I was eager to write a review on the Castlemartyr
Resort in Cork from the minute we arrived. It was truly love at first sight! As things
go, work and life got in the way and I am only getting around to it now.
Where to begin…The grounds are absolutely stunning. Away
for the weekend was myself, my husband and my 6 year old. Before setting off
for the hotel I showed her a few pictures online of the hotel and described
were we were going. As an animal lover, the picture of their ‘resident dogs’ quickly
caught her eye and the swimming pool was downgraded to second place on here
must see/do things for the weekend. 
While I don’t want to bore you with every little detail
of the weekend,our stay was too enjoyable not to let you in on a few. When we
arrived, Saian asked where Earl and Countess (The hotel dogs) were. A young man
behind the counter, called her around the other side of the counter, and much
to her delight, there they were. Within 30 seconds, he had all 3 of them,
(child + doggies) on their way out the door to play outside. That little
personal touch started our weekend nicely. We arrived early and although check
was not until 3pm, they allowed us to check in early because we had a child
with us and they didn’t want us hanging around.
Over the weekend we found all of the staff to be very
pleasant. The manager in particular was very friendly and made an extra effort
with all the guests. He approached guests in the bar/restaurant/breakfast room
to have a casual chat, see how their stay was going and to offer advice on what
was on in the local area.
I booked myself into the spa on the last day (to really
make the most of the weekend) and it turned out to be my favourite part of the
weekend. Again the staff were extremely polite. The girl who was doing my
treatments was very relaxed which in turn made it all the more enjoyable for
me. Afterwards, you are free to hang around and enjoy the free treats
(smoothies, fruit etc.) while taking in the sights from the second floor. All
in all, the spa is heavenly.
A lot of reviews argued that this hotel although 5* is
not up to scratch and I can see where these remarks come from. There are elements,
some of which I have described above which are excellent and then there are little
things which let the hotel down. The service for example is extremely slow. It
was frustrating for me to see some staff letting others down. I overheard a
couple of complaints during the weekend, mainly to do with the service or lack
of. We were there to enjoy a relaxing
weekend so we were happy to sit around and wait, unfortunately others were not. Something that the hotel would benefit from is music in the evening to create a bit more atmosphere.
Price wise, we found it very reasonable. The cost per
night for a suite was around €220, this included breakfast and 1 evening meal.
The meal itself was absolutely delicious and would have easily cost €100 euro
in a restaurant.
A couple of little points to add;
There is a specified playroom for children.
Bikes are available free of charge.
There are a couple of outdoor games for all the family to enjoy.
Foto Wildlife Park is about 20 minutes drive away.
I would look forward to a visit at The Castlemartyr
Resort again in the hopefully not so distant future.
Have you ever stayed at the Resort, or would like to recommend another? Let me know in the comments below.
Kel x
Great review we're heading down to Cork next week and did consider here but didn't choose it in the end!
ReplyDeleteCork is lovely, have you been before? It was our first trip, so we visited Midleton and Cobh and Cork city aswell. If you are in Cork city, find Nostra Restaurant ( it's just down one of the side streets, beside Brown Thomas ) for some lunch. The food was delicious and it cost us 22 euro in total (What a bargain!!)
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