My Best Photos of a Weekend in Westport in Ireland

Blue cloudless skies, glistening waters and the hot sun beating down on my inappropriate tights, boots and dress. Where the hell am I?

My weekend in Westport in Ireland was hawwwt. A quick Google weather search reveals it was pushing 23 degrees – practically tropical temperatures for a Brit like me. Whether I was buying some last-minute sunglasses in The Bargain Store, calling a taxi to save my wedding outfit from the danger of a sweaty walk or buying a cooling drink at the hotel bar all anyone could talk about was, “ah but what about the weather we’re having?” (read in a thick Irish accent for the full effect) 

The normal temperature for Westport – a little town in the west of Ireland – is around 10 degrees. It seemed we’d found ourselves in a heat wave, perfect for the wedding of two of my best friends. There was a lot to pack into our weekend in Westport with our stay at the Mill Times Hotel, the wedding and catching up with my friends who’d all ventured out there, but in these 15 photos I’ve tried to capture the essence of a beautiful, fun and definitely unforgettable weekend in Westport to hopefully encourage you to check out this brilliant little pocket of Ireland.

It was time to visit Westport in Ireland, to see the home town my good friend Michelle had talked so much about over the past few years. She was getting married and I saw it as a great opportunity to take a long weekend in the west of Ireland.

Hotel in Westport

The Mill Times Hotel – one of the biggest hotels in the area – offered to put me up for two nights and I gladly accepted. On arrival I found that the few photos on their website just do not do it justice, the place was beautiful. Not too sleek that it felt like a generic hotel, but sleek enough in that I had everything I wanted in a hotel and didn’t want to leave.

My room

I opened the door with my key card and stopped in my tracks. I closed it again and turned to my boyfriend, “oh… my… god”.

“Open it I want to see!”

A quick swipe and we were in again, greeted by a huge four poster bed, floor-to-ceiling windows that floodied the room with light and a homely room that was probably the floor space of the whole of my London flat.

We had two chairs, a flat screen TV, a wardrobe, a chaise longues, drawers and flowers, all surrounded by natural tones adorning the walls and bedspread. Not to mention the range of lighting opportunities the various bulb sources provided.

We stood in the middle of the room taking it all in, “yay!”

Bathroom

Time to check out the bathroom – for my boyfriend this is the decider of a good hotel. I opened the oak door and the massive bathroom added to the bedroom definitely made this hotel room in Westport, Ireland, the floor space of my London abode. We had a jacuzzi big enough for two, if not three, a spacious shower, obviously a toilet and complimentary toiletries lined up long the full wall mirror.

I tried the jacuzzi out as soon a possible. I can’t actually remember the last time I had a bath (I do shower!) and my Irish bath was a delightful baptism back into the luxury bathing lifestyle. I used the comped bath products – although I would recommend taking your own super bubbles if you want to make the most of it –  and set the jets to high. I felt revitalised for the day ahead.

The next morning I tried the shower and was almost literally blown away by the high setting I’d over-confidently turned it to. Just what I needed to bring me back to life after a long night at the wedding, and a few hours away from my flight home.

Breakfast

We enjoyed two breakfasts  in the Mill Times Hotel restaurant. I had kippers and poached egg on the Saturday and a boiled egg and soldiers on the Sunday. Waiel had the Full Irish cooked breakfast both days – and all went down very well with the a teacup of Barry’s tea. There was a help-yourself continental breakfast bar too.

Night porter

We came back at about 4am from the wedding we were in town to enjoy and were greeted by a drunken woman, a resident, trying to get in the hotel with some guy she’d blatantly pulled. We’d found out the previous night that you have to ring for the night porter to be let in if you want access after hours so one of the hotel staff was on the door ticking off names…

“There are two women in your room… and he’s not a woman,” the guy said looking down at his clipboard.

Cue super awkward moment where she had to say bye to him with me, my boyfriend and the door man all looking on. It was obvious she didn’t know him and went inside with her head down looking guilty – wouldn’t like to be her the next morning. Awkward. Thankfully we passed the clipboard test with flying colours and it was good to know they were looking after their residents and hotel.

Brilliant hotel

• The bed was comfy – I could’ve stayed there all day watching TV from the comfort of the covers had we not only been there for a weekend.
• The location was perfect – we were right in the centre of Westport in the depths of all the shops and bars there were. We were also only a 20-minute scenic walk from The Quay. We were housed on the third floor – easy access from the streets of Westport direct to my room via the stairs or lift.
• The staff were great – we needed a taxi, it was there in 5 minutes. We to a free voucher for cosy joes on check in and we honestly felt like they couldn’t do enough for us. But there wasnt actually that much they could do – given we had everything.
• Room service was available – they had some delicious offerings, but unfortunately we weren’t there long enough. So it still remains one of my great life ambitions to order room service one day.