The Inn at Dromoland

We stayed for 5 nights in The Inn at Dromoland Sun-Fri and unfortunately we would not recommend to others. From check in on day 1 things got off to a bad start. The receptionist himself was most definitely checked out of his job and failed to answer questions or give us our required documentation- vouchers as part of our deal. I returned later that day and still didn't get them but a different receptionist the next morning gave them to me after saying to me I did get them! I wouldn't have been back twice looking for them. The lady kindly booked us in for the dinner and the pizza night that were part of our deal. She gave us an alternative option with the pizzas too which we appreciated. The initial appearance of the hotel is fine for a 3 star but unfortunately once you leave the main lobby and head to the bedrooms, it takes a dire turn. The carpets are the first thing you meet and "manky" would be a good description. Yes the hotel is well used but in need of serious maintenance and upgrading. I paid extra for a premium room that supposedly had a view of the golf course. We eventually saw it on Thurs after the hedges were cut! The premium room was such a let down. We were on the ground floor and looked out onto a green lawn and car park. We had zero privacy unless we closed the curtain as there was no voile blinds on the window. Numerous people were looking in..a lady walking her dogs, families out playing football, people in the carpark etc. Mould and mildew around the window was the first thing we noticed and 2 sunked double beds. The stopper in the sink kept jamming and we were told to use a spoon to tap it open by the man who came to fix it and also to connect the phone. The bedside lamp didn't work either and stains were evident on the shade. We paid extra for this "premium" room and there wasn't even a bottle of water or a biscuit! The standard was very poor. Breakfast was always good and the food in the bar was OK. Unfortunately for room service, the food was luke warm at best although a speedy service. Our inclusive meal as part of our deal was extremely poor. There was no red meat/ beef option. Chicken, fish and vegetarian curry were the main options. My chicken came solo on the plate, nothing that was advertised came with it. I had to ask staff if there was any veg or potato and she said she would see. Some luke warm veg arrived and no potatoes or gravy etc. The children's meal was OK. They even got mash! We were in and out in under an hour and it most certainly was not an enjoyable experience. Pizza night again highly disappointing. My son described the pepperoni pizza as cardboard and I certainly agreed. It was luke warm and stiff and dry. I also stressed no garlic bread and of course it landed. I definitely would not recommend the stay and food package. On a positive note, I highly commend the cleaning staff, young waiting staff, pool attendees and Play Inn staff. They were always friendly and courteous. The Play Inn itself

This is a nice comfortable hotel with very friendly staff. It seemed consistenly nusy when we were there and also seeemd to be a good smattering of local community groups that met there which is always a good sign. Very conveniently located for Shannon airport and close to Ennis as well. Bar food was good gastro pub food, on-site gym has up to date equiptment but it is a bit cramped. Pool and steam/sauna area are decent but need a bit of a refresh and are showing their age I think. Overall the hotel is nice but needs some modernisation and a small bit of tlc in the corridors with pauint work/carpets etc but in fairness there was some sample colouring going on when we weere there prior to what I presume will be apainting/decorating job. Having said that, the bedroom had been recently renovated but curiously enough the TV still seemed to be circa early 2000's. Overall, decent value for money hotel.

Good News --The staff were very friendly and helpful, the food was pretty good . The Bad news--- I think everybody would agree the Inn needs a major overhaul or facelift if you prefer. I stayed in The Inn about 10 years ago and in my opinion nothing has changed , the carpets , the rooms etc look very grubby the Leisure Area has not changed one iota since I was last there , the Mens' changing rooms need a major overhaul,-- no dryer to dry wet swim gear surely that's a basic standard these days, no metal holders to put your Shower gel, shampoo etc in the actual showers themselves etc all basic stuff even the entrance door into Hotel was like trying to open old Barn door !!1 Yet all was needed was a few drops of WD40 --again basic stuff. I was talking to a few locals in the Sauna and told me in no uncertain terms Dromoland Castle and their Golf Course get the top billing and The Inn comes a very distance third , very hard to disagree with them!!! It's a shame The Inn has the potential to be very good hotel

Hotel Corridors and rooms extremely dated. Beds were fine. Had to ask to borrow a hoover to clean the room myself!!! 3 night stay and room wasn't cleaned once! Cups or nothing replaced!! Asked for a cot and you'd swear I'd asked for mountains to be moved. WiFi is horrendous. Leisure Centre Pool and changing rooms extremely grubby and dated. Door between changing room and shower is weighted to close sufficiently. Closed onto my foot while getting kids ready. Door with rusty screws and panel at the bottom hit my ankle and split it wide open. Blood all over the place. Asked for a 1st aid aid kit..was given a plaster! Lad behind the counter chuckled and said the same thing happened to him a few weeks back and advised me where to buy more plasters. Brought kids swimming the next day and my blood was still on the floor in changing room! (I did my best to clean up before I tried stopping the bleeding) Restaurant €17.50 for breakfast overpriced in my opinion Cheapest option for 1 course dinner was €20 This could be the going rate but I think it's well overpriced. Kids Club/Activities Mini golf that they advertise is concrete and totally unkept. Kids enjoyed it the kids club but be aware it has ZERO supervision. Anybody can come in or out. 1 girl working with 30 kids at least running around. Staff were nice and friendly for the most part but was a really disappointing stay all in all.

Stayed here for 2 nights with my family. Rooms were clean, staff were polite, hotel in parts looks a bit grubby. Service was poor - it took one our first night 50 mins from ordering our food for the kids food to arrive followed 10 minutes later for the adults main course. The second night was better in the bar area, but dessert took 35 minutes from ordering to arrive. One dessert was waffles and ice cream and the second one was two scoops of ice cream. Fot breakfast it was buffet style and had a good choice of foods if you didn't have any dietary requirements. But as a coeliac on the first morning I ordered two boiled eggs and GF toast which took 50 mins to arrive and on the second morning it took 60 minutes. I had to ask three different servers to check on my order. This then impacted on our time in the pool on our last day, which was very disappointing for my kids. We were then late checking out but the woman on reception didn't question this but I was conscious of this as I left the hotel with wet hair. The pool itself is a bit dated, has a capacity to hold 40 people at a time which is small compared to the number of people the INN can sleep. The dressing rooms could do with more cleaning throughout the day- the towel bin was over flowing, the floor needed a mop and brush out. As stated earlier the staff were friendly but I think the INN was understaffed during the weekend we stayed. The hotel in parts looks a bit grubby and could do with a fresh coat of paint. Our overall experience was ok but I don't think I would return or recommend the INN to family or friends.