Have just returned from a really lovely Stay in Ballgarry. We had a 2 night weekend stay with dinner& b&b. Had a great impression of the hotel from the get go as on the Thursday prior to us travelling the hotel contacted me to ask when we would like to book our dinner as the Sat eve was booking up very fast and they wanted to give us the option to still book in rather than us arriving on the Friday and not having a choice as to what night we could have dinner, thought that was a really nice touch!
We arrived the following day and I honestly think the hotel is beautiful, the décor is oldy world charming but also modern where it needs to be.
We had a very efficient and pleasant check in experience, and when we walked into the hotel we were greeted with the fabulous smell of fresh flowers ( turns out there were lilies all over the hotel). When we got to our room we were really impressed, for a 'standard' double room it was huge! Massive bed, huge bathroom with 2 sinks and lovely views over the hotel gardens, bath robes,slippers complimentary water etc.
We had a few drinks in the bar prior to dinner which was really nice,comfy chairs around an open fire gave a really nice atmosphere.
Ate dinner in brooks and I can honestly say the food was to die for!!The food was one of the best things about this hotel and based on that it deserves a 5 star merit!
We ordered breakfast to the room the following morning which was also gorgeous, as hotel breakfasts tend to go Ballygarry can be proud! It was delivered on time and piping hot.
Also to mention on the second night of our stay, there was a huge function in the Pavilion with about 450 people and this did not impact on the hotel at all, there were plenty of staff, it was not chaotic or stressful and also you would not have known there was a function as there was no noise.
Now just for a tiny few niggles, when we arrived the room was freezing!! We turned the radiator on but nothing seemed to happen, it appears its on a timer, I called down to reception and spoke to a really lovely gentleman, he said he would sort it, when we came back that evening it was fixed, however the following day the same thing happened but the heating never came on, I didn't bother to call reception this time just used extra blankets provided. I did advise the receptionist at checkout and she apologised.
Also the curtains in out room seemed to be too short for the windows, both mornings we woke with the light streaming into the room from about 5.30am!
A point mentioned here by another traveller was that the small smoking area outside the bar had no ashtrays, this is still the case, I know it was mentioned that there was a huge heated section at the rear of the hotel but this is too far to go when you are in the bar. Lastly the service in the restaurant was very slow, It could not be put down to busyness as when we were there, there was only 4 other tables occupied, it was a bit of a pain but I can honestly say the food made up for it completely!
Over all it was a really pleasant stay,I would definitely return.
