We had a delightful three nights care of Eileen and TJ. The hospitality was excellent especially the breakfasts. Nothing was too much trouble.

I stayed with Eileen once back in 2005, and chose to take my family here on our recent vacation in Ireland. Set on a hill next to the family's dairy farm which overlooks Dungarven Bay, the house can be tricky to find but is well worth it. It's the small touches that the hostess, Eileen, provides that make this place so special. This particular trip we were greeted with a warm fire, hot tea, and freshly baked chocolate banana bread (to die for!). Eileen is a pleasure to chat with and is more than willing to suggest special places to visit that add to your vacation experience. The sitting room is a wonderful place to relax peacefully by the fire, and the bedrooms are lovely as well. Eileen provides rooms with comfortable beds that are decorated with beautiful antiques. Tea trays include lovely china and extras like biscuits, and pitchers of water with lemon are placed bedside. Bathrooms are modern and spotless. The real thrill at this B&B is the breakfast, cooked to order from the freshest of ingredients. We started with homemade museli and freshly made yogurt and gooseberries. Breakfast included fresh eggs from Eileen's hens, freshly smoked salmon, homemade brown bread, scones hot from the oven, homemade marmalade and lemon curd, fresh milk, and freshly squeezed juices. I'm sure we'll be back again and again, I can't recommend this place enough!

We arrived a bit late to Gortnadiha Lodge, but our hostess, Eileen Harty, was most welcoming.

She was eager to advise us on sights to see, and even hauled out a road map to recommend better, more scenic routes for the next day's travels.

The B&B's Web site advertises Gortnadiha Lodge as a "country house," but we were still surprised at how much in the country it actually was! That's not a bad thing, though. It was peaceful and very quiet, and the trip into nearby Dungarvan was short. Plus, its location in Ring gave us a chance to explore that Gaeltacht region.

Eileen encouraged us to make ourselves comfortable, whether in our good-sized room or in a downstairs lounge, and she insisted we sleep in and have breakfast as late as we wished.

And oh, what a breakfast! Toasted muesli with yogurt and gooseberries from the garden, breads, Irish farmhouse cheeses, fresh-squeezed (really!) orange juice, and -- and this was the best part -- hot-from-the-oven scones. And, of course, a cooked breakfast if we desired.

As far as the rooms go, they were tastfully decorated and well stocked with whatever item a guest could need - books, magazines, travel information, shampoo, soap, and other toiletries. The beds were a bit soft, but that's just a personal taste.

One recommendation: Bring a travel alarm clock! This, like several Irish B&Bs we encountered, did not have one in the room. (Eileen, however, was more than willing to wake us with a knock on our door.)

This B&B was so welcoming and homey that it really did make us feel like we were staying with a friend or relative.