West Cork’s iconic Seaview keeps on getting better and better, with darling new seaweed baths and treatment rooms

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It’s always a great day when a grand institution passes to a new generation, with the new incumbents building respectfully on the work of their predecessor, and in the process creating a new dynamic of their own.

This is the story in Bantry’s gracious Seaview House Hotel. Run for very many years by the courteous and spirited Kathleen O’Sullivan, the house is now in the hands of her nephew, Ronan O’Sullivan, and the new chapter has begun. Whilst the character of the house remains very much in the style of Kathleen, new additions have made Seaview an even more captivating place to visit. The garden simply gets better and better, and this year they have added a new Bath House.

The Bath House is a calm, healing space, where you can choose between seaweed or mud baths, and enjoy various Voya therapies, either as part of a group, or individually. There are three rooms, each with two baths and a steam box. Two treatment rooms provide Voya packages, including wraps, massage and scrubs. The palette of colours is soothing grey and stone, and the space is therapeutic, even before you indulge in the power of seaweed to treat and renew.

The addition of the Bath House, on this vital Wild Atlantic Way destination, is a perfect fit. Seaview is a democratic house, though quietly grand, its clients are often walkers, as well as those coming to Bantry’s famous Music Festivals.

Ronan and his wife Suzanne are now the third generation of O’Sullivans to welcome guests to this charming manor, and many of the staff have been there for years, making Seaview a Wild Atlantic Way icon in West Cork.