Best Irish hotel you ever stayed in.

smurgen · 04-10-2014 2:49pm

Monart Spa hotel in Enniscorthy.5 star that was voted the 3 best spa hotel in the world.it's really relaxing and the grounds are unbelievable.best of all it was free. We were doing a charity cycle from cork to Dublin and our boss was friends with the owner

Nodster · 04-10-2014 2:51pm

My pocket money says the OP is staying in the Aghadoe Heights in Killarney :cool:

Blingy · 04-10-2014 2:57pm

Would have to say the k club is top of the list with powerscourt a close second.
And a recent stay in castle Leslie puts it up there too absolutely superb!!!

mr_edge_to_you · 04-10-2014 3:19pm

Farnham Estate in Cavan.

smurgen · 04-10-2014 3:23pm

Blingy wrote: »

Would have to say the k club is top of the list with powerscourt a close second.
And a recent stay in castle Leslie puts it up there too absolutely superb!!!

Blingy by name,blingy by nature

wicklowwonder · 04-10-2014 3:39pm

Dromoand Castle was class, stayed there twice about 5 years ago. Lyrath in Kilkenny was good but staff not on same level as Dromoland.

fits · 04-10-2014 4:30pm

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Ballynahinch Castle in Connemara, no contest.

Was slightly appalled when I heard Denis O'Brien has bought it, but he's apparently sworn that he won't change it.

He'd better not :mad:

We checked this out recently. Beautiful building but I think the inside is a bit stuffy. i.e the reception bar area.
priced it for a wedding.... bit out of the price bracket...:eek:

homerjay2005 · 04-10-2014 4:32pm

3 outstanding hotels outside the City and all very reasonable -

Clontarf Castle.
Castleknock
Radisson St Helens.

Speedsie · 04-10-2014 4:45pm

wicklowwonder wrote: »

Lyrath in Kilkenny was good but staff not on same level as Dromoland.

Lyrath is lovely, but I agree about the staff.
I asked for earl grey tea, and it took the waiter about 30 minutes to come back to me with a problem.
Apparently they only had it in loose leaf form, and no one knew how to make it.

He suggested bringing me hot water and the box of tea!!!!! I have him a quick run down on brewing tea.

Sunhill · 04-10-2014 4:55pm

Speedsie wrote: »

Lyrath is lovely, but I agree about the staff.
I asked for earl grey tea, and it took the waiter about 30 minutes to come back to me with a problem.

Probably popped out to Super Value to buy the box of tea during that time as well.

Merkin · 04-10-2014 5:02pm

Absolutely love the Shelbourne. Had our wedding reception there and spent a very enjoyable few days in one of the suites

Iranoutofideas · 04-10-2014 5:05pm

Lawlors Hotel Naas.

Because of this - http://www.lawlors.ie/Steak-on-the-Stone.htm

HeidiHeidi · 04-10-2014 5:11pm

fits wrote: »

We checked this out recently. Beautiful building but I think the inside is a bit stuffy. i.e the reception bar area.
priced it for a wedding.... bit out of the price bracket...:eek:

I can well imagine it being out of a lot of price brackets!!!

Have to say I found it the exact opposite of stuffy! Found it the most relaxed, welcoming place I've stayed in, probably ever. Funny how perceptions can differ.

What I most loved about it - and here I apologise to all parents of little darlings - is that there's absolutely nothing there but the house, the scenery, walks, fishing and the surroundings - so since there's nothing there for kids, nobody brings kids (or they didn't when I was there anyway) - it's a really "adult" place and I loved it for that.

And the food in the restaurant was a-maz-ing.

Now I want to go back

bop1977 · 04-10-2014 5:16pm

I had my wedding in the maryborough in cork and that is by far the best hotel I've ever stayed in. The staff were incredible.

I've also stayed in the radisson in Cavan. It was a nice hotel but nothing special.

Super-Rush · 04-10-2014 5:36pm

The Sheraton in Athlone, Dunboyne Castle, River Court in Kilkenny and Durrow castle in Laois.

Gavman84 · 04-10-2014 5:46pm

The two best so far have been the mount Juliet Conrad in kilkenny and the Castlemartyr resort. Going to be in the four seasons next month and looking forward to it looks nice too!

Tail Docker · 04-10-2014 5:50pm

mfceiling wrote: »

Heading to The Shelbourne next saturday for the wife's birthday...will report back on sunday.

