The Gateway Lodge

Set along Lough Eske Road on the fringe of Donegal Town, The Gateway Lodge puts Donegal Castle within a two-minute walk. The building holds 26 refurbished en-suite rooms, each with a super king bed, a flat-screen TV, and tea and coffee facilities. Parking is free and covers coaches as well as cars, useful given the lodge's position just outside the town centre rather than in it. Blas, the on-site restaurant, occupies the ground floor of the original Drumcliffe house, built in the early 1800s and restored with much of its period detail kept intact. It serves breakfast, lunch and a light dinner menu daily. The town itself supplies the rest: more than 15 pubs and restaurants, a waterbus that circles Donegal Bay, and a railway heritage museum, all within walking distance. Harvey's Point and the Solis Lough Eske Hotel lie about 7 km out, useful markers for anyone attending an event there. It is a compact stay. Wi-Fi is complimentary throughout, and there is no booking fee. Rooms come in several configurations, from single to double, which suits both solo travellers passing through and groups arriving for weddings or golf trips to one of the county's 17 courses nearby.