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Slieve Donard Resort & Spa Review

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Slieve Donard Resort & Spa

Address: Downs Rd., Newcastle, Co. Down, BT33 0AH
Phone: 028/4372-1066
www.hastingshotels.com

Price range: $$$$
Location: The Mountains of Mourne

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Fodor's Review:

A lavish redbrick monument to Victoriana, this turreted hotel, built in 1898, stands like a palace on green lawns at one end of Newcastle's 6½-km (4-mi) sandy beach. The traditional furnishings may make you feel as if you're stepping back in time to the town's turn-of-the-20th-century heyday as an elegant seaside resort, though the guest rooms have modern comforts and are bright and airy. Ask for a room overlooking the water; the views of the mountains and sea are striking. In 2007, the hotel underwent a £15 million re-fit adding 50 new (air-conditioned) bedrooms and a stylishly designed 16-room spa complete with saunas, amethyst steam rooms, and vitality pools. Dinner—classified as a grand buffet—is served in the Oak Restaurant. Chaplin's Bar is named after a visit to the hotel by Charlie Chaplin, who enjoyed the comforts for a weekend in 1921 (and signed the guest register framed on the wall of an excellent mini-museum). The Royal County Down Golf Club is next door. Pros: appealing mix of luxury, history, and style; renovations brought hotel into the 21st century; fireplaces in lobby welcome on chilly days. Cons: housekeeping slow with requests; the cacophony from wedding receptions may be a little wearying for some unless you like to sing along.

Hotel Details: 174 rooms, 6 suites
In-room: Wi-Fi.
In-hotel: 3 restaurants, tennis courts, bar, pool, gym, spa.
Rate includes: 2 meals, Full breakfast
Credit Cards: AE, DC, MC, V