This stylish modern hotel is in a lovely location overlooking the Slaney estuary and has excellent amenities, including a superb health and fitness club, and the new Riverwood Treatment Rooms.
Public areas include an appealing contemporary bar, The Dry Dock, which has a large riverside deck where you can relax and enjoy the view. It is a popular meeting place for local people as well as residents, and appeals to all ages.
Good food is served here with both a day and evening menu. Lighter bites during the day might include a baked goats cheese crumble and there’s a good range of gourmet sandwiches. Evening time brings heartier food - real beef burgers, steak, ribs, pasta and fish, and desserts like flourless chocolate and orange moussecake and a classic Knickerbocker Glory. There’s also a separate children’s menu that includes spaghetti bolognese and chicken curry as well as old favourites.
Alternatively Reeds (see below) offers a fine dining option which is more appropriate for adults. Accommodation is contemporary in style, and very comfortable - unusually, all of the well-appointed bedrooms have splendid views across the water, and some also have balconies with wooden loungers; well-equipped family rooms have bunk beds or adjoining rooms, depending on your requirements, and there’s a private baby station room for guests.
It’s a very family-friendly and child-friendly hotel, especially in July and August when children between four and 12 can enjoy ‘Crazy Clubbers’ facilities in the leisure centre, which offers a programme of daytime activities and evening entertainment but it is not a babysitting service, as an adult must be on the hotel premises at all times; there’s an excellent swimming pool for younger swimmers, with its own fountain and Jacuzzi jets, and a separate room for ‘baby clubbers’ where parents can entertain babies and toddlers.
Staff are exceptionally welcoming and friendly, and special breaks are offered.
Reeds Restaurant
Good food has always been a strong point at the Ferrycarrig, and Reeds offers adult guests accomplished modern cooking in the atmosphere of an independent restaurant rather than an hotel dining room. It has its own reception/bar area, and formally appointed tables are arranged to make the most of the waterside position.
The ethos of executive head chef Tony Carty is to use ‘local, seasonal, quality ingredients’ and the menu reflects this. Pat O’Neill’s pork, Kilmore Quay fish, Slaney Valley lamb and, in season, Enniscorthy rhubarb, are used in imaginative and well balanced dishes. Speciality Irish cheeses include Wicklow Blue Brie, Boilie Goat’s Cheese, Gubbeen and Carrigbyrne Humming Bark.
Food presentation is fashionable but not over the top, and service is pleasant and professional, ensuring a relaxing evening.