County Arms Birr

Such a dissapointing stay. The outside of this hotel is spectacular. The gardens are fabulous. The main areas of the hotel are fantastically appointed, whoever designed the decor has immaculate taste and the staff are all lovely and friendly. The breakfast was also absolutely scrumptious, one of nicest I have had in a hotel in this country. However my room, although beautifully decorated was very grimy and not clean, also the bathroom in need of renovation. Found dirty black mark on my bed sheets and what looked like pencil marks on sheets but when I inspected further it was hairs that were between the top sheet and the mattress protector. Also black marks on the shower curtain and the bathroom was not in very good condition, broken tiles, limescale, stained bath snd surfaces and shower was barely warm. Bin in bathroom lid didn't work. Beautiful tolietreies in bathroom, Rituals, which are a favourite of mine but felt out of place in the run down bathroom. The carpet was terribly, terribly stained, hair and balck marks all over, the room really didn't feel clean at all. The noise proofing in our particular room was dreadful, I have never encountered anything like it, I could hear coughing, talking, banging, we could even hear our next door neighbour snoring. The bedroom has fabulous mod cons, TV with netflix ect and fancy kettles however the nesspresso machine wasn't fit to make a hot cup the water could only just reach tepid, would be better with basic items that worked better. We were so excited for our dinner, it was a massive let down, obviously frozen and processed meats, I couldn't eat my main and that is really saying something. Signs up on doors listing charges if items were taken from hotel just added to the dreadful feeling I had in this room. I was thinking what sort of clientell do they have that they need to do this. I came for a relaxing stay and I really wanted to just leave. I didn't go to the spa, I felt so disappointed with my stay i wasnt going to chance it at all, but I decided to give it a go to see if it could redeem the stay and found the four changing rooms were full of people's clothes that they seem to just leave there so I just gave up and left was pretty much the icing of a pretty dismal cake. I think I really had just given up on the Birr Country Arms before this anyway. I sat last night, unable to sleep reading all the 5 star reviews and I have cone to the conclusion myself and my husband must have been put into the worst room in the hotel and experienced a series of unfortunate events as others had fabulous stays, which makes me feel very let down but also management should realise that a hotel is only as good as their worst room.

I stayed here on December 27th for one night. My only regret was it wasn’t longer. Our room 154 was recently renovated and the decor was very stylish. The room was spacious and our package included a welcome bottle of wine. The bathroom had Rituals products supplied- a little touch of luxury. We had dinner in the bar area. The steak was sublime - melt in the mouth. The servers were friendly and efficient. Next morning we used the leisure facilities. We had the pool and jacuzzi to ourselves and it was in pristine condition. It was a great way to build up an appetite for a sumptuous breakfast. Breakfast is a continental buffet and hot food to order, with an extensive menu available. The service, again , was fantastic. Food was promptly delivered to our table and Chloe our server got us a refill of tea no problem. As Irish people we love our tea and it was great getting not just one pot each, but a top up! I was sorry to leave as the hotel was so relaxing and calm. It’s perfectly situated in Birr town and we were able to walk in at night time and enjoy the beautiful Christmas lights. Birr is a lovely town with plenty of charming shops and eateries. Finally, the day after we checked out I realised I’d left something behind in the room. I couldn’t believe when I rang the hotel that they kept a full record of items left behind and stored them safely. Shout out to the housekeeping team for such conscentiousness as my item could easily have been discarded and would have cost me a lot to replace. I fully recommend a stay at the County Arms. We got really good value for money, but most of all we got a relaxing, enjoyable break away.

Our stay was fabulous. The hotel has a wonderful charm. Modern and clean whilst still retaining it's Georgian character. Room was comfortable, the staff were so friendly and the food was delicious. The spa was an added bonus for an extra treat for ourselves.

Amazing hotel Friendly staff Amazing food and cocktails The room was bright clean Loved the fact that on every floor there was water machine for drinking water both still and sparkling and Nespresso coffee pod machine in rooms makes for nice stay

Went for afternoon tea today the 5th October it was absolutely amazing, the food was gorgeous and the staff are excellent especially Marina who looked after us so well . We had it in the potting room which was fabulous fire on so nice and cosy would highly recommended it for a treat or birthday can’t wait to go back well done to all the staff and management

Went on a coach trip, 39 of us. I had a very big room, more a suite really. Big, modern TV, windows which opened (unusual these days), seemed a quiet place (although I do sleep in earplugs). The room was serviced daily, again unusual these days. Beautiful grounds, mostly lovely staff. The meals were certainly big but the veg was mostly too raw to eat for older people. The food was often quite cold on arrival and service was incredibly slow on a few nights. An otherwise great room was let down by the bathroom. A tiny bath with a fixed shower screen, a fixed overhead shower and a narrow, curved bottom which was very challenging to balance on, the safety indents on the bath surface couldn't be used to get in and out due to the position of the fixed shower screen. The toiletries were too high on the wall to be reached if in the bath and the shower gel dispenser was broken and wouldn't dispense properly. The toilet roll was on the wall behind the toilet and difficult to reach. The toilet seat fixture was broken and the seat slipped about. The dressing gowns and slippers provided, although a nice touch, were absolutely huge and completely useless in my case. Also the room lighting was very low and the mirror was smoked, it was difficult to use the hairdryer or to see yourself properly.