The Hotel Examiner: Read our reviews of some of Ireland’s top-rated hotels

Tripadvisor recently shared its top-ranked Irish hotels, with Adare Manor coming out on top. Here, we share Hotel Examiner reviews of some of those on the list – including one that didn’t quite impress

Adare Manor received a 10/10 review from our travel editor

Adare Manor, Co Limerick 

Impressive and opulent with wonderful staff, this luxurious hotel wants you to have fun while enjoying serious comfort. Our reviewer, travel editor Jillian Bolger, clearly aligns with Adare’s ranking as the best hotel in Ireland. Her 10/10 review says the landmark property delivers “everything you’d expect from a leading five-star estate”.

Read our review here.

The Merrion, Dublin 

Fashioned from four adjoining Georgian townhouses, built in the 1760s as the homes of nobility and notable merchants, the handsome heritage property looks across to Government Buildings and is a saunter to St Stephen’s Green and Grafton Street. Earning a 9.5/10 score from our reviewer, Jillian was particularly taken by The Merrion’s style and design. “Comfortable and elegant, it offers a stylish cocoon away from the city centre’s busy-ness.” 

Read our review here.

Harvey’s Point, Co Donegal 

A warm welcome was among the standouts for Jillian at Harvey’s Point, which she awarded 8.5/10. “The welcome at Harvey’s Point is just as I’d hoped. Warm, emphatic and authentic, we are greeted by concierge Ailish McGlone, sister of former owner Deirdre and Marc Gysling,” she writes.

Read our review here.

Hayfield Manor, Cork 

Old world elegance and brilliant staff make Cork city's five-star Hayfield Manor shine, Jillian writes after her 9.5/10 stay. “Despite being walking distance from the city centre, this Ireland’s Blue Book property offers a real sense of rural escapism, thanks to private and fabulously leafy grounds in a mature, residential area.”

Read our review here.

Dromoland Castle, Co Clare

Dromoland Castle scooped a 9/10 rating from reviewer Thom Breathnach earlier this year, for whom iot was love at first sight. “Winding down its woodland and fairway-flanked driveway, Dromoland Castle emerges across the lake and fluttering bulrushes with legendary impact prompting, in my case, an audible ‘wow’ moment,” he writes.

Read our review here.

Intercontinental Dublin 

Dublin’s Intercontinental Hotel, ranked 19th in Ireland by Tripadvisor, failed to elicit such a positive response from Jillian last September after the dinner service left a sour taste.

“Things fall apart at dinner where service swings between friendly, forgetful, and careless,” she writes, adding: “Dirty tables pile up around us and the staff seem more intent on clearing these than looking after diners.”

Read our review here.