Strange but true - a night's dinner bed and breakfast at £200 for two can actually be better value than a weekend that is nominally gratis. The experience of a day or two away can vary that much. The free one was two nights' B&B and one dinner in a large hotel outside Galway city last year, won in a draw. Apart from one very friendly face, most of the staff we met were a study in disinterest. The food varied from passable to awful and then there was the cleaning - or lack of it. There were potato crisps spilt in our corridor when we arrived on Friday night. We stepped over them when leaving on Sunday morning. They may be there still.
We paid only (a bit much, I think, at £70) for going off the table d'hote menu, a bottle of wine at dinner and some drinks in the bar. But the lasting impression was disappointment - it simply wasn't worth what we paid, the trouble of arranging childcare, and the drive to Galway and back.
There was no reason to have similar worries about Hilton Park, Co Monaghan, but there is always a lingering unease mixed with the pleasant expectations of a short break away. The usual tension was there as we approached the house. It's not far from Dublin, but leaving town had been more traffic-clogged than usual and there had been a series of last-minute messages to do.
For a tense and tired couple, the last few miles from Cavan through Ballyhaise and Scotshouse seemed longer than they were. And the long avenue into Hilton Park itself gives a new depth to the "hidden Ireland" idea. It couldn't be that a Norman Bates-style operation had sneaked into the Hidden Ireland green book . . . could it? Were we about to disappear, leaving the children with their grannies for ever?
Half an hour later we were in paradise of the nice break variety, tidying up for dinner and fortified with the champagne we'd brought along for a picnic we'd been too rushed to stop for en route. In an ideal world, all journeys would end in a huge, tasteful and spotless room with a glass of champagne and an excellent dinner in prospect.
We should have known that anywhere in the green book would at least be different, and different Hilton Park is. Start with a very handsome old house, complete with beautiful old furniture, prints and paintings. Of course antique surroundings alone don't make a country house hotel.
First was our room, large and high-ceilinged as you would expect, with a view out over the house frontage and across the drumlins. The bed was huge and comfortable - several immediate bonus marks over another country house where we had lain but not rested on what felt like a bag of spanners. Then step closer, the sheets were heavy pure cotton and no doubt slow to dry and iron - no easy-care shortcuts here.
Flowers from the garden stood on the polished furniture, along with a selection of books that seemed chosen to provide something for everyone. From 101 Uses for a Dead Cat to modern novels, via a book on Soviet spy Oleg Penkovsky and all sorts of Irish-related non-fiction, some trouble had been taken. Making that extra effort to do the best possible for guests was the essence of the place.
The bathroom deserves an article to itself. Splendidly antique, its highlight was a free-standing bath of such size that you could imagine lying spread-eagled in it without touching the sides. Bath-salts and other toiletries were to hand. In fact, the "good-break" feeling had set in as soon as proprietor Johnny Madden had come out to meet us as we parked. Hospitality and a warm welcome seem to come so naturally to him that guests are set at ease and stay that way until they leave after the privilege of sharing his home.
A privilege it definitely is to sit at Lucy Madden's table in that beautiful first-floor dining room. Fruit, herbs and vegetables from the garden, and an excellent supplier of meat, came together in a dinner of perfection. A perfectly judged quiche with dressed fresh leaves was followed by beetroot and tomato soup, walnut or oatmeal bread alongside. Mouth-melting beef with ruby chard, new potatoes and a hollandaise-type sauce led on to dessert of loganberry ice-cream and strawberries.
Trouble was being taken yet again, as the beautiful plates and dishes seemed much too precious for a dishwasher. Likewise were the demi-tasses used for coffee in the drawing room afterwards. This may all sound too antique and precious to enjoy. It wasn't. The atmosphere is of relaxation, good chat, and a comfortable welcome both from the owners and the staff, who were quick, efficient and attentive in serving dinner without making a performance of it. Breakfast, downstairs in a bright, stone-flagged room, started with the healthy stuff: prunes, apricots, natural yoghurt and enough more of that ilk to tempt even the keenest lard-lover to some ripe melon and raspberry from the buffet. There were several homemade jams and jellies on the table. The lavender and apple jelly in particular were so delicious and difficult to identify that three slices of excellent brown bread went on tasting it properly.
Our first meeting with Lucy Madden was a cheerful confirmation that we wanted "the full Monty" in the way of hot breakfast. What a nice woman. Even the sausages were better than home - and our local butcher makes good ones - and the scrambled egg seemed like the most golden and free-range egg ever.
This set us up for an hour's stroll in the garden. From the formal area around the house, via a herb garden to die for, to a huge walled garden guarded by eerie scarecrows, there was one delight after another. In one place was a blazing wall of herbaceous colour, in another an Irish yew of such stature that it looked old enough to have scraped the bottom of the Ark.
The gardens alone would make a week's study, which was about a week longer than we had in hand. And so, regretfully, to departure and the bill. The reckoning for the wonderful food in beautiful surroundings with thoughtful, friendly hospitality came to £205 (B&B rates, plus dinner, a bottle of wine and drinks after dinner). It was great value, and worth more than the value for money was the sense of well-being and restored faith in short breaks that we took away with us.
Getting There
Hilton Park is situated between Cavan and Clones. It has six rooms, with bathrooms, and is open from April 1st to September 30th. B&B rates are £57.50 to £67.50, dinner is £25 and booking is essential. Attractions within a reasonable drive include Lough Erne, Castle Coole, Florence Court and Marble Arch caves, and there are golf, fishing, boating and bikehire available. Tel: 047-56007
Web: www.indigo.ie/hiltonpk/
Email: hilton@tempoweb.com
The Hidden Ireland - Accommodation in Private Heritage Houses booklet is available for £3 from tourist offices. It lists 43 of the most unusual and attractive places to stay in the Republic and Northern Ireland. Further information from 01-6627166.
Email: reservations@hidden-ireland.com
Web: www.hidden-ireland.com