First of all, go on google and read more than 150 reviews. Second of all mine is here in short…read more The good. Room we got was great. Much bigger and spacious than in competing hotels. Food is lovely. The rest is in ordinary standards so I won't be writing about the regular stuff. The bad. Service is lacking.We had our room booked and upon arriving it wasn't ready yet. Which happens, it would be okay if a four star hotel would had offered us some complimentary tea or coffee, a cake etc. We came back in one hour and room was prepared by then. One good side is the pricing for the standards you get, except the service quality is lacking. At the bar restaurant (main opens only after 5 pm) we ordered three course meal and drinks. We ordered steak for which we had to pay extra €5 once we finished and went to pay for the drinks at the till. €5 fee applies to who gets steak with a voucher, we had that. We were not advised when we ordered steak that it will be charged extra. So that is another minus for service. IMPORTANT! This hotel mainly serves as a overnight stay for people who come to see their folks at the nearby hospital. Also, hotel supports local charity or some kids organisation (which is fantastic), just be prepared to see a lot of children running around in a lobby or swimming pool area. It's good for cheaper one night stay, but wouldn't recommend for anything longer than that and if you are looking for a quality high class stay.

Looking for a great place to stay? Look no further than the Killeshin Hotel in Portlaoise. Easy…read moreaccess from the motor way on the Dublin to Cork run. Plenty of free parking both inside and out. Inside meet the friendly staff who are more than accommodating with reasonably priced rooms and all the amenities you would expect in a fine hotel. Check out the bar where not only great drinks are available but food as well. I recommend the 8-oz Irish hamburger (with a pint of Smitwicks). It's a challenge but well worth it. However, their club sandwich is hard to beat. Want something more formal? Visit the Cedar restaurant where you will find a great menu with reasonable prices. I recommend the salmon dinner followed by their great apple pie. Like some wine with dinner? No problem. A good selection is available. Breakfast! Be careful. You are welcomed by your host with coffee or tea followed by selection of great Irish traditional breakfast foods. It's easy to get carried away. Looking forward to visiting again soon. Mike McGann California, USA

First to review... ok!…read more well.. let me just point out a few things... 1. I'm from USA 2. I don't golf 3. I didn't use their spa/club amenities. But the condo we stayed in was beautiful. 2 bedroom suite. 2 stories with living room, office/den, and kitchen, 2 bed and baths. The surrounding area was beautiful. The service in the lobby was very prompt and friendly. The food at the bar and the service there was great too. Amenities are minimal since the condo we stayed in are the self service kind... where you provide most of your own stuff. It's a full kitchen, with small fridge, dishwasher, washing machine (no dryer). Dishes, silverware, cookware, small bottle of dish soap and dish towels included. It comes with the basics like a set of towels/person and bed linens set. But it does not come with soap/shampoo like some hotels may have. There is no maid service. If you want that it, it's an additional charge. If you need extra towels or toiletries, those are also an additional charge. Just keep these in mind. Some of my travel companions weren't expecting this. For USA travelers, there is one 2 prong outlet in the downstairs bathroom. The rest in the condo are 3 prong Irish outlets. We found it very difficult to find, driving there ourselves. Addresses and street names and what not are difficult to navigate and work with in Ireland, and even with gps, it was awkward. It's not the most convenient location. But it was very interesting and an adventure for us :) So out of country visitors, and maybe even for local Irish visitors, keep that mind and map it out as best you can in detail for the smaller country roads before you head out, even if it sounds straight forward.

I cannot say enough good things about this place. It is a DREAM. It has so much character and is…read morevery peaceful. I was shocked at the fact that our wonderful breakfast was free... By far the best breakfast we had out of our nearly two weeks in Ireland. It was exciting to hear that the owners are from Texas! It is 100% worth it to drive an hour out of Dublin to stay here. I don't golf and didn't use the spa amenities or go to any of their restaurants so I'm sure those things will add appeal to others. The first night we stayed here we took a drive to have dinner at Harte's of Kildare (about 20-25 minutes away from the hotel) and it was fantastic! I highly recommend eating there if you're staying at this hotel. I think this is the perfect place for couples. It's a dream for me to get here on my honeymoon one day.

Kilkea Hotel is a spectacular and beautiful property. The renovations to turn it into a hotel…read moreinclude some modern amenities but keep a lot of the historical charm of the property which I appreciated. We had one castle room and one carriage room for our stay. Both rooms were quaint and well maintained. The gardens around the property are gorgeous and wonderful to explore during nice weather. The only thing to note is that in off-season the main restaurant is only open on the weekends and the tea service is not available during the week. While we enjoyed the food at Hermione's, the day we stayed there was a group event closing the main restaurant so we had to eat in the bar area. Most of the activities are off the property which wasn't very clear as we approached the date of our stay. We ended up visiting the National Stud Farm (about 30 minutes drive) and the clay pigeon shooting (about 40 minutes drive). Highly recommend both activities and really appreciate the staff helping us arrange these activities. The downstairs bar area is open late with a delicious charcuterie and board games are available to use by the fireplace which was a fun way to spend the later evening hours. Highly recommend staying at Kilkea Castle Hotel!

