The Armada hotel, Milltown Malbay

Hey everyone!

So, carrying on from my previous post ‘A night at The Twelve Hotel & Spa, Barna’ we decided to start travelling on the road and stay a night somewhere closer to our end destination, Doolin. We looked up a few hotels in the region of the area and came across The Armada hotel in Milltown Malbay, County Clare. Damien said he had heard good things about it and the pictures looked fab so we decided to book a one night stay here.

The drive from Barna was one of the most scenic and beautiful routes I’ve ever taken. The drive took about 2 hours and 15 minutes so it wasn’t too bad at all. The whole journey was along the coast and the weather was amazing so everything looked extra-gorgeous!

We pulled up to the hotel in the middle of the beautiful town Milltown Malbay, right in the centre of the Spanish point. The staff were so friendly and the inside of the hotel was so nice and cosy. We got such nice weather and we went straight downstairs to The Ocean bar and bistro for some lunch and some cocktails. Now I’m not one for seafood at all really but I loved the look of this restaurant, it had a kind of ship wreck theme, with netting hanging from the ceiling with starfish, swings made out of rope used as seating and a refreshing view of the sea facing you as you dine. They also had such a countryside vibe even using hurls as doorstoppers!

I got smoked haddock & sweet potato fishcakes while Damien got the open burren smoked salmon and both were delicious, so fresh and falling apart in your mouth! perfect for lunch. I also ordered some strawberry daiquiris which were so nice and the barman even went to the effort of making me roses made out of strawberries to put into it! all in all I loved this bar/bistro.

The outside of this hotel was absolutely stunning, even nicer as we got the good weather, there are lots of benches to sit on while overlooking the sea and Milltown Malbay is such a lovely, relaxing and homely town in itself.

As we starting walking back to go up to our room we noticed double doors with the word ‘Johnny Burkes’ across it. We pushed open the doors to find the cutest little pub conjoined to the hotel. If we didn’t have a wedding the next day we would have stayed here all night. It was so cosy with trad music playing, the fire lighting, lights everywhere and old ornaments. The staff were also so chatty and welcoming and the drinks were so nice.

When we realised we had to stop with the rounds we went for dinner in the Pearl restaurant downstairs. The restaurant had a lovely lay out and perfect view of the sea lit up at night. I opted for the chicken liver pate while Damien got the homemade beetroot ravioli. Damien loved his but I found my pate a bit too salty if I’m honest. We then went for the roasted supreme of chicken and fillet of beet and stout pie. These were both equally delicious. Overall the restaurant was lovely.

The only disappointments we had with this hotel were that there was no pool and the room was fairly small, although we did have a gorgeous view. I would definitely return to this hotel again even for the location, food and Johnny Burke’s alone.