Tulfarris

dipso

hi all,
Have browsed older posts on this topic but wondered if anyone had had any advice or opinions on the Tulfarris resort in blessington as a wedding venue?
myself and hubbie-to-be love it and wud love it as our wedding venue, but we're a little concerned since we heard its actually the "examiner" running it since last summer. does anybody out there have their wedding in 2011 booked for there and what kind of assurances have you recieved from the hotel or examiner, if any??
also, if you have dealt with them, did anyone have any luck bargaining with them? as some of their prices are quite high (bar extension and corkage at €12 a bottle).
any advice regarding these things would be appreciated b4 we go back to view a second time.
thanks:)

smelltheglove

Hi, I havent had a wedding there but if it helps I shot a wedding there in december. It was a beautiful location, lakes are a stunning background for pictures.

I know the couple had made an arrangement to have the Manor house for themselves and immediate family upon arrival. It meant they could have some family time and get all of their pictures taken quicjly with just family before heading off to the meal. As far as I recall they negotiated the Manor house on the fact that it would have been lying there empyt anyway as it was not booked for the day. I cant recall if there was a fee for it.

The staff were all lovely, there was always someone close by to attend to the couple and make sure the day went smoothly. I went over to the bar myself for the dinner which was lovely, staff over there were nice too.

All in I think it would be on top of the list for my recommendations.

Some pictures of that wedding are on http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelfoxphotography/sets/72157621938863699/

youcancallmeal

We had a tour of Tulfarris on Saturday and we asked loads of questions as we are worried about the fact they are now in receivership. They basically said that it would definitely be open and running for the next 3-5 years as they look for a buyer. They only refurbished a year and a half ago so it wouldnt make sense to close it now. The price for the manor house seems quite reasonable at €1500 for all 7 bedrooms and use of the house for 1 night. I think that price might only be for their winter promotion months though, Nov-Feb excluding Christmas week. I couldn't really find any major faults with the place to be honest. Its top of the list at the moment.

Mary23

Hi,
I hope I can help; the banks are running it as far as I know. I have been at two wedding here in the last year. I would not advise it as a venue, the dinner was so bad all the guests were just looking at it. Starters were cold. Soup just tasted of water and cold. Beef was so fatty and cold. The staff are hired by an outside catering company so they did try there best but still did not have a clue. Also people were left at tables with no dinner for ages.
There was no proper direction for the waiting staff, which caused Chaos.
The dinner ran about 2 hours over. Even the bride and groom were out in the bar between courses cause it was so slow. The band only got to play for about 30Mins due to dinner dragging on so long. There was a lot of very drunk people cause nobody could eat Dinner. They did look after the bride and groom very well on the day. But nobody had the heart to tell them how bad the service was for the rest of us.

killiank

HI,

I am due for a viewing of this location next week. To be honest Ive only heard positive things about it & very positive things at that.

T Pain

We stayed there in November and fell in love with the place.

We're heading to the open day on Saturday. But my nerves are gone about this 'receivership' business. Don't want to put a deposit down and then loose it!

How Strange

T Pain wrote: »

We stayed there in November and fell in love with the place.

We're heading to the open day on Saturday. But my nerves are gone about this 'receivership' business. Don't want to put a deposit down and then loose it!

I wouldn't commit to a deposit in that situation. Be frank with the manager or whoever you meet and say you don't want to hand over your money too soon considering the hotel's financial situation.

No-one can categorically say this hotel, or any hotel, will be in business in 6 months or a year's time but a hotel that is in receivership is definitely in a weaker position.

Agree a date reasonably close to the wedding when you will hand over a modest deposit to cover any costs they incur.

youcancallmeal

I wonder wedding insurance cover you for this?
Also after having looked into it more in detail they are actually quite expensive considering their situation.

itsallaboutme!!

HI!
I know this thread is very old but didnt see a point in opeing a new one!

