The Castlecourt Hotel — Hotel in County Mayo

Had a nice stay in the Castle Court Hotel, it is a very clean, and it's nicely designed but needs some updates and refreshing (I understand with Covid it will take longer for places to be able to afford any renovations with how long places have been closed).

The room was a little bit basic, I would have liked a mini fridge for storing some water, and an update in terms of "self catering in the room" a nespresso machine or something of the sorts would have impressed me rather than just a kettle with instant coffee. Perhaps two complimentary bottles of water in the room as well would also have been nice.

The irnernet in the room was pretty poor and kept freezing when we were trying to watch some Netflix.

The food in the bistro wasn't that great, sometimes pairing things back to basics and really focusing on the quality of the food, and simplicity makes for much tastier, better cooked food etc. The burger was most definitely pre-cooked as well as the bacon. You could taste it was a little dry and speaking as a chef, my fiance picked up on this right away, and wasn't impressed. He didn't complain about it as he had already sent back a "steak sandwich" The steak sandwich needs a redesign as it is a piece of steak with some onion ontop of a piece of sour dough bread. It's messy and difficult to eat, and the steak itself isn't of great quality it was thin and in no way appetising. We were told this is the way our steak sandwich is. When we asked to speak to the supervisor about its bad presentation and over all quality, we were told this is our steak sandwich this is how it looks it's an open sandwich, yet it doesn't say its an open sandwich on the menu. At €13.90 it was really over priced, not well presented, over all poor quality, it was just unpleasant and we didn't have the nicest experience to be quite honest.

Our waitress however in the bistro was nice and friendly. Karmina I think was her name went the extra mile for our coffee order as they didn't have any dairy free milk she went to the Kokos street food van to the coconut milk to make sure I got a dairy free coffee which was so lovely and I didn't expect that. That was very nice of her to go that extra mile.

The food in the Orchard was mediocre to be honest, my pasta was very over cooked and the steak was extremely bloody when it states it's dry aged. Dry aged shouldn't be have any blood left to leave the meat and dirty the plate when dry aged correctly. The meat quality was nice, it was fresh however, not dry aged. Still tasting nice as it was fresh, but on the menu it says dry aged. It is not, or else, not dry aged long enough (not a chef issue, a butcher issue but the chef should know when the plate is stained by blood that its in fact fresh/ not aged long enough to say dry aged)

The second night I had the poached salmon and it was cooked beautifully. The Bulgarian chef created a stunning layered desert with some orange liquor through it, coated in chocolate, it was beautifully presented and tasted lovely.

The breakfast was extremely poor quality. Staff also seemed as though they were disappointed to be back at work, and many of them need an attitude adjustment to be frank. The thing that saved it in terms of service was a lovely waiter we had for dinner on our first night, and the Bulgarian lady with the curly hair on the second night. They should get a pay rise, they were incredible. If you want to check up on the staff that served us we stayed in room 110, June 23rd and 24th because I hope those members of staff are told they are super staff members who went above and beyond.

I did expected a higher standard of the quality of the food over all considering the hotel is a 4...

We had a one night stop in Westport before going on to Dublin and I wish we had spent more time there. A hotel like this is better for an extended stay where you are in the room longer vice a place to sleep.

Our room was huge. The bed is massive. I dont think the picture really does it justice. Really nice pillows too. Im a pillow snob and these were great pillows. The bathrooms equally large. We were there during a heat wave so the heated towel rack was not as useful as it would be the test of the year. The toilet had one of those high tech bidet sets but it was not working. If we had stayed longer I might have talked to maintenance.

Those are all the good things. Now the not so good. There is underground on site parking. Nice. The only way to get to and from is through a staircase. Would ahve liked to know that before hand so I could drop off my bags at the entrance. Even if I had known, the entrance was blocked by two large travel busses. That leads to the second issue - the hotel is HUGE. Im not sure if your room was maximum distance from the elevator but it had to be close. If you need the elevator, add extra time to go anywhere. Oh, that elevator picture is the speed panel on the elevator. Yes, apparently there are big performance elevators.

Staff was a mixed bag. There was a BIG event going on and they clearly seemed put out by some random unimportant tourists. They absolutely stuck to the 4PM check in time. OK, I get it. Check in time is there for a reason. But our room didnt get cleaned in those last 20 minutes. The Smithwick you see below was from the attached restaurant/bar while we were killing time. It was excellent.

We ended up getting a late dinner/snack at the hotel. It was OK. Standard pub food. Decent wings, nothing special. We had breakfast too and it was the same - perfectly acceptable, nothing special.

Last thing, that parking lot was our view. Im sure there are rooms with excellent views. Ours was not one of them. That was ok because we were not there for the view. I would be really upset if I was. I would defiantly ask if view is your thing.

Lots of good here. I would stay again because the rooms were that awesome. Just steer clear...

Birthday at Castlecourt Hotel, Westport

Imagine a fairy tale setting where you and your beloved can revel in the luxury of a grand castle. Well, that's exactly where I celebrated my boyfriend's birthday - at the magnificent Castlecourt Hotel in Westport!

As we stepped into the grand entrance, we were greeted by the enchanting ambiance of the castle's regal interiors, and we couldn't help but feel like royalty. The staff welcomed us warmly, and upon mentioning the birthday celebration, they made it their mission to make it extra special.

The bar was simply amazing, boasting of its grandeur with its impressive size and opulent décor. I could hardly wait to order our favorite drinks and toast to my boyfriend's special day.

As we settled into our table, the staff surprised my boyfriend with a scrumptious dessert that was adorned with a single candle, adding an extra sparkle to his eyes. The entire restaurant joined in to sing the birthday song, and I could see the delight on my boyfriend's face.

The restaurant's ambiance was second to none, with a romantic and intimate setting that was just perfect for the occasion. I ordered oysters and onion rings, and the flavors were out of this world! I couldn't help but recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a fine dining experience.

Overall, my boyfriend's birthday celebration at the Castlecourt Hotel was an experience that we both will cherish for a lifetime. We both felt like we had stepped into a magical world, where everything was perfect, and every detail had been taken care of. We left with memories that will last a lifetime, and a desire to come...