Patsey Murphyvisits the Ice House Hotel and Spa, Co Mayo
UNLIKE THE famous Ice Hotel in the Arctic Circle, you don't have to pose in an ice bar, freeze in an ice grotto or wear gloves to dinner at the Ice House in Ballina. But it's a cool place to chill, just the same. It doesn't so much overlook the River Moy as overhang it, and when you enter the riverside bedrooms and are faced with huge floor- to-ceiling windows it seems as if you could walk on the water. The view is magnificent, especially as the sun sets behind Belleek Wood.
It was designed by Joe Kennedy of Smith & Kennedy Architects, with an 18th-century ice house at its centre and modern wings dug into the riverbank on either side, using an inventive mix of steel, wood, glass and stone. It must have come as something of a shock, initially, to the residents in the row of traditional houses across the road. It's a sister hotel to Wineport Lodge, on Lough Ree in Co Westmeath, and Lisloughrey Lodge, in nearby Cong, both with reputations for excellent food and great comfort. Proprietor Ray Byrne and his partners have an eye for waterside properties.
We arrived hungry after a surprisingly easy three-hour drive from Dublin, then went straight to dinner. The menu is a la carte, and we thought we'd be good and have a main course only, but we needed to be wheeled out afterwards, anyway. Portions are generous. We were served a wee taste of melon and prosciutto, followed by a rose-scented sorbet, before the main course arrived. The sorbet was special. Then came a tableau on a rectangular plate: tuna served atop sauteed bean sprouts with dollops of wasabi cream, dribbles of balsamic vinegar and pak choi on the side, decorated with a red chilli.
We then learned that the chef, Gavin O'Rourke, is a well-known master of art on a plate: he worked at Peacock Alley, in Dublin, during its Michelin-star heyday. The rest of the team has equally starry credentials: managers Dara Cruise and Claire O'Sullivan come after years at the Four Seasons, and David Bregere hails from Tinakilly Country House Hotel and Mount Juliet.
The original house has four "heritage" rooms, including two suites, and these are rather sumptuously decorated in mock Victorian fashion, with antique furnishings, quirky accessories, expensive wallpapers and, of course, a flat-screen TV vying with the old paintings on the walls. Their bathrooms feature cedar bathtubs, the first I've seen, and their wood scents the air.
The rest of the rooms are modern cubes on two levels, 20 overlooking the river, some with private terraces and all with pretty much everything imaginable, including hair straighteners in case a dryer isn't enough for you. They have an iPod music system as well as DVD player and TV, a minibar with Irish sweets, complimentary water, magazines, an iron, tea service, slippers and robes and a very chatty, user-friendly guide to local amenities.
Their bathrooms have to be singled out if only because it's hard not to marvel at how extravagant hotel bathrooms have become. There was a time when we all shouted about the price of kitchens; now we have to try to keep up with elegant johns. Taps like waterfalls, enormous baths, slanted Connemara marble sinks, sparkling shower stalls, underfloor heating, underfloor lighting, natural light through windows just below the ceiling . . . everything, including a built-in ledge for candles and L'Occitane lotions and potions. Luxurious, enviable and, no doubt, out of sight budgetwise.
We liked the little reading lights attached to the bedside lamps, too, and we kept the curtains open all night to look out at the starry night over the river and eventually woke to see swans floating past at eye level. A good omen, surely, and a good place for romance.
The breakfast buffet had O'Rourke's touch: blue berries and green kiwis artfully mixed together. A macchiato was one of the best coffees I've had, and we were plied with complimentary newspapers.
The Chill Spa is scented with German Babor products, with the usual assortment of top-to-toe treatments available for men and women. The bold will head out to the hot tubs on the terrace; the more hearty can head to Inniscrone, nearby, for a seaweed bath.
The Ice House makes for a luxurious break in unspoilt Mayo; extravagant in these belt-tightening times, but tempting.
WhereThe Ice House Hotel & Spa, the Quay, Ballina, Co Mayo, 096-23500, www.theicehouse.ie.
AtmosphereSleek boutique on the River Moy.
Rooms32, four with mock-Victorian decor and cedar baths in the original ice house; the rest modern riverside cubes, including interconnecting suites.
Best ratesSee "Left it late" packages posted on website on Wednesdays or Thursdays. From €135pps B&B.
RestaurantsDinner menu a la carte; about €65 a head without wine.
BarA drink on the terrace, weather and midges allowing, would be memorable. Inside there are couches as well as bar stools.
Child-friendlinessMore a place to make than take babies, but babysitting and interconnecting family rooms available.
AmenitiesSpa with five treatment rooms and steam room. Outdoor hot tubs and heated loungers. Organised fishing trips and river cruises.
NearbyFoxford Woollen Mills; walks in Belleek Wood; Inniscrone Strand and seaweed baths; St Muredach's Cathedral; Museum of Country Life, Castlebar; Céide Fields, Ballycastle.