You'll love it. More so if you get a suite. My favorite Irish hotel tbh.

For something off-beat, the Hilton in Kilmainham has suites on the top floor with big balconies - the views are amazing and the rooms themselves are lovely. I went with the Missus and was a bit -Hmmm...but it was brilliant tbh, and so close to the city center for a bit of nightlife too.

On another note, stayed in the The Clarence, and thought it was very, erm, average tbh. The artwork on the bedroom walls was worth a bomb, but the room looked tired and a bit shabby with very little luxury.

Simonigs1.0 · 04-10-2014 5:52pm

I used stay in a fantastic B&B in Malahide when I was working around the area a couple of years ago. The name escapes me at the moment, but it was a fantastic 1700ss Georgian mansion with acres of garden with an orchard, maze, tennis courts - the lot. The owner was a German count. The whole place was absolutely fascinating and the service was amazing. I can't for the life of me remember the name.

FixdePitchmark · 04-10-2014 5:52pm

Castle Durrow is class
Monart is unique as a couples place
Mount Juilet in old house is unreal , history once off living like a lord.
Wineport lodge - fantastic small hotel and some of the best food at any hotel
Druids Glen - Golfers dream - getting a little tired now - but affordable luxury.

Only thing I would say is some off above are getting a bit in need of refurbishment - most were at there best 10 years ago. Hard to keep place like that in good condition as they are typically flat out.

Over rated let down.

K Club
Kelly's Resort
Slieve Russell

Stayed in both Hasting hotels in north mentioned - but I found the North years behind the south for food and quality - great service and stunning buildings - but not as good as ones mentioned on top.

Jaysus - I've been to a few - enjoyed them all with wife.

MadYaker · 04-10-2014 6:00pm

I've been to weddings in Lyrath Estate and Ballynahich Castle. Both were really very nice. Ballynahich in particular is some spot, beside a lake surrounded by woodland.

fullstop · 04-10-2014 6:04pm

Harvey's Point. The rooms in the newer part are unreal.

hidinginthebush · 04-10-2014 6:15pm

I stayed in castlemartyr a few years back and was blown away by the place (the two of us were scruffy students, I won a weekend there), though the restaurant was poor and they messed up our order twice. On the plus side I got my first ever massage from someone who just happened to be the irish champion (or whatever they call themselves) at massages. The staff were brilliant, when you go through that sort of treatment it really makes you realise how poor the service is in some places.

Really must save up and splurge on that sort of treat again. Some great recommendations in this thread!

fleet_admiral · 04-10-2014 6:20pm

I have always been impressed by the Arklow Bay hotel. Some people knock it but I love it

C.K Dexter Haven · 04-10-2014 6:23pm

The Park or Sheen Falls, both in Kenmmare were stunning when I stayed there over 10 years ago now.

Drumoland and Ashford Castles are very hard to beat IMO.

brooke 2 · 04-10-2014 6:31pm

fleet_admiral wrote: »

That may be one of the most luxurious hotels in the country but would it be the best?
I mean the idea of having to wear a dinner jacket just to walk into a room, then you take it off is silly imo, plus getting a wagon wheel sized plate with a 3 inch slice of pork in the middle is silly, again imo

Had lunch there recently - it was the most bland, tasteless meal I had had for a long while. As I was being treated to it, I was reluctant to say anything. But, my friend then
said that she was not at all happy with her meal either.

Rasheed · 04-10-2014 6:38pm

The Merrion hotel in Dublin purely for the staff. They were just unreal, so attentive without being in your face. The hotel itself is alright but the staff are world class.

The best hotel for location and rooms- has to be Castlemartyr in Cork.

Best food- Knockranny House Hotel in Westport.

siblers · 04-10-2014 6:51pm

Canvan Crystal hotel..it's the only hotel i've stayed in Ireland though.

SkyBlueClouds · 04-10-2014 11:29pm

DoubleTree Burlington. Lovely staff and a fab exec lounge.

mojesius · 04-10-2014 11:56pm

Harveys point in Donegal for the rooms!
Renvyle house hotel in Connemara for just about everything else. The food is really amazing and they have great musicians from the area playing in the bar most weekends. If Yeats and Churchill holidayed there, you know it's good

Tail Docker · 05-10-2014 12:02am

Inchydoney is nice too, great food and a lovely salt-water pool. The beach there aint bad either..