The castle was amazing!!! From the wonderful staff to the tasty breakfast and delicious pints. From…read morethe moment we stepped on property to the moment we departed. It was first class. The property itself is stunning. Plenty to do between golf, the spa, the gym, bird flying, walking around and great food plus drinks. We made the 30 minute ride to the outlet malls and loved that also. The proper Irish breakfast to start everyday was amazing! I wish they would bring that to the states. Thanks again for the hospitality! Cheers

We had our wedding at the beautiful Keadeen hotel in March. We could not recommend them enough…read more From the moment we booked, we could fault nothing. The rooms are gorgeous and the food is outstanding. The staff are all so lovely and on the ball to say the least!

The Keadeen is where I first vocalised that my longest-term relationship was not going well. In the…read morebeautiful gardens, with a cappuccino and my aunt's support, it didn't seem so bad. It's where I "supervised" my little sister's Debs. I never ended up going to my own Debs so I bought a sexy dress and brought the date I'd hoped to bring ten years previously. We took photos and drank and gazed out the enormous windows at the tall trees in the night. The only supervising we did was rating the girls' dresses as they danced with their fellas' ties loosely wrapped around them. In fact, the supervisors' table was the one with the most empty vodka bottles beneath it. The bathrooms in the Keadeen Hotel are beautiful. I love peeing here. If Avoca and Kath Kidston were compressed into a loo area, it would look like this. The Keadeen is where I brought the embryo of the book I was writing. I'd carry my laptop and a pot of tea to a comfy armchair in the lounge and type away happily, occasionally listening in on the conversations of the old folks or the business meetings. I've since discarded my novel like a novelty fling but my love affair with the Keadeen continues...

Wow. Where do I start? My wife and I decided to seriously indulge ourselves so we went with a two…read morenight package (via Relais et Chateaux) in Ballyfin Demesne, a grandiose 18th century house on 600 acres in the leafy Laois countryside. We arrived at the main electronic gates (you need to dial reception for entry) and made our way along the winding 3km road to the main house. It was a bit disconcerting to have all of the staff lined up outside the hotel to greet us, but it certainly made us feel very welcome. Our luggage was taken, my car driven off to be hidden away out of sight and we were given a short introduction about what we could expect from our stay. Our deluxe room was incredible. It was very well presented, looking very much like what it would have looked like two hundred years ago (I'm sure) and the mini bar was filled with complimentary (non alcoholic) drinks and nuts. The quality of the products (soaps, shower gels etc) were of the highest order. We relaxed for a while then went down for a guided tour of the house hosted by the extremely pleasant & imitable Lionel. The house has been lovingly restored to its former glory in the finest detail by its owners. I could talk for hours about what a beautiful hotel it is. The main points to note are that: yes you do pay a lot to stay/eat there, but it is worth it for the relaxation, the excellent food, the incredibly friendly, attentive (and not in any way overbearing) staff. There are many activities on offer (we took a spin in one of the golf buggies and explored the estate and all of its follies, grottoes and forests), including clay pigeon shooting, fishing, archery etc...I enjoyed not having to worry about running up huge bills, as most teas, soft drinks, newspapers and a pre dinner champagne etc were complimentary. The team were accommodating in every way - they had no issue with us bringing a bottle of our own wine (for nostalgic reasons - our wedding wine) and just charged corkage. The food, including the breakfasts, was incredible. I recommend to anyone looking to seriously indulge themselves in truly opulent surroundings to treat themselves to a night in Ballyfin. I would personally prefer the Cliff House for a foodie break, but for the whole end to end package it is hard to beat the luxury on offer at Ballyfin.

I cannot wait to come back! This is the most luxurious and beautiful hotel I have ever been too! We…read morestayed here for my husband's birthday. The attention to detail by the staff was phenomenal! From the pictures on the wall, flowers, decorations, I could go on.... Staff very helpful & always there to offer you, tea, water or coffee. Golf carts great way to get around!

A pretty nice hotel in a mall with unfortunately apathetic staff, please go somewhere else than…read moreMaldron. My girlfriend and I, on our way back to Dublin for our flight back to the U.S., stopped at Maldron for one night so we could wake up early and make it to the airport. The hotel is located in some sort of shopping mall, so if you're looking for fast food options you're in luck. Upon checking, the lady at the front desk was very nice and hospitable, even saying that, although we were leaving before breakfast, that they would set something out for us. The rooms are modern and appear new, with Wi-Fi, satellite TV, and a large bathroom. So far, so good... ...until the night. At approximately 2:00 AM we were awoken by loud people in the lobby. Staying on the first floor, we could hear every word. I wish I could tell you they were all teenagers, which most of them were, but there were also adults walking around the hallways chatting like the place was empty. I called the front desk to complain, and was rerouted to wherever the night time staff is, and after 20 agonizing minutes the talking finally stopped. Why was there no one at the front desk to handle this immediately? Who knows. Sleep disrupted, we dozed for a few more hours and couldn't check out fast enough. It was terrible, and I would rather sleep on the side of the road then stay here again. And oh yeah, the breakfast area was locked with nothing set out for us. They clearly don't care at Maldron Hotel, so you shouldn't care to stay here either. Pass.

