I attended a family wedding in Ballykealy recently. I actually live about 10 km away from this hotel. . I booked a room for the night of the wedding as we didn't want to worry about taxies and we also wanted to be with family for the next morning.

My husband has an ongoing illness, and unfortunatly, he became unwell early in the evening, and he NEEDED to go home.
I went to reception to cancel the room, and the owner was there.
He was the rudest, most unhelpfull person i have ever met in any hotel in any county. He insisted that i couldn't cancel the room without paying the full price of 150 euro , he suggested that I stay tthere on my own , while my husband went home anyway.

His reason was that he could'nt afford to lose the 150 euro, even though he was getting a five figure sum fir the wedding and all the other rooms were booked by wedding party. The prices he was charging for drinks at the bar would soon make up the 150 euro. He told that if I went home and did'nt pay forn the room , he would charge the bride and groom for the room.

After pleading with him for 10 to 15 mins, he conceeded and said I could cancell the room.

This hotel has (had) a brillent reputation for weddings , while under different management, and you have to travel far to get a better venue for a wedding. The grounds are fantastic and its a great pity that the ower dos'nt get another great manager and leave it to him to run. The meal was adaquate, desert was a disgrace, and it he dos'nt do something soon , the hotel will start to loose bookings. I could carry on writing more negitives about the hotel , but I have spoken to other local people who use the hotel and they are saying the same negitive things as myself.

I would not reccomend this hotel for a wedding.

My boyfriend and myself stayed in this hotel last year for a romantic weekend. I found everything about it great. The food was amazing. So much so that we've returned last Sunday for the lunch. It has beautiful grounds, which are ideal for a romantic walk. The service was great too. The gentleman who owns the hotel was very friendly and couldn't do enough for us. It is a beautiful old Manor hotel which has kept it timeless charm!!!

i have visited this hotel on numerous occassions. it is the food that i have sampled rather than the accomodation. but i would say on the basis of the foo, and the atmosphere of the dining hall alone, go and visit this hotel. wondeful meals are provided the cosy and charming hall that is so pleasently heated that you could perhaps catch up on some sleep! with regards to the decor, the selling point of the hotel is its old-fashioned and historic resonance. the staff on my recent visit were very friendly, though i have found that this isn't always the case, with some of the waitresses and such being quite abrupt on an ealier visit- yet this is a small and insignificant matter.

Ballykealy is a wonderful hotel. Superb staff, excellent receptions, wonderful accomodations. I can't express enough the wonderful time I had here. My first visit was in 1994. I hold this place as one of the happiest places on Earth. Highly recommended. Also, make sure to visit the countryside. Especially the Malone's strawberry farm.