My fiance and I went to see this place a month or so ago and are going back again in a few weeks, maybe book it for sept 2013. we love the look of the place and its exactly what i was looking for oldish country house style but with the modern hotel as well. the ony thing stuck in the back of my mind is the whole receivership business! has anyone heard anything about what the current position is here? has anyone booked here recently?Id love to hear peoples experiences of the place as well or if anyone could suggest somewhere similar to view that would be great too?!!:)

killiank

We got married in Tulfarris last November. It was a fantastic day & Ive no problem saying the staff there went above & beyond what we expected. Not that we needed to make many changes to plans or menus but everything was "no problem" as opposed to other places where you took what you were given & no negotiation. It was the first place we visited & everywhere else we always felt was trying to compete with it from there. Although price was not the reason we picked it it turned out to me far more reasonable than any of the other similar standard places that we looked at so it was an easy choice in the end for us.

The way I looked at the examinership thing (I dont think its in receivership) was that well at least we know that's the situation. The banks had to approve a business plan that they deemed viable & I reckoned that gave us some form of assurance if not more assurance than plenty of the other hotels that we were looking at. As it happened all three of our top three choice locations were in some sort of pickle financially.

As far as I know the hotel is doing very well on the weddings front & had plenty of bookings for 2011 when we were looking into it at the start of 2010. As I mentioned we got married in November & were able to avail of low season rates. Those who stayed in the hotel all commented how reasonable priced it was compared to other hotels where we had stayed for friends weddings.

I'm sure where ever you pick you will have a great time so best of luck with it.

Orlee

I hope this isn't too old to resurect but I figured might as well keep all the info together?

Has anyone been to a wedding here recently? I've spoken to someone in the receiver business and have been advised not to let that affect my decision. Half the hotels in the country are in receivership and the other half could be on their way so you just never know.

Went to see the place last week and it was just lovely. Am hoping for seom good reports!

Saruman

Never stayed there but I pop down sometimes to do some IT work and there is often a wedding going on. They tend to block the long driveway for pictures...

clint_silver

Orlee wrote: »

I hope this isn't too old to resurect but I figured might as well keep all the info together?

Has anyone been to a wedding here recently? I've spoken to someone in the receiver business and have been advised not to let that affect my decision. Half the hotels in the country are in receivership and the other half could be on their way so you just never know.

Went to see the place last week and it was just lovely. Am hoping for seom good reports!

Ive been there several times this year and have more booked for next year up there as well. Always a good night up there.

With the balcony and the bar outside people tend to drift between rooms once entertainment comes on but dont worry about that.

Take a drive out one fri/sat evening unannounced (confirm yourself theres a wedding on beforehand) to see for yourself. you dont have to hang around, just stick your head in for 2 minutes. Festivities usually start about 10pm up there.

sweetie

Orlee wrote: »

I hope this isn't too old to resurect but I figured might as well keep all the info together?

Has anyone been to a wedding here recently? I've spoken to someone in the receiver business and have been advised not to let that affect my decision. Half the hotels in the country are in receivership and the other half could be on their way so you just never know.

Went to see the place last week and it was just lovely. Am hoping for seom good reports!

definitely one of the nicer 'nama' places and your friend is most probably correct. I really like the wedding building (internally and externally) and outside space too.

itsallaboutme!!

Hi there,
We have never stayed but have booked our wedding for September next year.we have been up few times since booking and pretty much every weekend there's a wedding on.weve eaten lunch a few times in the bar and the food was lovely each time too. I dunno if your a member on there but have a look at the wedding day reports on weddings online site there are a good few tulfarris brides on there with great things to say!

Gatica

We checked it out as a venue about a year ago, it was already in receivership, so it's good to see it's still going strong a year later. It's a good sign and bodes well for it. Best of luck!

Toto Wolfcastle

I stayed there last year and what struck me was how dirty it was. It was very dusty in places, like they had given it a quick clean but ignored a lot of places. It was a bit dull and functional and lacked atmosphere. The food was nice but the restaurant staff were dreadful. It seems popular for weddings though so they must be doing something right.

sweetie

Bobblehead Panda wrote: »

I stayed there last year and what struck me was how dirty it was. It was very dusty in places, like they had given it a quick clean but ignored a lot of places. It was a bit dull and functional and lacked atmosphere. The food was nice but the restaurant staff were dreadful. It seems popular for weddings though so they must be doing something right.

Ive not been in the main house or bedrooms but my sister viewed it for her wedding and noticed this too. The wedding venue is kept clean imo though. Perhaps they are understaffed due to Nama?