Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel & Spa — Hotel in County Limerick

The Woodlands is the most amazing wedding venue in every way. We had such a lovely time on our wedding day and our day 2 in the Treehouse attached to it was brilliant. All of our families and friends commented on the food and service and everyone was so impressed. We had 260 guests so it was a big crowd but the staff were totally on the ball all day and well able to cater to the numbers. The reception food, entire dinner and the food later were all delicious and there was no problem getting second portions and they also made sure to cater for all dietary needs. We had a cake made of cheese for our wedding cake and they served the cheese with the evening food which was perfect. The fact that it's family run makes it all the more special because they really add a personal touch to everything and the atmosphere amongst the staff is just lovely. Elaina was our wedding coordinator coming up to the wedding and she was so organised and guided is through all the decisions perfectly. David took over from her for the wedding weekend when she went on holidays and he was lovely and helped make everything run smoothly. Monika is another lady who stood out as being so, so helpful. She was there watching out for us all the time and making sure we had everything we needed and she was helping make sure my mother who has mobility issues had comfortable seating, etc. The bridal suite was so gorgeous and all the other rooms were beautiful as well. The grounds of the hotel are perfect for a wedding too. We had made the decision not to go off gettiing photos between the church and the reception as we wanted all our time to be spent with our guests. But our brilliant photographer Kevin Murphy and videographer Robin Wallace still managed to sneak us off for 10 minutes while our guests were walking in for dinner and they got beautiful footage in the wooded area right beside the hotel. The dancing part of the evening was unreal too. We had Free Beer wedding band followed by DJ Dan. The music was brilliant and the dance floor was full all night. We loved the layout of the function room with the dance floor surrounded by tables raised up a little. And the function room and entire hotel was decorated beautifully. One bit of advice would be for if you have a photobooth. We had one but they set up outside the function room and most people didn't know it was there. I'd say if it's not possible to have it inside the room don't spend the money on it. That was just our experience with it. The day after the wedding we had not booked into the spa as we weren't sure how we'd be doing time wise and when we realised we had a few hours to spare Revas spa allowed us to relax in their amazing thermal suites. It was the perfect chill out to get us ready for another amazing evening for day 2. The Treehouse was perfect as we wanted something casual but still wanted to have food and good music which we had. Elaina and David's brother Conor looked after us for the night and everything went perfectly again. The floor was hopping again all night with the brilliant Jimmy Fyfe and his dad keeping everyone going from the very first song and the food was delish! As you can probably tell we just really loved everything about our wedding in the Woodlands. Best decision ever having chosen the Fitzgerald's hotel for our weekend. Our only issue was not...

This was another stop on our trip around Ireland.

Out of all the hotels that were supposedly 4-star hotels, this is probably the closest that any of the hotels came to 5-stars. The hotel is located not far from the center of Adare, and is just a kilometer off the highway. There is free parking in a parking lot, and a "petting zoo" not far from the parking lot. (Really, this is just some farm animals, but is surprisingly child-friendly) One enters the hotel from the front of the building and the decor is that of extremely elegant country sheek. There are two desks for check-in and the employees are extremely polite and pleasant to converse with. Once checked in, there is a bit of a walk to get to the rooms - as the place is a sprawling establishment - but there is a lot to be found on the way to the room: leisure centers, vending machines, beautiful atriums, etc. The rooms are delightful and truly feel like the 5-star style they are going for. They are surprisingly spacious, the water pressure is excellent, and the views from the windows cannot be beaten. At night, the rooms are wonderfully dark with the blackout curtains.

The hotel boasts its own bar and restaurant. We dined with the restaurant the first night we stayed. It was a bit of a wait to get into the restaurant, but they sit you at the bar in the meantime. Once in, it does feel cramped for such a large hotel. The staff seems overwhelmed, as they have to account for the tables and the bar, and there does not appear to be a dedicated server to the tables. (This was actually something that was odd, as we often would see one waitress and then within a minute another waitress would come and see us. It wasn't terrible, just something we are not used to.) The food, however, is delightful and the food is so hearty that one is filled up completely. They do a three-course deal, which can be highly recommended for the price and the quality of the food.

We ate elsewhere after, but frequented the bar during the remainder of our stay. The bar staff is phenomenal. They are local, energetic, and more than willing to give recommendations for things to accomplish during your stay in Adare, or wherever you are headed. The prices are comparable to a hotel bar and they have a phenomenal selection of liquor. This was a lively place to be and there is always something interesting to see or learn while here.

To compound on the the "petting zoo," the establishment is surprisingly kid-friendly. There is apparently some sort of club that the children can be a part of and a "fairy garden" for the kids to explore. This was unexpected, but will be great for those who have children and are looking for a classy establishment to stay at.

Overall: 5 / 5

Pros: Beautiful scenery and rooms. Great facilities within the hotel, including the bar. Free breakfast each morning, and the restaurant food is spectacular. Surprisingly kid-friendly. Centrally located.

Cons: Restaurant is almost always busy and lacks coordination.

NOTE: The pillows and comforters are down pillows and down comforters. If you are allergic, simply request new ones, as they are unbelievably...

I could not stay in the hotel so I can’t comment on that. However, I had a Christmas lunch with a large group of people and I can tell you I was very disappointed. Woodlands is known to have a good reputation for a nice meal. This was very disappointing to say the least. The lobby was beautifully decorated for Christmas and very atmospheric.We were 35 people for a two course meal, plus tea and coffee. It had also been arranged that we would have a room available for approximately an hour beforehand, for a dance class. The room would depend on what was available. As it turned out the room was the ballroom and that worked perfectly. Unfortunately things went downhill from there. We were shown to our room for about 50 people, which had no natural light. No attempt whatsoever was made to decorate this room for Christmas. With suitable decoration and lighting, this room could been very cosy and attractive. At the very least a candle on each table was needed. It would also have made a difference to have crackers on the table. Even cheap crackers can be a lot of fun. The main course had a choice of Turkey and ham, or salmon. I don’t like Turkey so I asked for only ham. I asked for only ham without stuffing and cranberry sauce. I asked for gravy on the side and perhaps this was my fault that I didn’t make it clear. I meant a jug of gravy for the table and I got a small container of gravy only on my own plate. The ham appeared to be have been smoked and reheated before being cut into slivers. Christmas turkey and ham I would’ve expected to get a couple of decent slices of ham instead I got a plate of shredded ham which didn’t taste very nice . A number of other people complained about the ham and by the time we got to the end of dinner the atmosphere in the room was not very nice.

The second course was And medley of desert. there were three small pieces of desert cake, somewhat under sweet. One piece was cranberry cheese cake, which is somewhat tart...