DISCUSSION for Hilton Honors Hotels in Ireland {IRL}
May 24, 2004, 9:33 am
#76
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Valley of the Sun, AZ, USA
Programs: AA Dirt, HHonors Silver
Posts: 495
We stayed at Mt. Juliet for the 1st three nights of our honeymoon. We got a room on the top floor of the main house - 'Kendal something' was the name of the room - I don't recall off the top of my head. As a diamond VIP, we got the free breakfasts in Helen's - excellent Irish breakfasts, and an upgraded room. We were also treated to a bottle of wine and the box of truffles (my wife really loved that!).
Although we didn't do too much exploring of the grounds, they were beuatiful. Also, Kilkenny, Cashel, and Waterford are all easy day trips from here.
All in all, I'd definately reccomend Mt. Juluiet with a big ^
Although we didn't do too much exploring of the grounds, they were beuatiful. Also, Kilkenny, Cashel, and Waterford are all easy day trips from here.
All in all, I'd definately reccomend Mt. Juluiet with a big ^
May 24, 2004, 10:46 am
#77
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 6,359
Originally Posted by zakami
The hotel was full, but my friend and I (sharing a room) were still accomodated in a "better" room. I couldn't tell you how much better, but I did like the room. There isn't really anything exceptional about this hotel but in no way is it bad either.
Last edited by gregorygrady; May 24, 2004 at 11:57 am
May 24, 2004, 4:06 pm
#78
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 54
Mount Juliet is Amazing
We stayed at the Mount Juliet in August of last year. I wrote a trip report detailing our stay, which should be easily found through a search. I STILL can't say enough about how wonderful this property was and we long to go back soon. It is a serene and gorgeous place for a quiet stay in the Irish countryside.
We played golf there, spent much time at the spa, pool & gym and ate at Kendals twice. I must agree with the other posters that Kendals was terrific although I felt that breakfast at Lady Helen's was superior to the breakfast at Kendals. We enjoyed the tea service each day and the pubs at night.
We stayed at the Hunters Yard rooms to be closer to the golf course, spa and of course the pubs! We thoughts the rooms were fine although next time I would ask to stay in the main house.
All in all a great place!!
We played golf there, spent much time at the spa, pool & gym and ate at Kendals twice. I must agree with the other posters that Kendals was terrific although I felt that breakfast at Lady Helen's was superior to the breakfast at Kendals. We enjoyed the tea service each day and the pubs at night.
We stayed at the Hunters Yard rooms to be closer to the golf course, spa and of course the pubs! We thoughts the rooms were fine although next time I would ask to stay in the main house.
All in all a great place!!
May 25, 2004, 8:33 am
#79
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: DUB - Ireland
Programs: EI-GCE, BD-G, BA-G, A3*G, TK*G, FB-G, HH-G, Hyatt-Dia
Posts: 8,527
Originally Posted by MusicMan
Also, I faxed twice to the Dublin Hilton reservation department for rates, (letting them know my Diamond status) and they didn't even give me the professional courtesy of an email or fax reply. ........ Any reports, good or bad?
The Hilton is an unremarkable 4* just a little too far from downtown.
The Conrad is a Conrad, and only 5 mins stroll from whewre the action begins (and ends).
Jun 1, 2004, 2:12 pm
#80
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Reno, NV (RNO)
Programs: AA Platinum, AS, UA, DL, HHonors Gold, Marriott LTP, Hyatt, IHG Platinum
Posts: 4,707
We just returned from Ireland and a two-night award stay at the Mount Juliet Conrad. While we enjoyed our stay, I would hardly call it "fabulous". We were not disappointed (other than not being able to get into the main house), but Mount Juliet certainly did NOT exceed our expectations either. And, it being a Conrad property, we expected more.
As a Diamond HHonors member, I contacted the GM at the Mount Juliet (via e-mail) about 3 weeks before our arrival to request an upgrade to the main house. I received a prompt reply indicating that the main house was booked for the two days of our stay (a Sunday and Monday night) and that while they would try to upgrade us, we shouldn't count on it unless a cancellation occurred. Fair enough. When we arrived at the property, the staff was aware of our request and informed us that the main house would not be available and that our room would be in the Hunters Yard. While disappointed, we were prepared for this. The Hunters Yard rooms, a short walk from the main house, are a decent size for a European hotel room....about the size of a typical U.S. hotel room. The room was adequate, but nothing special. In all honesty, I've seen some Hampton Inns that had nicer furnishings. The one thing that seemed missing in the room was attention to detail, some in the basic construction and some in the decor. Crooked tiling in the bathroom, chips in the wood vanity/sink counter, chipped paint on the walls, broken trouser press, dirty iron, etc. Nothing awful, but again, simply not up to what I would expect from a Conrad or a similar quality hotel. At the regular rate of Euro 235/night for a Hunters Yard room, I think they should do better. And there is simply no comparison between Mount Juliet and the Westin Dublin (where we spent 3 nights at the tail end of our trip); the Westin was a far better hotel.
