Hotel review: New rooms, friendly service and destination diversity at this Waterford hotel

The Park Hotel, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford is newly refurbished with 21 new family guest rooms  

The reception at The Park Hotel, Dungarvan; One of the new family rooms  fit with bunk-bed 

The Park Hotel
Dungarvan, Co Waterford
Our rating:	7.5/10
Web:	parkhoteldungarvan.com

Location

Few towns have boosted their tourism fortunes in recent years like the Déise’s jewel of Dungarvan, so it’s little surprise that rooms at The Park Hotel, the town’s largest accommodation offering, are in such hot demand.

The recently accredited four-star property, owned by the Flynn family (also behind the Newpark Hotel Kilkenny and the Old Ground in Ennis), commands a fine position in the town, with a scenic overlook of the Colligan Estuary; keep an eye out for the town’s resident seals hauling themselves up on the harbour’s surfboards at low tide.

Elsewhere, you are a five-minute stroll to the centre of the town, with its restaurant-lined quays and Waterford Greenway start line, while the Comeraghs, An Rinn, and the scenic town of Lismore are all within a 20-minute spin.

When it comes to destination diversity, you could say Dungarvan’s radius offers one of the greatest experiences in Munster.

• 8.5/10

Style & design

The garden bar terrace at The Park Hotel.

The Park’s aesthetic delivers highs and a few lows. Though the hotel’s car park and grounds are well kept, the hotel’s facade itself is a little uninspiring, with some tired fenestration and window boxes of past-their-prime artificial plants not making the best first impression.

Inside, there’s an impressively scaled reception area and foyer flanked by an imposing, quite contemporary staircase. Despite plenty of seating nooks, some of that lounge furniture (including a sofa with multiple rips) needs a glow-up.

There has, however, been considerable investment in the hotel recently: A new outdoor garden bar terrace is a popular hub for guests and locals, there’s an impressive wedding reception hall, while a new guest room wing is also hailing fresh new chapters.

The hotel's wedding reception hall

• 7/10

Service

There’s a friendly bustle at the hotel, with an almost community feel from the staff, who bring a local, ambassadorial element. Check-in is friendly and bar staff are characterful and warm, while the few faces I met at the gym were positively glowing.

• 8.5/10

Guest rooms

One of the more classic rooms in The Park Hotel

The Park has just undergone a €4m extension, which has seen the room offering increase from 84 to 105 thanks to the addition of a new wing featuring 21 family guest rooms. These are attractive, fresh spaces with an earthy green palette, tartan headboards, charming bunk beds to impress younger visitors, plus touches ranging from Smart TVs to nostalgia-inspired transistor radios.

I was in one of the hotel’s more classic rooms, featuring a double and single bed with fine views over the estuary. There are positive elements to the room; a freshly renovated en suite and impressive solid wooden beds make for a fine night’s slumber but the interiors, with rust floral throws, curtains, pelmets, and roller pillows feel stuffy and detract from what are very comfortable rooms.

• 7.5/10

In-room perks

There are tea and Nespresso coffee-making facilities, and bottled water. Toiletries are refillable from Irish brand FieldDay.

• 8/10

On the menu

Some of the breakfast offerings at The Park Hotel

The hotel offers its bistro and the Meladon Bar & Brasserie for dining. I enjoyed a generous (if a little thick) local chowder followed by a slow-cooked local featherblade; a decent dish, though I felt hearty scoops of mash would have been a more suitable accompaniment for bar food than the bed of potato purée it’s served on.

Come morning, breakfast offers a standard buffet of fruit, pastries, and cereals and, for my hot option, a veggie Irish with potatoes made for a tasty start. On the whole, were I to book such a B&B experience for €150, it all makes for quite a decent offering but, when weekend rates spike to €250, it’s perhaps a scéal eile.

• 7.5/10

Activities & amenities

The hotel features a recently refurbished leisure centre with 20m pool, gym, steam room, and new sauna. The main draw is, of course, the Waterford Greenway, just a few gear-shifts away, with the hotel offering bike rental partnerships with local operators as well as packages. There are plenty of other options nearby too, from the saunas at Clonea Strand to the seaweed baths at Sólás na Mara in An Rinn.

• 8/10

The bill

Rates from €128.

Room to improve?

The property’s original rooms need to match the polish of its new offerings, while the foyer could benefit from fresher furniture. As one of Ireland’s leading food towns, I felt there was more opportunity to tell a provenance story with the breakfast, as many other properties in this price category are doing.
Access for guests with disabilities? Fully accessible hotel rooms and self-catering houses are available.
Family-friendly? Very much so, plus kids’ clubs are available during school holidays.
Dogs welcome? In the hotel’s self-catering accommodation, as well as the garden bar.
EV chargers? Yes, two.

• The Hotel Examiner was a guest of The Park Hotel Dungarvan