Glenlo Abbey Hotel

Owners Peggy and John Bourke spent many years painstakingly restoring the property into a luxury hotel, but one with a difference: Three centuries of antiques furnish the house, recent works by local artists hang on its walls and the skilled plasterwork and handwoven carpets are by local craftsmen. The overall effect is comfortably grand and very stylish without being overbearing.

But what gives the hotel its novelty is the Pullman Restaurant, housed in two of the original carriages from the Orient Express. Indeed, one of the carriages 'starred' in Murder on the Orient Express and long before that carried many a celebrity, including Sir Winston Churchill. The restaurant's menu is themed on some of the famous train's destinations: Paris, St Petersburg, Istanbul ... A more local destination, just three miles away, is the medieval city of Galway, which offers infinite pleasures, not least the pubs, boutiques, and heritage shops, as well as excellent theatre and concerts.