Ballygarry Estate Hotel & Spa

Attended a wedding at Ballygarry yesterday. Now the day was one of those blue sky perfectly warm day. This Estate Hotel is absolutely stunning, lots of lovely walks to be had. The planting, trees, bridges, seating areas are all so amazing. Ample parking available. Well done to all working there, and many thanks as we were all treated to the most wonderful day at the wedding.

Gorgeous hotel. The rooms were beautifully furnished and very luxurious and comfortable. The grounds were amazing. We didn't get a chance to check out the spa or hot tubs (I think it closed pretty early), but they looked really nice. There are a lot of nature trails you can walk, or they have complementary bicycles that you can ride. The only downside (if there is one) is the location. It is very rural... not much around if you are on foot. We ordered Uber Eats one night and our choice of restaurants was very slim. They do have a couple of restaurants in the hotel as well.

Our organized tour brought us to Ballygarry Estate Hotel & Spa for two nights promising a “4 star experience but you will be so impressed it should be 5 stars”. We arrived and they had our names listed incorrectly. Which out of 5 hotels it was the only one to do that so I know it wasn’t the tour company. Our room was located in a section that seems to have been long forgotten - it’s on the first floor but up a set of stairs - so unlike all of the other rooms that started with a 1, these rooms began with a 4. I called it the room with zero view. If you are coming to this hotel to see the beautiful mountain view countryside - make sure you don’t get a room in this section as all of these rooms have a view of a very large roof. The TV remote didn’t work as the batteries needed to be changed. The bathroom - oh my word - I am shocked someone hasn’t met their death coming out of the shower yet. The shower door is a half swinging glass door. It’s a high step with no handles on the walls to help yourself in or out. Luckily I’m relatively young and mobile - if you aren’t - be warned. The restaurant next to the bar was a two hour experience from seating to the arrival of our food. We ordered a simple burger and chicken sandwich - two hours from start to finish. The positives - the bar staff themselves - fantastic. The grounds are large with many trails. So for a local wedding - it would be a nice venue. But for us, definitely not the 4/5 star experience we were hoping for.