BY ADITISENGUPTA

As you step into Ardtaracountry House, a four-star hotel rated as one of the most romantic in Northern Ireland, you feel you have travelled back in time. I look over my shoulder for gentlemen walking to the village parsonage for a theological discussion and women in flowing gowns, with parasols and baskets in hand, picking flowers. And if your arrival time is in the evening, you may just hear the tinkling of glasses, the orchestra playing and horses trotting up the carriageway.

ROOMS

All nine rooms at Ardtara have different themes and décor. I go up a flight of carpeted wooden stairs to find mine, overlooking the beautiful lawns around the mansion.the fireplace is the first thing that catches the eye and I am tempted to turn it on.the upholstery is in a soothing blue-and-yellow combination— starting with the drapes on the windows to the runners on the feather-soft bed.the classy study table in shining oak is laden with books and brochures on the tourist attractions nearby. I find the television set the only aberration in the otherwise Victorian set-up but Ardtara knows how to match pace with time. the rooms have free Wi-fi and a Pc on the first floor is accessible 24/7.

the bathroom is spacious but basic. A hot bubble bath is what you need at the end of a typical windy day spent along theenglish coastline but you cant have all good things at one time. I have to choose between drinks and dinner, and the bath. Do I need to emphasise that the first option outweighs the latter?

F&B;

Irish whiskey is what almost every meal at Ardtara starts with. Go with the managers suggestion. A lovely waiting room on the ground floor, complete with a fireplace and sofas, is a good place to build up the appetite. I start the meal, served in a typicalenglish countryside dining room, withHay Smoked Salmon with Lemon and Potato Salad. While eyes The lovely exterior of the hotel is a 19th century manor house that is set in eight wooded acres

remain fixed on the handsome young man in charge of the table, my taste buds savour the subtle flavours of the appetiser. I take the servers suggestion and orderCorn-fed Chicken Supremeas the mains.the portion is huge and the taste, well above average.

After spending the night dreaming about the dishy man in the dining room, I return next morning for an ulster breakfast.the man, sadly, is nowhere in sight but the breakfast platter—with generous helpings of soda bread, eggs, cheese, hash brown potatoes and mushroom—succeeds in numbing the heartache.