As others have noted, Kendals restaurant has some excellent food. We had one of our better meals while in Ireland at Kendals. I'm not sure how the one poster managed to spend only $140 US for 4 meals (2 at Kendals) unless it was for dinner at the pub part of Kendals. Dinner for two at the regular restaurant will easily run Euro 100+ with drinks and dessert. Service is decent, but nothing stellar.
When we checked in, no mention was made of free breakfast. Mrs. MileKing later called the front desk and they told us they would take care of it. Not sure if that's because we asked or because it would have been included anyway. In any event, we ate at Kendals for breakfast (twice). It's a buffet and an average one at that. The morning of our second day we noted that Kendals was set-up for what looked like a meeting presentation; no breakfast or staff in sight. When we called the front desk we learned that breakfast that morning had been moved to an alternate room in the Hunters Yard. No one had mentioned this nor was there a sign posted anywhere...again, poor attention to detail in my view. When we got to the alternate room, we found several long tables with chairs; much the type of arrangement you would expect for a conference-arranged breakfast. Sure enough, and much to our chargrin, we found ourselves seated at a table with a bunch of people from various Fortune 500 firms there on business. No matter, we ate our breakfast and left. From discussion, we learned that several of these folks where in the Rose Garden Lodges and others in the Paddocks. From some of the comments, they didn't seem too thrilled with either the rooms or the service. Seems that two tour buses had most of the rooms in the main house.
Mount Juliet is very formal and, as noted by some others, service a bit stiff. We mix well with most everyone, but even we felt uncomfortable here on more than one occasion. Too many people in jackets and ties, although perhaps that was simply a function of the aforementioned Fortune 500 firms and whatever conference(s) were going on. Yes, the grounds are fabulous and activities abound. If you are an avid golfer, you'll love the place. But the rest is just ordinary. At the prices Mount Juliet is commanding, whether dollars or points, it's steep for what you get. Perhaps we visited at just the wrong time or expected too much or would have had a better stay if we had managed to get into the main house. Mrs. MileKing and I both agree that we would be hard-pressed to stay here again.
As a Diamond HHonors member, I contacted the GM at the Mount Juliet (via e-mail) about 3 weeks before our arrival to request an upgrade to the main house. I received a prompt reply indicating that the main house was booked for the two days of our stay (a Sunday and Monday night) and that while they would try to upgrade us, we shouldn't count on it unless a cancellation occurred. Fair enough. When we arrived at the property, the staff was aware of our request and informed us that the main house would not be available and that our room would be in the Hunters Yard. While disappointed, we were prepared for this. The Hunters Yard rooms, a short walk from the main house, are a decent size for a European hotel room....about the size of a typical U.S. hotel room. The room was adequate, but nothing special. In all honesty, I've seen some Hampton Inns that had nicer furnishings. The one thing that seemed missing in the room was attention to detail, some in the basic construction and some in the decor. Crooked tiling in the bathroom, chips in the wood vanity/sink counter, chipped paint on the walls, broken trouser press, dirty iron, etc. Nothing awful, but again, simply not up to what I would expect from a Conrad or a similar quality hotel. At the regular rate of Euro 235/night for a Hunters Yard room, I think they should do better. And there is simply no comparison between Mount Juliet and the Westin Dublin (where we spent 3 nights at the tail end of our trip); the Westin was a far better hotel.
As others have noted, Kendals restaurant has some excellent food. We had one of our better meals while in Ireland at Kendals. I'm not sure how the one poster managed to spend only $140 US for 4 meals (2 at Kendals) unless it was for dinner at the pub part of Kendals. Dinner for two at the regular restaurant will easily run Euro 100+ with drinks and dessert. Service is decent, but nothing stellar.
