Review: Dromoland Castle
October 2005
Dromoland is, by far, the most elegant of all castles in Ireland -- THE perfect ending to any trip and I can now promote it as such. Mind you, all of the castles are 5-star and deluxe, each with their own unique character but Dromoland pulls out all of the stops when it comes to service and making each person feel like royalty.
We pulled up in our little economy car, clad in our jeans and t-shirts and were promptly greeted by the doorman, John, who not only introduced himself but shook our hands and said he would take care of everything. We loaded up our personal belongings while he took care of unloading the car for us and parking it, quickly and efficiently and shocking at the same time. We've never been treated so well mostly because we don't stay at 5-Star Irish Castles often.
Check-in was a bit daunting as our room wasn't available but they quickly resolved that and offered us a "tower room" instead. "Sure," as it made no difference to us and she quickly handed us our welcome package and escorted us to our room, #401. Up a spiral staircase and we were glad a porter had our bags as we couldn't carry that hefty cargo up those stairs -- I was huffing and puffing myself with just a few items in my hand. The room -- oh the room -- it appeared to be a suite but I think it was just a Deluxe Room which includes a king-size bed, a small seating area with pull-out couch, desk topped with whiskey to sip on and a large bathroom with two sinks. If they were apologizing to put us in this room, we can only imagine what the original room would have been like.
We barely settled in because we had to head to the spa for our massages and gentlemans facial at 5pm. Just as we were leaving, someone arrived with a tray of fresh fruit and a bottle of champagne, compliments of the manager! I was sure they had the wrong room but I think this is customary for everyone ... and sure hope it is.
The spa is located in the clubhouse and we settled in for our two hour treatment, so relaxing at times that I did fall asleep and twitched as I drifted off. How embarassing -- but I easily got over it. My ONLY complaint here is that the rooms were quite noisy, located near the pool and next to the salon where the hairdryer was easily heard through the walls. Spas should be located in the most private, quiet places to induce relaxation and calmness -- but the conversations in the halls shocked me back to reality all too quickly.
Back at the room we were basking in our treatments and wishing that life was always like this. We made a few phonecalls, sipped champagne and ate some fruit while waiting for our 9pm dinner reservations. All of a sudden the phone rang and they asked for me -- it was Raymond and Florence. He was terribly upset that the front desk didn't give me his urgent message because he realized he forgot to sign my painting and was afraid I would be upset. I reassured him all was fine and he seemed to be relieved, promising me again that Lady Molly would be complete by March so I could pick her up.
Dinner at Dromoland is another experience that is both grand and might be intimidating to those who aren't accustomed to such fine dining, like myself. Of course it was jacket and tie and quite busy, our table not quite ready so we opted for a drink in the bar while waiting. The matre'd made sure we had menus, we ordered drinks and he even took our dinner order while we waited, sipping on Black Bush whiskey and the house champagne. Within a few minutes we were whisked to our table, napkins unfolded onto our laps (that always gets me!) and a wine menu firmly in hand. Per Raymond's recommendation we went for the Cote du Rhone at €66 per bottle (though Raymond pays €2.15 each!) and settled in to enjoy our drinks while waiting for our food.
As usual, the chef sent out a sampler which was an artichoke and asparagus soup for us to try. I know about soup spoons and which utensils to use for dinner but this was served in a small cup and I thought it would be impolite to pick up and slug back ... yet the spoon would clearly not fit. A quick eye to the server and she instructed us to use our hands which we were thankful for the instruction. The rest of the meal followed and were thoroughly enjoying our wine, finally finishing with dessert and clearly ready for bed.
Dromoland Castle's dinner is just 65 euro per person, again a fixed price menu which makes it easier to handle than a la carte. I highly recommend it but again, one night, and most likely the LAST night, is sufficient. It turns out that our drinks in the bar were 22.50 euro for the whiskey and 30 euro for the house champagne -- clearly high markups so you may want to skip the bar when waiting for your table.
Breakfast at Dromoland Castle was similar to Waterford Castle in that we had access to the buffet along with a menu to order your main course. Fresh strawberries with clotted cream, fresh grapefruit -- they definitely put on a large spread but then again they were completely booked. My Dromoland omlette was wonderful, full of mushrooms and cheese -- just the way I like it.
Check-out was easy but the the bill made us choke -- after all we did have spa treatments, the dinner drinks and dinner -- it all adds up. The last night, it definitely makes it all worth it.
All accommodations, meals, treatments, etc. are paid for by Enchanting Ireland's agents thereby reducing favorable reviews.
The views written here are the views of our agent and are not necessarily the views of Enchanting Ireland or it's parent
company, eTAO Group, LLC. All reviews are based on the experience of our agent during a particular date in time and
may vary by clients.