The Lough Erne resort and golf club is located about 15 minute drive from the centre of Enniskilen, Co.Antrim. We’d been eying up this resort for a while now and as we were going on a hill walk in Sligo and by coincidence, we were taking a trip to Belfast, we felt it was a good idea to break the journey rather than drive to Belfast from Sligo.
It’s obvious if your into Golf, you’ll be in your element, from what we could gather there are several golf courses. The resort is mammoth in size and an impressive looking place as you drive up.
After parking (no parking valet service) we made our way inside. The large foyer was welcoming although the look was a tad dated. We checked in, the receptionist was friendly and informed us our meal would be served in the Loughside Bar and Grill which is about a 1 minute walk up the road just outside the entrance. We were on a package deal for the night, we opted for the less expensive more casual dining option, rather than the more expensive fine dining option.
After checking in we made our way to our room, which was a good size, with a separate shower and large bathtub, plus it was spotless.
After dropping the bags we made our way to the bar to have a pre-dinner drink. The bar staff were friendly, but the service was all a little staged and it was obvious the young staff lacked experience. There was a good choice of drinks and a good size cocktail selection. The bar is made up of two large rooms which also have doors leading to a large patio area overlooking the golf course.
As we had arrived late, we did not check out the Spa area and other amenities.
The Loughside Bar and Grill is a good size restaurant and the menu reads like that of a gastro bar, which is pretty much what we expected. To start I opted for the pork belly which came with apple puree and some celeriac, it was tasty but the portion size was a tad on the small size. C opted for the macaroni and cheese – it was horrendous, inedible. We sent it back, the waitress said she’d take it off our bill, of course as we were on a package, this was never going to happen.
Mains arrived, I went with steak, ribeye, C went with a no nonsense Fish “n” Chips. The steak was cooked well, but the accompanying mash, had no seasoning, was obviously reheated and had almost a dried potato taste to it, the onion rings were the straight out of the freezer variety, not very good.
The Fish “n” Chips for the most part were ok, although the peas were also inedible, they had a sour taste to them. At this point we felt there was no point in saying anything, as our drink of choice, Kir Royals, suffered the same faith as some of the food, not very good.
For dessert and more just for kicks, we shared an apple crumble, which despite not freshly made, was reasonably tasty.
After dinner we had a nightcap in the bar before retiring for the evening.
Breakfast the next morning, was also not great. There was the usual help yourself buffet, with cheeses, smoked salmon, breads etc. There’s also a table service. I opted for the full-Irish, C went for the Eggs Benedict. The bacon and pudding on the plate had probably been cooked at least an hour or so before hand, the pudding could have been used as a golf ball it was so hard and dried out.
The eggs were not free range, or organic. The eggs benedict was better, the ham was tasty as was the hollandaise sauce, but again the eggs were not very good. Toast is just regular sliced bread, although the brown soda was nice and the coffee was ok.
To finish. If your into your golf and not too bothered about food, you’ll enjoy a stay at Lough Erne. The bar area was comfortable, the room was a good size and for the most part most of the staff were friendly. There’s a lot of young staff who lack the experience and while friendly, you were never convinced it was genuine, it lacked a bit of warmth. The food, was a complete let down and when paying a premium price for a night away, the food needs to be on the mark.
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 