Canis Lupus · 05-10-2014 12:29am

Curly Judge wrote: »

Isn't your friend lucky :rolleyes: to have a friend like you!
Honestly I cannot stand this type of bog Irish attitude.
You couldn't just enjoy the hotel and be grateful to your friend, could you?
No... you had to act the smart, cute hoor, entitled, "shure every loves us and will let us away with it", Paddy!

Well that escalated quickly. Could you come down off that high horse so we can have a chat face to face?

I was cycling from London to Kerry and had been on the road a few days. I hurt no one and embarrassed no one. By the by, explain how one acts like an Irishman in an Irish hotel? Who would I be fooling with a 'sure everyone loves us' attitude?

fits · 05-10-2014 7:21am

mojesius wrote: »

Renvyle house hotel in Connemara for just about everything else. The food is really amazing and they have great musicians from the area playing in the bar most weekends. If Yeats and Churchill holidayed there, you know it's goodgood (phone is buggy hence 'goodgood')&

Beautiful place but it BADLY needs a facelift. Saw Craig Doyle there on his hols this summer.

DEFTLEFTHAND · 05-10-2014 8:06am

Tail Docker wrote: »

Inchydoney is nice too, great food and a lovely salt-water pool. The beach there aint bad either..

Well said son.

van_beano · 05-10-2014 8:20am

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Charlestown Airport you mean?

Would ya stop, everyone knows it's Kilkelly Airport!

leinsterdude · 05-10-2014 10:37am

lake hotel Killarney, Hotel right at the top of giants causeway can't rem think causeway hotel, slieve russell, galgorm manor in ballymena.

Curly Judge · 05-10-2014 11:21am

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Well that escalated quickly. Could you come down off that high horse so we can have a chat face to face?

I was cycling from London to Kerry and had been on the road a few days. I hurt no one and embarrassed no one. By the by, explain how one acts like an Irishman in an Irish hotel? Who would I be fooling with a 'sure everyone loves us' attitude?

Well...it's not so much the gaucheness of your actions:
You could have pulled on a pair of tracksuit bottoms.
Leaving your washing dripping on your bedroom floor is hardly showing respect for you friends or the hotels hospitality.
Stealing bread off other peoples tables is the act of a lout.
If you were still hungry after eating a full breakfast you could have asked the staff and I'm sure they would have obliged you.

All that is bad enough, but to come on here and laud your actions in a "God am'ent I a fierce gas man altogether" tone.... is what sickens me.

Shenshen · 05-10-2014 11:32am

I would have to say Gorman's Clifftop House outside Dingle.

Now, it has none of the bells and whistles people seem to expect from hotels - no gym, no pool, no spa, none of these.
But it is the most welcoming, warm, friendly, cozy place I've ever been too.
The rooms are fantastic - big soft beds, lots of space, breathtaking views, big bathtubs in the bathrooms.
The food is to die for - it's the kind of food that makes you feel the person who made it really likes you.
It's family-run and the staff are just fantastically friendly.

We had our wedding there 5 years ago, it was absolutely brilliant.

Canis Lupus · 05-10-2014 11:44am

Curly Judge wrote: »

Well...it's not so much the gaucheness of your actions:
You could have pulled on a pair of tracksuit bottoms.
Leaving your washing dripping on your bedroom floor is hardly showing respect for you friends or the hotels hospitality.
Stealing bread off other peoples tables is the act of a lout.
If you were still hungry after eating a full breakfast you could have asked the staff and I'm sure they would have obliged you.

All that is bad enough, but to come on here and laud your actions in a "God am'ent I a fierce gas man altogether" tone.... is what sickens me.

Why should I throw on tracksuit bottoms? Do cycling shorts offend you? lol. I had expected, actually, to be crashing on my mates couch at the time.

Taking scones off a table when they'd finished and walked off leaving me in the dining room on my own is me doing my bit to prevent good food being wasted. Also if you were a cyclist you'd know that no good scone should go uneaten. Stealing my hole.

As for the washing, it was strung up over the bath mostly the rest had two towels to catch the drips.

Personally I think you just sound offended a 'commoner' got to stay in a nice hotel. Next time I shall grovel to be allowed stay in the kennels out back whilst people of good breeding like yourself don't have to see me

boobar · 05-10-2014 11:52am

I was given a gift voucher for the Shelbourne, wasn't impressed to be honest. The room was OK, the breakfast was rank and the dinner was just OK. Plus I'm not a fan of all the fawning that goes with these places.

