing out of your reservation by going inside some of the world’s most popular hotels.


Hotel: The Quay House


Location: The Quay House, Beach Road, Clifden, Co Galway, Ireland. - T: +353 95 21369 - Email: res@thequayhouse.com


The Background: This year marks Julia and Paddy Foyle’s 21st season operating the Quay House. The building was originally constructed for the Clifden harbormaster in 1820, and since then has been a Franciscan monastery and an orphanage for the Sisters of Mercy. Paddy has been in the hotel business forever. He and his twin brother were born in Foyle’s Hotel down the road


What I Loved: Two rambunctious pugs, Banjo and Blossom, snort their welcomes to you as you enter the garden of The Quay House, the 14-room bed and breakfast perched on the water’s edge in the town of Clifden in the rugged region of Connemara along the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland.


I am the kind of person who compartmentalizes my B&B and hotel experiences. While adept at roughing it, I love me a fancy hotel. A friend of mine — Annie Fitzsimmons, National Geographic’s “Urban Insider” — put it best at a recent dinner party: “A fancy hotel is still the last place you can go and pretend you’re someone completely different.” In a luxury hotel, I want 800-thread-count sheets and pillows that feel like clouds on the back of a unicorn.


I want something different from a B&B. I want my B&B to be quirky, homey, even a little bit odd. I have to say, the Quay House delivered and then some.


If Julia and Paddy Foyle weren’t the owners of a B&B, in another life they would have been hoarders of eccentric antiques. But because they have the Quay House to decorate, the two of them are able to indulge their love of collecting and attending auctions, making every corner of their B&B unique and adorable.


“We are both collectors and we both love going to auctions and house sales, and as the house has expanded over the years it has given us an excuse to go to more and more auctions,” Julia told me. “Paddy is the one with the spatial vision to lay out all of the rooms. He’s a typical Gemini.”


“He can’t sit still, actually,” Julia remarked as her husband busied himself in the kitchen, helping to prepare breakfast.


Where You Sleep: Each room has its own personality. There’s the Napoleon Room, with a portrait of the diminutive despot over the bed. There’s the Mirror Room, with a gilded mirror so large, Julia told me they will never be able to get it out of the house.


There’s the Bamboo Room, the African Room, and the Bird Room — where I stayed, on the top floor, filled with portraits and stuffed exotic parrots.


Some rooms have working fireplaces and family rooms that can comfortably fit four people.


The Vibe: Guests at the Quay House feel immediately at home and can pad into the charming conservatory for breakfast in their socks or lounge in front of the fire in the salon.


The Food: The Quay House serves one of the heartiest Irish Breakfasts I enjoyed during my weeklong journey along the Atlantic Coast. The eggs Benedict and smoked salmon are both to die for. Each morning brought a new kind of sweet fruit crumble (no added sugar), smoked haddock scones, and fresh soda bread.


What’s in the Neighborhood:


Gallop to Omey Island - The Cleggan Beach Riding Center is just a 10-minute drive from the hotel. Make sure to book the 2.5- to 3-hour ride to Omey Island, a coastal island with no bridges that’s only reachable during low tide. You’ll gallop across the beautiful Omey Beach and through the sea on one of the riding center’s giant Irish cob horses or diminutive Connemara ponies.


Pick Up That Fisherman’s Sweater at Stanley’s - You can’t visit Ireland without picking up one of those oversized cable-knit Irish wool fisherman’s sweaters. They sell them all over the country, but I have to say that I got the most bang for my buck at Stanley’s, a clothing outfitter that has been around since 1824. I grabbed two amazing sweaters for less than 40 pounds a piece. I saw the very same sweaters in a fancier shop down the way for double the price! Plus, Stanley’s is one of the few stores in town that takes American Express!


Kayak in Killary - Take in a spectacular sea kayaking tour where you can catch and barbecue your own Atlantic lunch as you paddle through Ireland’s only fjord. Contact Mór Active for info.


Dine at the Marconi Restaurant - This restaurant has been in Paddy’s family for over a century and is just a half-mile away from the Quay House. Order the Irish salmon and tender Connemara lamb with a side of locally produced baked goat cheese.