I recently returned from an eight night visit to Ireland, my first trip to this country. During our trip, we stayed in four hotels and visited seven others. This is my site inspection report. As with all of my reports, these are my subjective opinions. Others will (and should) feel otherwise! As a TA, it's impossible to evaluate service, so this is more of a reflection on the physical attributes of these properties.

Dromoland Castle was originally built in 1730, owned by the O'Brien family, being converted to a hotel in 1963. The hotel has three buildings, each built at a different time in the castle's history. We were shown a variety of rooms in each building. The common wisdom is to request a room in the Main Tower (as opposed to the East Wing and the Queen Anne Courtyard). The Main Tower is the most elegant building in the complex with 18 foot ceilings on both floors, as well as the guest reception, spa, dining facilities, and bar.

Room

While we saw lead-in Standard rooms, all in the Queen Anne Courtyard building, Virtuoso guests receive an automatic upgrade to a Deluxe room. As might be expected in an older building, rooms even within one classification vary widely, both in terms of styling and room features. One Deluxe we saw had a a light green color scheme that did not appeal to me, but Deluxe rooms in a rich yellow and in a blue decorating motif were quite attractive. Definitely ask to see several rooms when you check in so that you can choose from the available accommodations. There is also diversity in terms of single vs. double vanities and step-in showers, and you'll want to weigh all of these factors in making your selection. Deluxe rooms are nicely proportioned, but the upgraded rooms are even nicer. We saw a Tower Deluxe room with a view of the lake and 18th green that was quite appealing, but the real WOW rooms were State Rooms. These had high ceilings and tall windows, bringing a lot of natural light into the room. The Brian Borv Suite was also a wonderful accommodation.

Amenities

Dromoland Castle offers a golf course, a stocked pond, a 70 meter indoor pool, falconry lessons, as well as a sense of history in a 300 year old castle.