For every well-known tourist hot-spot there are a small handful of alternative accommodation providers, slightly off the beaten track, offering something that little bit different...

Lough Mardal Lodge

Luxury Yurt Glamping in Ireland - a Unique Eco Lodge in a Beautiful Lakeside Setting

At Lough Mardal Lodge there are five Skydome Yurts and one Shepherd's Hut.

SKYDOME YURTS

There is nothing quite like staying in a Yurt. A simple yet magical dwelling with wooden lattice walls and radial rafters, it evokes a sense of the exotic. Originally the homes of the nomads of Central Asia the Yurts at Lough Mardal Lodge have been adapted for today and have been chosen for their high-tech insulation, warmth and durability which is required for the occasionally temperamental weather on the north west coast of Ireland!​ All Yurts are well-spaced ensuring seclusion and privacy. Each yurt has a luxurious 5-star hotel grade superking bed with heavy tog duvet, crisp white linen and Donegal tweed woollen blankets. They are furnished sustainably with reclaimed, upcycled furniture and all have beautiful views of the surrounding bogland, lake, mountain and forestry. Lie in bed staring at the stars through your clear sky dome in front of your cosy wood-burning stove or sip a wine on the veranda listening to the background hum of wildlife.

All accommodations come with:

• • Luxurious Superking-size bed as standard with two optional single beds available for children. The Shepherd's Hut has a King-size bed and is suited to couples only.
  • En Suite Loo
  • Wood-burning stove with a supply of firewood
  • Windows with beautiful views
  • Large clear dome skylight for star-gazing (yurts only)
  • Lake, mountain and forest views
  • All bedding including crisp white linen, warm winter duvets & Donegal tweed woolen blankets
  • Fluffy white towels
  • Hot Water Bottles
  • Rechargeable lanterns and reading lights
  • Outdoor private decking with seating
  • Secure locker with charging points
  • Allocated storage and fridge space in the kitchen
  • Set of plates, bowls, mugs and cutlery
  • Two yurts are pet-friendly - a €20 pet surcharge applies which can be booked as an Add-On in the booking process if a pet-friendly yurt is available. No pets are permitted in the Shepherd's Hut.
  • Accessibility: One yurt is wheelchair accessible and can be hooked up to electricity if required for medical needs. Please contact us prior to booking to check availability.

All guests have use of the Lodge amenity building which provides guests with a very large fully-fitted kitchen, loos & wet room showers (no shared changing-rooms) as well as a beautiful big hang-out space with comfortable seating, a big fireplace and beautiful panoramic views.

The Yurts and Shepherd's Hut are completely off-grid - which is all part of the adventure! Each guest is assigned a secure locker in the Lodge where mobile devices can be recharged (and where valuables can be stored).

Lough Mardal Lodge glamping offers the opportunity to truly escape from the white noise of modern living and constant-connectivity - we strongly recommend you lock up your gadgets and relax, unwind and disconnect during your stay. With this in mind, the central hang-out space, the Reciprocal Room, in the Lodge is a gadget-free zone. However if the withdrawals are too much to handle there is a comfortable space in the Lobby where guests can use their devices!

THE LODGE

The Lodge is a communal amenity & social hub for glamping guests which houses all the facilities. It has a very large fully equipped self-catering kitchen, dining area, toilets and hot wet room showers. Its main feature however is the striking Reciprocal Room, a lounge area bathed in light with spiralling beams overhead, offering sweeping views of lake, forestry and mountains. With its huge fireplace it is a comfortable spot to relax with a coffee and read a book, play cards, meet fellow travellers or plan the day's activities. It offers a warm refuge after mountain walk or a lake swim.
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The Reciprocal Room is a gadget-free zone, but there are plenty of books, boardgames and playing cards for the twitchy! There is a designated area in the Lobby where guests are free to use their mobile devices with charging-points in all the lockers.

A BUILDING MADE OF STRAW

​The Lodge building is a natural building - it was made as eco as possible using locally sourced roundwood timber, strawbales and lime for the external walls and cob (earth, sand and straw) for the internal walls. On top there is green roof alive with the grasses and wildflowers excavated from the earth around it, blending the building with the landscape from which it came.

We chose to build using straw bales as it is a wonderful construction method which leaves a small carbon footprint due to its sustainable properties, it is 100% biodegradable (when the time comes) and its high-insulation qualities making it excellently energy efficient.

​SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability is at the forefront of every purchase at Lough Mardal Lodge. In this regard we have committed to:

• Purchasing all eco-friendly cleaning products for use throughout the business and home

• Cleaning the old fashioned way! There is very little that beats white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda as universal cleaning agents for pretty much anything!

• Encouraging guests to use eco-friendly products during their stay

• When sourcing products prioritizing those that are, where possible, locally produced (within 50km) or at least Irish produced

• Providing firewood for guests which is sourced locally from a sustainably managed woodland - never peat briquettes or coal which are not permitted.

• Providing lumpwood charcoal for BBQ’s that is from a sustainably managed source

• Providing all-natural eco-friendly firelighters made with wood-chippings and recycled wax instead of conventional firelighters in all the stoves

• Providing staff with 100% organic cotton t-shirts/uniforms

• All bed linen, bedspreads, blankets and towels are 100% cotton - never polyester/synthetic materials

• Supporting local crafts, handmade artisan products that are made with natural materials, e.g. the woollen tweed blankets in all the yurts were handwoven locally by Studio Donegal. The curtains in the Yurts and Shepherd’s Hut are made with tweed from Donegal’s Magees. All the wooden candle holders used throughout the property were made from upcycled wood from The Leap craft shop in Ballyshannon. Guest toiletries are by Ireland’s The Handmade Soap Co. The meat in our breakfast packs are all locally sourced from Donegal Town artisan butchers Eddie Walsh & Sons. Our beef-burgers are from our own rare breed organic Dexter herd.

• Purchasing all our eco cleaning products in bulk size refillable containers and which are all purchased locally at health shop Simple Simon in Donegal Town.

• Not providing any plastic scrubbing brushes in the kitchen of the Lodge. Bamboo brushes are provided instead along with all-natural and compostable sea sponges and cloths.

• Selecting condiments for the Lodge’s self-catering kitchen that come in glass rather than plastic bottles (e.g. cooking oils) and are refillable (salt, pepper)

• Purchasing toilet rolls made from recycled paper where possible and wrapped in compostable/biodegradeable packing

• Biodegradable/compostable bin bags are used in all the small bins throughout the property (lobby, toilets, showers, yurts & shepherd's hut)

• Always giving consideration prior to purchasing as to how the packaging can be disposed of and whether the product can be reused, recycled, or repaired after use.

and many other practices!