"Tim O'Sullivan's cooking is firing on all cylinders these days, making the lovely Renvyle one of the best hotels."

They have a new Ayurvedic spa centre in Renvyle now, the Simran Rooms, with facials and wraps and what-have-you. It means if you haven’t achieved that nirvana of inner peace, which is what a few days here in the chill-out capital of the West inspires, then you can work on it a little bit more. But, for many if not most of us, simply turning up to experience Ronnie Counihan’s hospitality and Tim O’Sullivan’s cooking in this glorious coastal hotel is enough to have us blissed out in no time whatsoever.

It is hard to know which is the bigger attraction in Renvyle today. Is it the glorious house in the glorious grounds, with its peacefulness and away-from-it-all atmosphere? Or is it Mr. O’Sullivan’s superb cooking? Don’t make the mistake of thinking that what Renvyle offers is “hotel” food. It isn’t: this is cutting edge cooking from a master chef who is currently at the very height of his powers. But then, Renvyle isn’t: A or B? It’s more an A to Z of hospitality, in all its myriad, glorious forms.

• 10 Places to bring your golf clubs

• 10 Places to get away from it from it all 

Bridgestone Guide '100 Best Places to Stay in Ireland 2009', John & Sally McKenna