My husband and I wanted to go out for a meal and a drink so we decided to stay in the Maldron as it…read morewas close to home. On entering the foyer, my first impression was that it was very basic but clean and the receptionist though not overly friendly was very efficient. Our room was quite spacious and the bathroom looked immaculately clean - until I noticed the stains at the bottom of the shower curtain. We decided to have some tea and a smoke before going down to dinner and opened the window so that we wouldn't have to return to a smoke filled room. It was then that we noticed the really dirty net curtains that were just crying out to be washed. The restaurant was very basic but the meal, which was served by a nice efficient waitress, was quite tasteful. We returned to our room an hour or so later only to discover that the kettle had leaked quite a lot all over the courtesy tray and onto the floor. When my husband phoned reception, another kettle was promptly delivered to our room but this one also leaked. Not wanting to be troublesome, my husband brought the kettle down to reception along with water soaked tray and he was given another tray and kettle. Alas, the tray he was given was in a filthy condition with water marks, tea stains and crumbs on it. This was enough to make us want to go home but due to the fact that we had indulged in a couple of drinks we were obliged to spend the night here and so decided to retire for the night. While my husband was at reception, I noticed that the floors were only vacuumed wherever the vacuum cleaner would fit. There were dust marks under the bedside lockers and quite a lot of dust behind the unit which held the television set. Another surprise awaited us when we pulled back the shams on the bed - the lining on them was full of stains. Next morning we went down to the restaurant just before 7 AM and looked forward to a nice breakfast. There was a great selection of food available but once again I was let down by the stains on top of the toaster and the crumbs and stains on the tray which was supposed to catch the bread when it finished toasting. As it was so early in the morning and we were the only guests in the restaurant at the time, I can only assume that the toaster and tray are rarely if ever cleaned. The breakfast wasn't up to standard either. The cereals were fine but unfortunately the fry was cold.

In the last few years I've been here now four times for events with three overnight stays…read more It's a lovely hotel with friendly staff and very good service. They always managed well to cater for the events that were big enough. The restaurant (The Fitzmaurice) is very good. Seeing that I was there for big events (300ish people) I was very impressed how they managed to organise and serve dinner and lunch and very good quality. Breakfast is Full Irish (self-service) with everything you can expect (fried egg, scambled eggs, mushrooms, tomato, black and white pudding, baked beans and hash) or you can get continental breakfast. The conference room and the surrounding facilities are friendly and comfortable. And free wi-fi is always nice to have these days. I didn't get to try their spa yet. Only three stars might be a bit mean. But I twice got a room that wasn't up to standard. Once (two years ago) is was a very small one and not very inviting - this obviously might have change by now. This time I was on the third floor in a lovely room to the back. Luckily I couldn't hear the trains on the rails just behind the hotel. But I got the impression this floor doesn't get used a lot (which is fair enogh in these times). The locker in the room didn't work. I suppose the batteries had dies. I mentioned it at reception. I didn't make it urgent so I wasn't surprised when that wasn't fixed by the time I left the next day but somehow I still kindo expected it. The heating wasn't on at all on the third floor it seems. Which I first thought is nice as I hate overheated rooms. But it got quite chilly during the night. Luckily I found a blanket in the wardrobe. And when I wanted to have a shower the next morning I absolutely couldn't switch it on. And I consider myself strong.

Amazing hotel with big roomy halls and great mattresses (this matters a ridiculous amount to me…read moregiven the traveling I do). In the last two years, it has come under new ownership which is on-site. The staff are over-the top friendly and attentive, and often surprise me by remembering me by name. It's very clean and the rooms are incredible. We got a junior suite which had a living room, two bathrooms and a bedroom. A welcome brownie and berries were a nice surprise in our room upon our arrival. I have only had a pedicure at the spa, but plan on going back next trip. Would absolutely return.

This is the Bridge House Hotel - Char Bistro inside the…read morehotel. This is our second time dining here while we're in town from Clonaslee, which is just a 15 minute drive away. The place is spacious, has a full bar with plenty of draft options, and the food and service are great.

The Bridge House is probably the biggest bar in Tullamore, and it certainly has the most prominent…read morelocation, so it was fairly natural that we decided to head in for our preparatory tipple on a recent first visit to the town. And we almost immediately regretted it. The bar felt very much like a hotel bar (which actually makes sense, as the Bridge House is a hotel): bit too open plan, carpeted floor and old people everywhere, all round over-polished feel and a consequent lack of ambiance. There was even a guitar-toting duo singing lacklustre covers in one corner, which was blasted around the pub at irritating levels. We were the only people under forty in the place, but occasionally groups of young people would wander in and then leave almost immediately, as if they were looking for somewhere else. Curious to find where this surely close by spot was, and eager to get out of this chintzy heck-hole, we finished our drinks and left. Easily the least atmospheric place I was in on my short sojourn in the town. As we were leaving, though, there was already a queue of people outside the nightclub next door, and this was before eleven o'clock! We made a collective mental note to check it out later, and headed up the town.