The Quay House
+2 photosAbout The Quay House
The Quay House is a Fáilte Ireland approved 4-star guest house in Clifden, on the Galway coast, listed on Fáilte Ireland’s official register of quality-assured accommodation. It is a smaller, owner-run house of 14 rooms, the kind of place where you deal with the people who actually run it.
Refined, antiques-filled rooms, some with balconies, in a harbourside hotel with formal lounges.
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Claim this listingStaying in Clifden
The largest town in Connemara, set between the Twelve Bens and the Atlantic, where the Sky Road starts at the top of the street.
Clifden was founded in 1812 by the local landowner John D’Arcy, and it has grown into the market town of west Connemara, sitting on Clifden Bay with the quartzite peaks of the Twelve Bens rising inland. Everything that draws people to Connemara, the mountains, the bog, the beaches and the islands, lies within about twenty kilometres of its streets.
For a B&B in Clifden, that reach is the appeal. Connemara National Park, Kylemore Abbey, the Sky Road and the coastal villages can all be done as easy half days, so the town works as a single base for a whole Connemara holiday rather than a night’s stopover. It keeps proper amenities too, with pubs, restaurants and shops that serve a wide rural hinterland.
The town also carries a surprising place in world history. On the bog at Derrigimlagh, just south of town, Marconi built the transatlantic wireless station that opened commercial service across the ocean in 1907, and in June 1919 Alcock and Brown ended the first non-stop transatlantic flight by landing their Vickers Vimy in the same bog.
Things to do near The Quay House
The Sky Road
A looped scenic road of roughly sixteen kilometres climbing straight out of the town onto the Kingstown peninsula, with panoramic views over Clifden Bay and its islands from the viewing point at the top. It is equally good driven or cycled, and sunset is the time to do it.
Derrigimlagh
A five-kilometre looped walk on boardwalk and gravel through the bog south of town, taking in the remains of Marconi’s 1907 transatlantic wireless station and the spot where Alcock and Brown landed the first non-stop transatlantic flight on 15 June 1919. Two world firsts within one flat, easy walk.
Connemara National Park and Diamond Hill
The park’s visitor centre at Letterfrack is about twenty minutes from Clifden, and Diamond Hill rises behind it with a lower loop of around three kilometres and an upper loop to the summit of six to seven. The top gives one of the best views in the west, from the Twelve Bens out to the islands.
Kylemore Abbey
Built as Kylemore Castle and completed in 1871, home to a community of Benedictine nuns since 1920, with a restored Victorian walled garden in the grounds. It sits about twenty kilometres from Clifden on one of the prettiest stretches of road in Connemara.
Omey Island
A tidal island off Claddaghduff, about twenty minutes from town, reached on foot or by car across the sand of Omey Strand at low tide. The ruins of a medieval church on a 7th-century monastic site were uncovered from the dunes in 1981, and summer races are still run on the strand.
The Connemara Pony Show
Clifden’s showgrounds have hosted the Connemara Pony Breeders’ Society annual show since 1947, and it remains the world’s biggest showcase of the breed, filling the town every August. Book a bed well ahead for show week.
Clifden Arts Festival
Founded in 1977 and now Ireland’s longest-running community arts festival, filling the town with music, poetry and performance for around eleven days each September. It is the liveliest time of the year to stay outside the summer peak.
Roundstone
A picture-perfect fishing village about 25 minutes south of Clifden on the R341, with a working harbour under Errisbeg hill and the white sands of Gurteen and Dog’s Bay just beyond. It makes a fine slow afternoon out from a Clifden base.
Getting to Clifden
Clifden is about 78 kilometres west of Galway city on the N59, an hour and a half’s drive through Oughterard and Maam Cross, and both Citylink and Bus Éireann run daily services along the route. The nearest airports are Ireland West at Knock, under two hours away, and Shannon. Once here, a car unlocks the peninsulas, but the Sky Road and Derrigimlagh are cyclable from the town.
Booking The Quay House direct, and what the rating means
A real, assessed guest house
The Quay House holds a 4-star guest house rating under Fáilte Ireland's National Quality Assurance Framework, assessed against the bedrooms, bathrooms, breakfast and welcome rather than self-declared. It's an independent signal you can trust before you book, separate from any platform's own review score.
No fees, no middleman
Ring the owner, or use the contact details on this page, and arrange the stay with the house rather than through an app. No booking fee added to your bill and no commission taken from the owner, so the room rate you agree is the room rate you pay.
A better stay, direct
Owners answer the questions a booking platform never will: whether the room at the front is quieter, how early breakfast can be served, or where to park for a few days. Speaking to the house directly is how B&Bs in Ireland were booked for decades.
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Check availability at The Quay House
Send the owner the details of your stay and they will come back to you directly. No booking fee, no platform in between, just Clifden on the other end.
The Quay House, common questions
Where is The Quay House?
The Quay House is at Beach Road, Clifden, Co. Galway (Eircode H71 XF76). Give the Eircode to your sat-nav to find the door.
How do I book The Quay House?
You contact the owner directly, by phone or the enquiry form on this page. DirectBnB adds no booking fee and takes no commission, so you arrange the stay with the house itself and pay the room rate with nothing on top.
What star rating does The Quay House have?
The Quay House is a Fáilte Ireland approved 4-star guest house under Fáilte Ireland's National Quality Assurance Framework, and guests rate it 4.9 out of 5 across 140 Google reviews.
How many rooms does The Quay House have?
The Quay House has 14 rooms. As a smaller, owner-run house it is worth booking ahead, particularly in summer and over weekends.
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