The Cliff House hotel is in a fabulous location. The view over Ardmore Bay should rewarded with a smile even on a cloudy day. On arrival, staff made an excellent impression, whisking away luggage, whilst garaging the cars. Front of house remained exceptional throughout our stay, including the offer to run our two octogenarians into the village and back. Our rooms were not quite ready when we arrived. A group of eight taxed the hotel’s communal indoor facilities somewhat. We occupied the top floor ‘library’, which was a little remote and did not make best use of the hotel’s location. Had the weather been better, there would have been more space on the terrace or perhaps indoors. It would certainly be worth the hotel’s management reflecting on how to make best use of the space available, especially if expecting a larger party. Depending on the length of your stay, the rooms are of a good size, but might benefit from a little more storage. Bathrooms are generous with an excellent shower and large bath tub. Towels and robes are of excellent quality. A slight improvement would be to give some further thought to the storage of guest’s toiletries and wash bags. The housekeeping team did a fine job even when faced with this untidy visitor and requests were promptly and politely tended to. There is some confusion about menus and dining. The food was of an outstanding quality, but a longer stay requires a greater variety of options. Theoretically these were available, but not consistently and it was not always possible to accommodate as large a party as ours at short notice. Breakfast was good. Fruit and an excellent local yoghurt was a strong curtain raiser, the service was attentive and there was a good range of options. The white pudding was delicious, eggs perfectly scrambled and kippers popular. Prunes were strangely absent. On our final evening, we celebrated my parents’ diamond wedding with the House Restaurant’s five course tasting menu. Exceptional cooking was accompanied by a well chosen wine flight. My niece (12) was provided with her own juice flight, which went down well. My memories of Cliff House are dominated by that wonderful view, some incredibly welcoming staff and the finest lobster I’ve eaten. It’s not inexpensive, but in this case, I think you get what you pay for.
翻譯