Review of Lough Rynn Castle Self Catering 4*

We stayed at Lough Rynn on our travels through Ireland. Checking in was a great experience. The porter was super sweet and helpful—definitely the best person we interacted with during our stay. We made a reservation for the casual dining room and headed up to unpack. It was very warm in the room so we turned the air on. It put out hot air, but we figured it would cool off eventually. The room was pretty comfy other than the heat and very clean — somewhat spacious, and the bathroom was lovely. The room needs an update. The comforter and lampshade both had rips. There was no luggage rack. We freshened up and went down for high tea—our first experience with one. They sat us at a table with a dirty tablecloth (stains and crumbs and such). They did change it when my aunt requested it. The server was sweet, but she kept disappearing for long stretches of time. The actual food was cute, tasty, and plentiful, and the tea was delicious. We went sightseeing and came back for our 8pm dinner reservation, but they didn’t have us on the list. They were still able to fit us in, thankfully. We sat at the same table for dinner. The food was delicious and the drinks were ok. The server was missing a lot, and we had to track him down to pay before we could leave. I asked a couple of people if the Dungeon Bar would be open that evening but no one had any answers. We walked the grounds as it was getting dark, and they were definitely the jewel of our experience there. The gardens were particularly gorgeous. When we got back to the room, it was hotter than when we left. The air conditioner was still putting out hot air so we turned it off and opened the window. Thankfully, it was gorgeous outside, and it cooled off inside after a bit. The bed wasn’t super plush, and the pillows were very flat. I loved that they had a makeup mirror in the bathroom. The jewelry they offer for sale was pretty. We went down to the Dungeon, and no one was working it so we just sat down there and played cards. Overall, I think this place could be amazing if they did a bit of a facelift with the worn amenities and brought in more servers (it seemed like they were having to do double duty in both of the dining areas which made for poor service).