Ballymascanlon Hotel and Golf Resort

Hotel and facilities were great. Room was spacious, very comfortable and clean. Dinner and breakfast both food and service were very good. Staff were very polite and pleasant. Only very minor issue was a member of bar staff was slow serving and distracted.

Great hotel staff where so friendly couldn’t do enough would highly recommend

Very comfortable

Let's just cut to the chase: 1. Location: I wouldn't say Dundalk has been my dream holiday destination for many years but I was pleasantly surprised with the area and the range of activities for my family (including 8 yo son). The hotel itself is situated on gorgeous grounds and there's a nice 15 min walk to the nearby Dolmen. 2. The Shared Areas : It was beautifully restored and decorated, a lovely reading room, and other relaxing areas situated around the place. Great for doing jigsaws with my son in the evening. The main restaurant was clearly recently decorated and it all looked very new and fresh. Things got a bit more scruffy up towards the rooms and the corridors. The corridor outside our room had a weird unpleasant smell that might have had something to do with cooking vents? It desperately needed better ventilation and the decor was worn and dated. 3. The Room: We had a three person room with a double and single bed. It had a lovely view of the old outhouses and a gorgeous big window that I liked to do yoga in front of. The bathroom was fine although the shower was really tiny but there was a separate bath. Towels were good. There was an ironing board, iron and hairdryer in the room. We never heard any of our neighbours. 4. The Food: The food was surprisingly good and we ate in the bar terrace a few times although never made it to the main restaurant in the evenings. It was a step up from your average hotel restaurant and I really enjoyed the miso aubergines and asian style chicken wings. Breakfast was decent too with an Irish breakfast buffet - pretty standard stuff, the eggs weren't great but the homemade granola was a star. 5. Condiment Game: This needs its own sections as condiments in Ireland, as I've discovered, are a key weak point and this hotel was no different. The only condiments available were those little sachets of cheap ketchup and brown sauce (Kenny's?) and the brown sauce was inedible. Eventually I discovered a nice relish hiding with the cheese and ham in the morning and that was nice. Also on the last day some Tabasco made a welcome experience but in general, it doesn't cost much to get this right and it makes a big difference to condiment afficianados such as myself. The condiment game was WEAK. Weak! Also, could do with a Bloody Mary on the bar menu but one of the nice lads made me an excellent one. 6. Service: lots of very friendly people and very attentive. Many teenagers but nice ones. 7. Kid Friendliness Levels: Seemed very kid friendly. High chairs and kids menus although the kids menus were pretty boring - I'd love to see curry or kids mussels or other interesting stuff on the list. Kids can be gourmands too! 8. Leisure: Pool was nice although not really long enough for serious lengths (maybe 20m at a stretch - not sure it was even that) but I loved the outdoor jacuzzi and the cold plunge pool. The gym itself was small and didn't have a proper spinning bike -

Super spot, hotel is set in stunning grounds, service excellent from reception, bars and restaurant. Rooms are clean, and well serviced spotless throughout. Overall a super hotel and location to Carlingford make its the ideal spot to stay.