Aghadoe Heights was very pricey....plus the chef refused to cook my wife's steak well done...she was pregnant at the time and couldn't stomach some food types.

So now we much prefer a good 4 star hotels...with friendly staff and less auld guff.

Pro Hoc Vice · 05-10-2014 11:55am

fleet_admiral wrote: »

That may be one of the most luxurious hotels in the country but would it be the best?
I mean the idea of having to wear a dinner jacket just to walk into a room, then you take it off is silly imo, plus getting a wagon wheel sized plate with a 3 inch slice of pork in the middle is silly, again imo

A gentleman does not remove his jacket at dinner!

angeldelight · 05-10-2014 11:58am

The Westbury - we stayed in the Presidential Suite. It was like being a movie star, sauna in the room and everything

starlit · 05-10-2014 12:00pm

I've stayed in a good few for weekends away, holidays, hens and Weddings.

The ones in Cork and Portlaoise stand out to me in particular Inchydoney hotel and Heritage Spa and Golf Resort. I've stayed in a few other nice hotels. I can't fault Jurys for a city or shopping break but the Heritage Spa and Golf Resort would be a bit more luxurious.

gozunda · 05-10-2014 12:02pm

Castle Leslie Before they tarted the place up and yer man out of the Beatles made it a 'destination' :rolleyes:

Don't go there any more ...

For excellent service and a good hotel that gets it right nearly every time - the Brehon in Killarney.

anncoates · 05-10-2014 12:06pm

Nicest two I've stayed in were Dromoland or Tinakilly House.

A friend wangled us the nicest room(think it's called the presidential suite) in Dromoland as a gift and it was pretty good.

Toto Wolfcastle · 05-10-2014 12:10pm

Rasheed wrote: »

The Merrion hotel in Dublin purely for the staff. They were just unreal, so attentive without being in your face. The hotel itself is alright but the staff are world class.

The breakfast there is amazing too. I wasn't as impressed with the hotel itself as I thought I would be but the breakfast was really really good. It's amazing how many good hotels in this country manage to let themselves down with a crap breakfast.

doovdela wrote: »

I've stayed in a good few for weekends away, holidays, hens and Weddings.

The ones in Cork and Portlaoise stand out to me in particular Inchydoney hotel and Heritage Spa and Golf Resort. I've stayed in a few other nice hotels. I can't fault Jurys for a city or shopping break but the Heritage Spa and Golf Resort would be a bit more luxurious.

We stayed in the Heritage a few months ago. I think it was under Nama at the time and you could definitely tell. It was tired looking, the food was average, the breakfast was dreadful and the air conditioning was loud but not actually working so the room was boiling. We were eventually moved to a suite and it was fine but not great. Thankfully we got a good deal.

starlit · 05-10-2014 12:14pm

I was there early in the year. I suppose everyone has a different experience. The room was very warm though alright but everything else I thought was grand.

lazeedaisy · 05-10-2014 12:15pm

We loved the Athenaeum house hotel in Waterford. Then we realised Lidl and or Groupon did breaks there, its our piece of heaven, not too far from home,

Food is amazing, and for us to get away it's our place. Quiet, peaceful, out o f the way, never have to leave the grounds,

I know everyone wants different things from a break, and have stayed in massively expensive places, but all we want now is a getaway from noise, distractions, and spend nice quality time together. This place does it or me.

05-10-2014 12:15pm

I was in the heritage a while back and the spa staff weren't nice. Refused to give us part of what we paid for and made a fuss about it being on a groupon - the accommodation was groupon not the spa treatments. Kicked up a fuss and they claimed they posted a voucher which we never got. Left it at that
The grounds were in appalling condition also

anncoates · 05-10-2014 12:16pm

Also although not a luxury hotel ( think it's 4 star now) I was always fond of the Falls Hotel in Enustymon, Clare. Nice vibe and surrounds and the village has some lovely little pubs.

starlit · 05-10-2014 12:29pm

It looks nicer than other hotels i've been in. I thought the spa wasn't bad just the pool a bit too deep for me now. It was just to the spa not to get a treatment done but there was an issue with the booking for one of our group but that was the only issue we had. Though enjoyed the spa experience, I liked the different temps of the steam rooms and foot spa was nice. The only thing I didn't like was the leisure place/spa section was seperate from the hotel rooms.

Best Irish hotel you ever stayed in.

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