First decide which Donegal you are visiting
The county splits cleanly in two and the split matters more than the hotel. The south west is Donegal Town, Slieve League, Glencolmcille and Ardara. The north is Letterkenny, Glenveagh, Fanad, Rosguill and Inishowen.
Driving between the two ends is two hours minimum on roads that do not reward hurry. If you have three nights, pick one end. If you have five, split them.
Lough Eske Castle, for the south west
This is the one we recommend most often, and not only because it is the only genuine castle hotel in the county. It sits ten minutes outside Donegal Town on the lough shore, which puts Slieve League at an hour and Sligo at fifty minutes.
The rooms in the original castle are the ones to ask for. The spa is properly good, which matters more than you think after a day standing on a cliff in the wind. Book the Cedars restaurant for one night and go into Donegal Town for the other.
Harvey's Point, for comfort over grandeur
Ten minutes from Lough Eske Castle on the same lough, and a completely different proposition. Family run, Swiss founded, and the rooms are enormous by Irish standards.
It has a following among returning American guests that borders on the devotional, and the reason is service rather than architecture. If your travellers value warmth over grandeur, book here.
Rathmullan House, for the north
A Georgian country house on Lough Swilly with a walled kitchen garden and a beach at the bottom of the lawn. Glenveagh is 40 minutes, Fanad Head is 30, Inishowen is an hour.
It is less polished than the Lough Eske pair and considerably more charming. This is where we send people who want the version of Ireland that has not been photographed to death.
Rossnowlagh, for the beach
The Sandhouse sits directly on Rossnowlagh strand, which is three kilometres of hard sand and one of the best beginner surf beaches in the country. Twenty five minutes from Donegal Town, forty from Sligo.
Book this one if you have teenagers, or if you want to end the trip with two days of doing nothing in particular.
How we split a five night trip
Two nights Lough Eske for Slieve League and the Glengesh Pass. Three nights Rathmullan for Glenveagh, Fanad and Inishowen. Drive between them via Ardara and the Blue Stack foothills rather than the direct road.
If it is a first trip to Ireland and Donegal is one leg of a larger route, do the south west only and come in from Sligo. It is the cleaner journey.