Wedding Venue Galway - Recommendations?

limerickgal

Hi everyone

I'm new to this so hope I can tap into your wealth of experience for advice on my wedding! My beloved and I got engaged last September and are hoping to get married early 2011. We've gone back and forth about having it here or away and I have finally narrowed it down to a handful of venues that will hopefully fit the bill. The one I am most excited about is Clooonacauneen Castle in Galway - it seems beautiful (haven't seen it yet), the food looks lovely and the people I have been dealing with so far have been really helpful and pleasant.

Could anyone let me know their experience there? I've seen a couple of threads that talked about small weddings but we are hoping to have between 70 and 120 (I say 'between' because we are still deciding between having a small reception for 70 and and afters for up to 120 or just a reception for all 120).

I'd really appreciate any information you can give me!

Thanks

whittey

Hi

We've just chosen The Twelve Hotel in Bearna.
Fergus is good to deal with, they have some great ideas on doing things differently, and are open to all your suggestions.

We had Cloonacauneen in there to the last 3, along with the Westwood, but in the end, Cloonacauneen has no rooms for guests to stay, and the Westwood, while having a great reputation & being great to deal with too, its just too big for our numbers.

The Twelve can hold a max 110 for dinner, but the room is lovely and intimate, the bedrooms are fantastic, and the food gets amazing reports.

So depending on your numbers, it could be an option.
Check it out:-
www.thetwelvehotel.ie

curlybob

Hi there,

I was at a wedding in the Cloonacauneen about 4 years ago and I have to say it was a lovely experience. I really enjoyed it, the castle was beautiful and food etc. was good. Not sure about rooms etc, but remember its not far from the Claregalway Hotel.

Have you considered Cloughan Castle outside Loughrea? My aunt was at a wedding there over Christmas and they thought it was fab. I think you need your own caterers for there though.

I would love to have a small wedding, our no. is crazy, so we ended up going with the Meadow Court in Loughrea. Tried and tested and loved by both families so hopefully it will be right for us.

Best of Luck!

limerickgal

Hi Whittey

Thanks so much for your reply. I had a look at the Twelve Rooms and it looks gorgeous! Really stylish and welcoming. The food sounds amazing too so I might pop in there for a look when I'm in Galway next.

Curlybob, I'm really glad to hear you had a lovely experience at Cloonacauneen. I have to say that it ticks a lot of boxes for us and as many of our friends live in Galway anyway, we should hopefully be ok accommodation-wise. I checked out Cloughan Castle before but I was kind of put off by having to get caterers in.

Thanks for your advice! Lots to think about!

mikeanywhere

limerickgal wrote: »

Hi Whittey

Thanks so much for your reply. I had a look at the Twelve Rooms and it looks gorgeous! Really stylish and welcoming. The food sounds amazing too so I might pop in there for a look when I'm in Galway next.

Curlybob, I'm really glad to hear you had a lovely experience at Cloonacauneen. I have to say that it ticks a lot of boxes for us and as many of our friends live in Galway anyway, we should hopefully be ok accommodation-wise. I checked out Cloughan Castle before but I was kind of put off by having to get caterers in.

Thanks for your advice! Lots to think about!

There are quite a few locations available & Cloonacauneen Castle is indeed a cracking location. I have shot a couple of weddings there and it is intimate, relaxed, cosy and the owners (Marie & Brendan) are great people to deal with. Their size is also perfect for the numbers you had in mind too

Oh by the way I am in no way associated with the place or the owners. I only talk about places I have been to as a vendor.

limerickgal

Hi mikeanywhere

Thanks a million for telling me your thoughts on the castle. I'm going to visit it this weekend and I'm really hoping it suits our needs as I've had great feedback on it so far.

I'll keep you posted!

limerickgal

bobbytables

I've been at Weddings in all venues mentioned in this thread so far and by a long shot the Twelve Hotel in Barna was the best. IMO it is the most outstanding hotel in Galway and the West Restaurant food is nothing short of perfect. My advice to any of you who have never been to the Twelve don't pop your head in to the bar on a Saturday afternoon if there is a football match on or something, it's not that it draws a rowdy crowd or has that sort of atmosphere, but the bar (although lovely in it's own right) is not the place in that hotel to get a feel for what a Wedding at the Twelve would be like. That also goes for food served in the bar. I have lost count of the many many people that I've had come back to me and say, "I thought the food at the Twelve was good, but not amazing", to which I reply "You had the bar food didn't you". Many people venture in to the bar, order the food and compare their experience to the raving restaurant reviews. The truth is, there is no comparison. The bar food is good, but it's bar food. The West restaurant is a different affair altogether. I have yet to find a restaurant in Ireland that comes close. So don't pop in to the bar to get your impression, get a proper look/sample of the place before you make your decision.

