We were thinking about a splurge in a castle and wondered if anyone had one to recommend. At present we are thinking of a few nights in the southwest -- either Killarney or kenmare or somewhere easy to see a lot of the area -- rok, dingle etc. Then we are heading to Galway area and then Donegal and then Derry and then back down to Dublin. As the route is not set yet, I would like one splurge stay in a castle or old country home. Anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks much!

I really liked Dromoland Castle,near Shannon Airport. See www.dromoland.ie for details. Very expensive in the summer,reasonably priced midweek in winter when I stayed there as is Ashford Castle in Connemara (www.ashford.ie).

In August I stayed at both Glin Castle (more of a manor house in Limerick), and Dromoland Castle. My husband and I really loved them both. Glin is in a fairly remote location, which can be a point against them, or a huge bonus. The rooms there are gorgeous, and the "feel" of the place is very comfortable. Dromoland is very elegant. We felt very comfortable there. There was more to do while staying at Dromoland, but our room, while pretty, was more of a "hotel" style.
I would say you can't go wrong with either of these places.
Tauri

Take a look at www.irelandsbluebook.com - Irish country houses and historic hotels and restaurants. There are a few castles listed.

I just googled "castle hotels in ireland" and came up with this list:

http://tinyurl.com/pf9xa
http://tinyurl.com/bvwpq (this one seems a bit out of date)
http://tinyurl.com/q5wbh
http://tinyurl.com/qvgsm

You should be aware that not every hotel with the word "castle" in its name is an authentic castle hotel.

Definitely, I would go for Ashford Castle in Cong.. not too far from Galway. It's the real deal when it comes to castles and overlooks a beautiful lake with gorgeous forest walks all around. The setting is so dramatic and the staff are really nice.. almost knowing what you need before you know yourself!! Spent 3 wonderful wonderful nights there and it was worth every penny and more.( we got quite a good deal actually) You can sometimes get good deals if it is lower season or mid week- worth bargaining a little.
It is a sister hotel of Dromoland Castle but of the two I prefered Ashford Castle by far. Enjoy it.. you will have a great trip wherever you decide.

We made a similar trip in 2004 and stayed at Castle Leslie, which is an authentic castle. Mind you, the rooms are not luxurious, but everything is most certainly authentic and the dining was wonderful. It's where Paul McCarthy got married this last time--possibly a bad omen at this stage!! Anyway, you could catch it on the way from Derry to Dublin. The surrounding area is very charming. The website is simply www.castleleslie.com. Good luck!

FYI, I was amazed to learn that many of the dates I was considering in February are already completely booked at both Ashford and Dromoland. I'd have thought that would not be a popular time for tourists. They look fantastic -- but maybe this is a sign that I should stay a bit closer to my price range ;-)

We are staying at Cabra Castle when we go to Ireland in 2 weeks. I will let you know what I think. It is supposedly an hour outside of Dublin.

If you are looking at the online booking engines on the castle hotel's websites you should know that at some of them only a certain number of rooms per day are input into the system. They may well have vacancies even though they are not showing. I suggest you email them to see what is actually available.

snackman - I went to a wedding at Cabra Castle just about two years ago. It was absolutely stunning. Took us a bit more than hour to get there, but not much. Didn't have much time to see the grounds, but they looked gorgeous.