When we checked in, no mention was made of free breakfast. Mrs. MileKing later called the front desk and they told us they would take care of it. Not sure if that's because we asked or because it would have been included anyway. In any event, we ate at Kendals for breakfast (twice). It's a buffet and an average one at that. The morning of our second day we noted that Kendals was set-up for what looked like a meeting presentation; no breakfast or staff in sight. When we called the front desk we learned that breakfast that morning had been moved to an alternate room in the Hunters Yard. No one had mentioned this nor was there a sign posted anywhere...again, poor attention to detail in my view. When we got to the alternate room, we found several long tables with chairs; much the type of arrangement you would expect for a conference-arranged breakfast. Sure enough, and much to our chargrin, we found ourselves seated at a table with a bunch of people from various Fortune 500 firms there on business. No matter, we ate our breakfast and left. From discussion, we learned that several of these folks where in the Rose Garden Lodges and others in the Paddocks. From some of the comments, they didn't seem too thrilled with either the rooms or the service. Seems that two tour buses had most of the rooms in the main house.
Mount Juliet is very formal and, as noted by some others, service a bit stiff. We mix well with most everyone, but even we felt uncomfortable here on more than one occasion. Too many people in jackets and ties, although perhaps that was simply a function of the aforementioned Fortune 500 firms and whatever conference(s) were going on. Yes, the grounds are fabulous and activities abound. If you are an avid golfer, you'll love the place. But the rest is just ordinary. At the prices Mount Juliet is commanding, whether dollars or points, it's steep for what you get. Perhaps we visited at just the wrong time or expected too much or would have had a better stay if we had managed to get into the main house. Mrs. MileKing and I both agree that we would be hard-pressed to stay here again.
Jul 28, 2005, 12:29 am
#82
Join Date: Oct 2003
Programs: UA 1K, LH SEN
Posts: 622
Dublin Conrad vs. Hilton
Has anyone tried both the Conrad and the Hilton in Dublin? I'm booking an award stay and wondered where I should go. Logic tells me that the Conrad is better -- and I'm happy to pay 5,000 extra points -- but there may be some specifics I don't know about.
Jul 28, 2005, 5:44 am
#83
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Newcastle, UK
Posts: 2,379
Originally Posted by Nicholas
Has anyone tried both the Conrad and the Hilton in Dublin? I'm booking an award stay and wondered where I should go. Logic tells me that the Conrad is better -- and I'm happy to pay 5,000 extra points -- but there may be some specifics I don't know about.
Jul 28, 2005, 7:40 am
#84
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
As a Diamond at the Conrad Dublin I was given a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates as a gift as well. It was a decent hotel but not the best Conrad out there. Breakfast (incl. breakfast buffet selection) was included but service there was relatively slow and erratic for the table items.
Staff otherwise friendly but nothing spectacular. Didn't seem to be too busy when I was there and even then there was no one at the door to help me with luggage etc. at time of check-in or check-out. The good news is that the bus to the airport is out the front door of the Conrad Dublin, to your right and around the right corner of that very block (if that is what you wish to do instead of a cab).
Staff otherwise friendly but nothing spectacular. Didn't seem to be too busy when I was there and even then there was no one at the door to help me with luggage etc. at time of check-in or check-out. The good news is that the bus to the airport is out the front door of the Conrad Dublin, to your right and around the right corner of that very block (if that is what you wish to do instead of a cab).
Jul 28, 2005, 9:52 am
#85
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: DUB
Programs: BD *G, HHonors Gold, EI Gold Circle
Posts: 227
Conrad for definate! I used to spend alot of nights in the Hilton but gradually over time the standards have gone down and down. They now cater to alot of bus tours and the likes. The conrad, whilst not the best in the world, is alot better than its sister. The staff seem a bit snooty at times but everything else is quite nice. Breakfast is good if included in rate, or given free with status, but dont pay for it... Its something like 28euro!
Jul 28, 2005, 9:57 am
#86
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Pennsylvania
Programs: HHonors Silver
Posts: 4,030
Corollary question:
What premium is reasonable for a paid stay? I originally had a res at the Conrad for 180 EUR per night in August, but now I'm holding a res at the Hilton for 130 EUR per night (3-night stay) instead. Haven't checked rates at the Conrad lately (and there's an 80% chance I'll have to cancel anyway...
)
HH Gold if it matters at all.
What premium is reasonable for a paid stay? I originally had a res at the Conrad for 180 EUR per night in August, but now I'm holding a res at the Hilton for 130 EUR per night (3-night stay) instead. Haven't checked rates at the Conrad lately (and there's an 80% chance I'll have to cancel anyway...
)HH Gold if it matters at all.
Jul 28, 2005, 2:33 pm
#88
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Chapel Hill, NC - UA Nobody (sigh)/0.925MM, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 3,510
Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
For a 150 EUR difference, personally I would stay at the Hilton. While Conrad is better it isnt that much better.
