After staying in several top notch hotels around Ireland, my husband and I have concluded that the epitome of quiet elegance and Irish hospitality is most certainly on display at Dunloe Castle. We recently stayed here for the October bank holiday weekend as it was my husband’s birthday, we made this aware on check-in and was straight away given a complimentary upgrade, which we were over the moon about but it didn’t end there!!!!! The assistant manager took us by surprise when she organised a birthday cake for that evening, whilst we dined in their restaurant, the personal touch was just excellent and just made the whole experience more memorable. The staff is impeccably professional. They are extremely congenial and attentive to all their guests needs. The public lounge has a gently worn but comfortable feel, right down to the open fire. The guest bedrooms are well appointed and squeaky clean with outstanding views, and the bathrooms are first rate. Overall my husband and I greatly enjoyed our stay. One of the nicest hotels I have ever experienced. The staff did not miss a beat. Will definitely return next year.

We were fortunate to have our wedding reception in the Hotel Dunloe Castle in August and cannot say enough about the staff and the hotel.

We viewed a number of hotels in the Killarney area but none could really compare with the Dunloe. The views from the hotel and gardens are amazing and few hotels in Ireland can really compete. The Gap of Dunloe, Tomies & Purple mountains to the south with the majestic MacGillycuddy's Reeks off to the southwest, the river Laune to the north, and the lakes of Killarney to the East - the most amazing scenary any way you look!

The drinks reception lounge is beautiful with loads of space and seating for guests. We were so lucky to have a beautiful summers day so many of our guests took the opportunity to sit outside on the verdanda and take a bit of sun along with the views - the photos look like we were abroad!

The main reception room is beautiful. Big round tables with nice chairs not requiring chair covers, large windows. It was important to us, given that we were getting married in August, that our guests didn't feel that they were in a dark room for most of the day but in the Dunloe they enjoyed the beautiful sunny day & evening eventhough they were indoors.
There's a nice outdoor seating area just outside the main reception room where guests can take a breather or a smoke!

All our guests commented on the quality of the food. Several said it did not taste or look like the normal wedding fayre. It was top restaurant quality. The lamb was to die for! Good portions sizes with second helpings for whoever wanted it. The restaurant manager Duncan was a great help to us when choosing the wine.

It's hotel policy for amplified music to end at 1.30am however we arranged for a few local lads to play non amplified music after that which our guests really enjoyed. It kept the party going long into the night! There was also a wedding the night after ours in the hotel but you couldn't hear the music from the bedrooms.

The bridal suite was out of this world - bigger than most 2 bed apartments in Dublin! We had booked in for 2 nights after the wedding and were given the bridal suite for the extra 2 night also rather than having to "downgrade"! - it was hard to check out! Many of our guests too got complimentary upgrades and they were all delighted with the rooms - especially those with children as the rooms are quiet large.

We had a lot of young nieces & nephews at the weddng and they really enjoyed their stay at the 5 star hotel. It was important for us that they would have room to run around to let off steam before the dinner and as the playground is located close to the reception room it was easy for parents to bring the kids down there before & after the dinner. There's loads of entertainment for kids & adults - they all enjoyed the pony riding, kids club, fishing etc. Our 8 year old niece from Galway said that when she gets married she'll have her reception in the Hotel Dunloe castle and she doesn't care what the groom says!

Finally the hotel manager Jason was so professional. He really made that part of the wedding arrangements so easy for us. He always made himself available to us when we visited the hotel leading up to the wedding and worked with our budget to ensure that we got an excellent package both for the wedding reception & for our guests. In the end our bill came in less that what we budgeted for which was great given so many guests said that the bubbly didn't stop flowing!

So if you are thinking of getting married in Kerry/ Cork we can definitely recommend the Hotel Dunloe Castle.

Siobhan & Tomas

Stayed here on the weekend of 28th October 2011 for a wedding. Was looking forward to it as the images on the website and the advice on tripadvisor were very positive. The reception, check in process etc was smooth plain sailing. The road signs leading to the hotel from Fossa were quite poor and we nearly passed the turnoff into the hotel grounds.
The hotel room itself was very disappointing. It's just not 5 star standard. There was no minibar. There was no air-conditioning. There was quite a bit of dust on surfaces. The television was smallish and firmly of the CRT era. The bed itself was comfy and the duvet was of good quality. The throw over the duvet was cheap and resembled something from a mid budget european ski hotel. The bathroom was modern with a powerful shower.
The pool was lovely, the wedding reception area and the room where the meal and dancing took place was also very nice.
All in all it was an enjoyable stay but the money we paid was ridiculous for the quality we got. (EUR352 for two nights - couple) Had the price been halved I would be giving a 5 star rating.

A weekend in this 5 star hotel was atruly memorable experience .All the staff were extremely helpful and nothing was aproblem the room,food service and leisure facilities are top class and do not miss going for a walk in the grounds which are a hiddden treasure.