Review: Ashford Castle

October 2001

This trip was particularly hard for me because it was three weeks after 9/11, traveling was not only scary but difficult -- but I was determined to do it.

Ashford Castle was the highlight of this trip, such a grand hotel visited by many famous actors, politicians and even presidents. Just view the photos on the upper balcony just inside the lobby and you'll find out who's bed you might have slept in!

The rooms at Ashford Castle are amazing -- canopy beds, CD players and in the standard room we had a bowed window which looked out over the front lawn giving us a pristine view. Bathrooms are marble with full bath/shower -- a real treat after the smaller B&abmp;B showers.

After a short nap we cleaned ourselves up a bit and put on our 'business casual' clothes to head down to dinner in the main dining room -- unfortunately you must wear a tie/jacket to eat in the formal dining room. I wasn't aware of this before staying there and assumed that a dress shirt/pants would be sufficient... and I pass this along to EVERYONE who books a castle with me now.

Rather than be turned away, the hostess advised us that we were more than welcome to sit in the lounge and have our meal, ordering from the bar menu instead. That was fine, we weren't looking for anything special -- and the bar menu had my favorite -- turkey sandwich! It's absolutely perfect and when I tell you that I eat these at the airport until I'm sick -- I'm not exaggerating... thin, turkey slices... mayo... stuffing... MMMMM. Anyway, our server treated us just like everyone else, placing linens, china and silver on the table in front of us while we listened to the piano player.

Afterward we decided to hit the Dungeon Bar, located in the basement of course, for some singing and music... this is where the trip made it for me. We met two women from Co. Cork who came up to Ashford Castle for the weekend to get away and relax, tip a pint and some whiskey and enjoy life. The singer made a tribute to all the Americans there that night and wished us the best despite the recent tragedy -- and sang God Bless America,, bringing tears to my eyes. Our new friends sang along but I couldn't with the lump in my throat... truly an amazing experience proving that we're all the same underneath.

Overall, Ashford is a grand hotel on evey level -- huge in size and enormous on atmosphere! If you're heading to Connemara then Ashford Castle is in a prime location to visit however it wouldn't be good for a last night in Ireland as it's too far from the airport.

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.