Dunbrody Country House Hotel

Fabulous stay loved it - amazing room overlooking garden & fountain. Thought dinner might be too fine dining for us but was amazing, loved it all. Had drink out on terrace overlooking garden. Excellent service, bit of a runway of staff that night, think a reviewer may have been on site that evening. Breakfast was superb wee bit slow but we were in no rush. Lady in gift shop was lovely & we got some lovely items. Would definitely go back & stay again only my went for 1 night, seemed to be lots to do in the area. Scones were lovely so I’d get up at 7am for the making if I went again.

We have given this feedback to the hotel. However, it still rankled when we left. We drove literally coast to coast, a near 5 hour drive. Our welcome was dreadful. 'Hello, what's your name?' Name given. Couldn't pronounce it as 'was no good with Irish names. She found the booking and then said 'you are 8 and 11'.Which meant dinner at 8 and breakfast at 11am. Shocking. 'Here's your key. To be fair she did come up in the lift with us and then asked wgerr we had come from but a little late then. Hardly the typical welcome one would expect. Room lovely, needed to turn the heat down but my husband found it as the girl didn't know anything about the room Dinner was indeed at 8pm. Food was fabulous. Something slightly off about the service. Turned out they were Transition Year students with one so petrified she couldn't speak and another one who came and demanded 'the yellow flowery' plate back halfway through our starter for some inexplicable reason. We said to the Manager how surprised we were at this level of youth and inexperience serving us. The reply was did it affect our experience and service? The answer is yes. If a TY person is serving, its only fair on them and the customer to know in case there is any issue. We should have been told, particularly as this is supposed to be fine dining and were drawn to the hotel due to the food and wine experience. Not something you could have a chat with a TY student about. Similar service at breakfast the following morning but again the food was very good.

We were really looking forward to finally staying in Dunbrody House. On arrival on a very wet day we were warmly greeted and given a tour of this beautiful house. Its location is amazing and the grounds are manicured. We were shown to our room which was stunning. One tip to housekeeping - not much point in putting a coffee maker/tea bags in the room with not a biscuit to nibble on. We freshened up and crossed the yard to The Local pub for a drink. It was quite cold inside, and the roof was leaking near where we sat. Dinner.......We had reserved a table in the main dining room, which proved to be a good move as the bar was busy and the tables were tiny. For an establishment of this calibre, touting on the name of a 'celebrity' chef, we were so looking forward to a pleasant dining experience. This was not to be (the number of empty tables had my 'spidey radar' beeping). Dinner was very much a non event. Very much a limited menu vis a vis choice, portions could have been larger, food could have been better presented, and service was far too fast with no time between courses. To top it off we were charged EXTRA for a coffee and a tea !!!!! Really? You charge that much for dinner and can't even include a hot beverage after? For goodness sake my local cafe includes tea/coffee with all meals !!!!!! We retired to The Local for a nightcap where a 'trad' session was on. A pleasant enough hour but they could have upped the heating somewhat. Breakfast................aaaahhhhh breakfast. If there's one thing I love having paid top money for a hotel getaway it's a good breakfast. We expected to browse a cold buffet of fruits, local yoghurts and cheeses before the main event and then maybe a couple of pastries. Not at Dunbrody I'm afraid. Extremely limited selection - if the 'fry' or eggs scrambled, poached or fried are not your thing then you're gonna be very much disappointed and stuck for choice (since poached eggs were available I'd have thought eggs benedict would at least be an option). And the STIPULATION that one item from the continental menu could be had with a hot breakfast? Ah come on Kevin.............tight or what? The one item I had was a scone which was not fresh and tasted 'shop bought'. All in all, yes stay in Dunbrody as the rooms are lovely, but go room only option as dining experience here is very much a non event. As I said above, for the calibre of this venue, and the name it rides on, one would expect a far better culinary experience - there is a lot lacking in this regard.

We stayed in the gate lodge and used the country house facilities. Our stay was second to none and I cannot recommend the hotel enough. From the time we arrived until we left it was a wonderful experience. I have never come across more attentive and friendly staff in any other hotel I’ve stayed at. The food was amazing and the ambience of the whole property is brilliant. We ate both nights in the The Local Bar on the grounds and were looked after so well by Pat. He went beyond the call of duty and is truly a huge asset to the hotel We left on Sunday and felt so refreshed and revitalised. The whole experience was aimed at rest and relaxation. We felt like we has been spending the weekend at a friends home and that is a true testament of the amazing staff and management. We cannot wait to return. Bernadette Woods. Dublin

stunning house with lovely garden, expected a special type of breakfast considering the gourmet reputation - extremely disappointing breakfast and poor Gluten free produce. Stayed in a B&B a few days beforehand which had a much superior breakfast