Inis Meáin Experience

Part of a 70-acre Burren-Landscape, Island Farm Estate, Inis Meáin Experience is an experiential concept that is immersed in the natural ecological appeal of the Irish Aran Islands, just off from the Irish mainland and the Galway Bay.

Inis Meáin Experience is geared for small groups which are housed within two architectural buildings: Teach Boirne (The Karst House), and Teach na Curaigh (The Currach House) combining luxury self-catering/vacation rental with many additional included and optional features, for optimum comfort and relaxation. The Island Stays are complimentary to nature and designed by the team behind the renowned Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites (2007-2022).

A chance for freedom, independence and encompassing raw nature, Inis Meáin Island Stays is flawlessly set up for that curated yet isolated island experience. Set on a lichen-weathered limestone promontory demarcated by stone walling and facing the restless blue-grey North Atlantic Ocean, the Inis Meáin Island Stay is all about island life, elemental landscapes and connection to nature.

Hosts and owning family, Ruairí and Marie-Thérèse de Blacam are the pioneers, having been inspired by the wildness of the coast, their farming lands and the Inis Meáin Knitting Company, a successful fashion brand in its own right. Now the designer stone houses are branching out, like grown-up children to become independent, AKA beauteous self-catering abodes named Stone House and Boat House for folk to gather and call home, geared for small groups and families that crave a connection to the island, its bountiful nature, simple way of life and unspoilt coastal appeal.

Designed by De Blacam and Meagher, Dublin-based architects, the raw and wild topography inspired the concept - the idea of a ship anchored onshore. 

Mirroring the distinctive slabs of horizontal stone and terraced limestone that make up so much of the island, the architects created a low-slung, protective structure with use of island elementals such as wood, glass and stone. Knowing the power of their environment was key - this island has long been the secret enclave for playwrights, artists and escapists alike where folklore is woven through the resilient islanders and fresh lobster hoisted from the bay. 

Crafted as a signatory island retreat that is as honest and simple as the beauty of the island itself, Inis Meáin Island Stays have a natural barren beauty that gets under your skin. 

Amid the 70 acres of island farm topography that gently rises and falls in tune with limestone outcrops, ancient stonewalling, cliffs where waves crash and an endless sky overhead, Inis Meáin Island Stays is a special place to occupy. 

Made up of two houses which can be rented individually or together as a large group, choose between the Teach Boirne (The Karst House), sleeping up to eight guests or the Teach na Curraigh (The Currach House), which sleeps up to four guests - each for stays of four nights minimum.  

Teach Boirne is the larger, sleeping up to eight in four spacious suites, with a shared communal space with stunning wraparound views of the island, Galway Bay and Connemara from a 15-metre-long continuous window to the north and west.

Teach na Curraigh is smaller, with two ensuite suites, sleeping up to four, suitable for a family or small group. Both houses' colour palettes and tones reflect the nature outside with timber windows, wooden floors, lime-plastered walls and furnishings in earthy lead greys and mushroom browns in tactile, natural fabrics such as felt and soft woollens. 

While you stay here, you feel as if everything has been especially thought through to allow you to be absorbed into the local life, landscapes and food. A working farm, a stay here means immersion into its everyday world including cattle, bees, hens, vegetable growing, and biodiversity preservation. To this end, foodie extras are created to allow self-catering to be enjoyable and not a hardship while at the same time introducing you to some of the island’s culinary traditions and seasonal delicacies. 

Pretty much at the epicentre of the unspoilt island, Inis Meáin has sweeping views back towards the coastline, which is never far on this tiny Aran isle. From the hotel, you can set off either by bike or foot and explore the fauna and flora, pristine shorelines and countless points in which to stop for a moment of deep contemplation.

Arrival here is mostly via routes from County Galway -  the frequent ferry leaving Rossaveal harbour on the west coast, or there is a limited service from Doolin, Co. Clare. You can also fly to Inis Meáin from Connemara Airport in Inverin.

Marie-Thérèse & Ruairí de Blacam are the kindred souls behind this elemental refuge where life is sweetly in the slow-lane. A duo with such complementing talents and a vision that extends beyond their den sees them reaching out and “grasping nature, the elements and folksy heritage. Every detail is inspired by the island and the unique way of living that is necessary in such a remote location of natural beauty”.

It is the hosts apparent ease that translates to the guests’ chilled at-your-own-pace kind of stay, cradled in the pleasantly addictive and crafted scene headed up Marie-Thérèse & Ruairí. With Inis Meáin’s change of direction, we can’t help but admire this duo, who’ve evolved with the times, knowing precisely when to ebb and flow between the two business of Inis Meáin Island Stays and the original Inis Meáin Knitting Company, now established as an international fashion brand.