As for the rest, this is my honest opinion....
The Westwood: I wouldn't turn my nose up at this hotel. Was last at a wedding there about 18 months ago and it was lovely. The food was nothing close to that of the Twelve, but it was good when compared to what you normally get at weddings, and plenty of it. Beyond that the staff at the hotel didn't make anyone feel like they were getting anything special on the day. When you book a wedding reception, and spend all that money the last thing you want to feel like is that you were getting the same 'ol package as every other wedding couple. Despite the Westwood being a relatively nice hotel, I walked away thinking "Christ!, I wonder could robots have delivered the same level of service". Don't get me wrong, the staff were friendly, but there were no surprises or extra efforts to give the day a more unique charm.

Cloonacauneen Castle: I thought the food was terrible, and although yes!, it is a castle, I have been at weddings in other castles that were far far better. The main function room would be tight, fitting 120 people, if at all. However it's been a few years now since I was there last.

Cloghan Castle is a lovely place for a wedding. Yes it works on a self catering basis and would not suit large numbers, but in terms of the "castle experience" this wins hands down. I would definitely consider it. I think anyone wanting to have a really nice (and somewhat completely different) wedding reception than the "package" weddings you get elsewhere, this is the place. My friends spent far less on their wedding here than were quoted elsewhere, even after bringing in the caterers. There are only a handful of guest rooms in the hotel, and I stayed in one at the time. It was really lovely. There is a round tower type stair well leading up to the bedrooms which is not kid safe though. Even after a few drinks we had to watch our steps going between the reception and the rooms (if you fell you were in trouble). Having the castle to yourselves does have it's merits though, as myself and my girlfriend got to go up on to the roof and watch the sunrise in the early hours after everyone had fallen asleep. Everyone agreed that it was a gem of venue for a wedding with smaller (<= 100) numbers with a no children policy.

Best of luck, and I hope you both have a lovely day when the time comes

gerzey

limerickgal wrote: »

Hi everyone

I'm new to this so hope I can tap into your wealth of experience for advice on my wedding! My beloved and I got engaged last September and are hoping to get married early 2011. We've gone back and forth about having it here or away and I have finally narrowed it down to a handful of venues that will hopefully fit the bill. The one I am most excited about is Clooonacauneen Castle in Galway - it seems beautiful (haven't seen it yet), the food looks lovely and the people I have been dealing with so far have been really helpful and pleasant.

Could anyone let me know their experience there? I've seen a couple of threads that talked about small weddings but we are hoping to have between 70 and 120 (I say 'between' because we are still deciding between having a small reception for 70 and and afters for up to 120 or just a reception for all 120).

I'd really appreciate any information you can give me!

Thanks

Hi,

I was just wondering where you chose in the end? We're looking at the Twelve and the Raddison in Galway for next year.

Gerzey

fifib

gerzey wrote: »

Hi,

I was just wondering where you chose in the end? We're looking at the Twelve and the Raddison in Galway for next year.

Gerzey

Have you seen both venues? the twelve has a max of 100-110 seating for dinner, its a smallish room whereas the Radisson could seat up to 350 Id say as its a ginormous room...just in case you werent aware of this

gerzey

Hi,

No we haven't looked at either yet. We're just looking at our options for Galway at the moment. Our numbers are between 100 - 150. I'd love the twelve but I'm worried that it will work out alot more expensive than the chain hotels....is there much room for negotiation in the small boutique hotels?

I know you're paying for the personal touch and they will prob make the wedding more intimate but we have a tight budget.

andylennon11

Hi guys can i ask yer opinion? I'm havin a wedding of between 80-90people and about 10 kids. I'm wondering do u think the shearwater hotel in ballinasloe is too big? I really love it there but am worried it ll b 2 big. If we put tables on the dance floor it might reduce dance floor size . They have another small function room but dance floor is so tiny,only about 20 people would fit on it comfortably!kinda confused!

grahambol

The Shearwater is a lovely venue but, to be honest, I think it is too big for the numbers that you mention unless there is some kind of partition that they can put it to make it smaller (don't know if they can?).

I was at a wedding there with 150 guests and it still looked quite empty.

andylennon11

Hi the function room can be partitioned in half. Was it not partitioned for a wedding of 150? It is a gigantic room that def needs to be partitioned for any less than 300. Can I ask you what the food was like at that wedding and your overall impression, thanks

CaraMay

I was at a wedding this year in Westwood and it was poor. It was a real paint by numbers wedding and there was nothing special about the hotel or food. The good was very slow coming out and not worth waiting for...

Was in Cloonacauneen Castle for a birthday party and it was nice. Heard the rooms were a bit dodge though and some of the girls staying over went out to buy warm pj and hot water bottle after checking in... This was in April...

grahambol

andylennon11 wrote: »

Hi the function room can be partitioned in half. Was it not partitioned for a wedding of 150? It is a gigantic room that def needs to be partitioned for any less than 300. Can I ask you what the food was like at that wedding and your overall impression, thanks

Hi andylennon11,

No, they had the full room, maybe that was the choice of the couple, I don't know.

Apart from that, food and the venue in general was excellent.:)