Carton House, A Fairmont Managed Hotel — Hotel in The Municipal District of Clane — Maynooth

“We walk in as friends and we leave as family,” said by Brian, the most resourceful and welcoming concierge we have ever encountered. We had our destination wedding at the Carton House and it is hard to put into words to describe the most wonderful, fairytale week of our lives, however, that quote sums it up perfectly when Brian shared with us on our last day at the Carton House.

When I first stepped foot on the grounds of the Carton House 7 years ago, I said I want to get married here one day and I am so happy I followed my dream because there is truly something so unique about the estate that nowhere else has.

From the moment we started planning our 3 day wedding events with the Carton House, the experience was beyond 5 star. It truly is the people that make the experience and each and every one of the Carton House staff we encountered throughout our week went above and beyond to ensure we had a comfortable experience and perfect wedding. Nothing beats Irish hospitality, but the Carton House staff takes it to a whole other level.

There was not ONE hiccup during our events and we owe that all to the Carton House staff as they were so thoughtful in their planning and understanding our vision/expectations for the events but to put it simply, they all exceeded ANY expectations.

We have the deepest gratitude for Orla and Claire for assisting us in planning our wedding events and bringing them so beautifully to life!! They are top class on planning events and none of this would be possible without them.

Ellen, front of house manager, deserves an award for being absolutely extraordinary in creating the best experience for our guests the moment they arrived on property. She was always asking how she can be helpful and each of our guests were greeted by her welcoming hospitality and all raved about her sincerity.

Thomas, Food & Bev Director, throughout the week ensured all the logistical side of our events were going smoothly and was our right hand man on the day of our wedding. He was ON IT and probably handled so many things behind the scenes that we never even saw. We were able to be fully present at our own wedding with our guests because of Thomas!! Thomas even separately gave me and my husband a confident “you got this” nod before our walks down the aisle!

Katie, the Banquet Captain, oversaw the logistics as well on our wedding day and executed our day flawlessly. She was there when I was walking down the aisle all the way to managing all the courses as they came out for our dinner. All the guests commented how smoothly everything was running and we owe a huge thanks to Katie!

Executive Chef Gary curated the most delicious dining experience for our guests. We still dream of the warm goat cheese salad on our wedding day that our guests won’t stop talking about!! He is service oriented and creates beautiful and tasty dishes.

Our events in the Carriage House for our welcome dinner, along with afternoon tea in the Gold Salon were flawless and so efficiently ran by the staff! The guests are still raving about the BBQ on the deck and overall good vibes of the Carriage House, as well as a “Bridgerton” type of afternoon in the Gold Salon with the best service.

I could write pages on each and every one of the staff as they all deserve a special shoutout. As well as how STUNNING the Carton House is. We are COUNTING down until we can return to the Carton House for our 1st anniversary so we can spend time with the staff who became...

A Dangerous and Misleading Experience at Carton House: Avoid if You Have Dietary Restrictions

I stayed at Carton House in February 2024 with my family, anticipating a luxurious and relaxing experience. Unfortunately, our visit was fraught with issues that revealed significant deficiencies in both service and management.

Inadequate Handling of Dietary Restrictions:

As a family with gluten-free dietary needs, we expected a 5-star hotel to handle our requirements with care and accuracy. Instead, we encountered confusion and inconsistency at every meal.

The gluten-free Irish breakfast included items that the staff could not definitively confirm were gluten-free.

Despite being informed that gluten-free oat milk and pancakes were available to order, these items were not available on either morning of our stay.

Unclear and Misleading Food Labelling:

The breakfast buffet was a source of significant stress due to unclear labelling. Staff were unable to confirm whether the sausages and puddings were gluten-free, despite multiple assurances from different staff members and the chef. The labelling used was ambiguous and confusing, even for the staff, leading to a highly distressing situation for anyone with food intolerances.

When I reached out to the hotel management for clarification, I was met with evasive responses and a failure to directly answer whether the food I consumed contained gluten. The management dodged my questions and failed to take responsibility, further exacerbating my frustration.

Management’s Inadequate Response:

The hotel management’s handling of my concerns was abysmal. Instead of addressing the issues head-on, they provided vague responses and shifted responsibility. This lack of accountability and transparency is unacceptable for a hotel of this supposed caliber.

Despite my repeated requests for clarification, the management was unable to confirm whether the food served to me was safe for my dietary needs. This level of incompetence and disregard for guest safety is shocking and deeply disappointing.

Escalation to Food Safety Authority:

Due to the serious nature of the dietary safety concerns, I escalated the matter to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The FSAI referred my complaint to the local environmental health office for investigation.

The Environmental Health Officer validated that the QR code on the breakfast menu led only to an incomplete setup page, confirming that the allergen information was not accessible as the hotel had claimed.

Months later, I was finally able to confirm myself that the food served to me did indeed contain gluten, highlighting the severe risk posed by the hotel's misinformation.

Overall, my experience at Carton House was far below the standards expected of a 5-star hotel. The hotel’s inability to properly accommodate dietary restrictions and the management’s evasive responses have left me deeply unsatisfied. I cannot recommend Carton House to anyone, especially those with food intolerances or dietary restrictions. This experience was not only disappointing but also...

Honestly such a disappointing experience given out expectations and the cost of the stay itself. We paid nearly €1,000 for 2 nights and feel this was way too much given our subsequent experience.

Booking Spa Treatments: We booked an overnight spa package which included spa treatments as part of our stay. Once booked I received no instructions on how to book our spa treatment. Instead I took it upon myself and called 3 or 4 days in advance to enquire about bookings. I was then told there is very little availability but 10.30am was available the day we were checking in. Not ideal given check in was 4pm. Lucky I called otherwise we might not have been able to avail of these treatments at all.

Food & Dining: The food across the board was expensive and average. I paid over 100 euro for lunch which consisted of fish and chips, a hamburger and 2 drinks. The food was OK and definitely not worth this type of money. Service for lunch was also extremely slow. Later that same day we ate in Kathleen's Kitchen for dinner. Another expensive meal that was honestly not worth it. The service was also extremely slow. That night I had a very upset stomach from something I had eaten that day. Not sure which meal it was.

Then breakfast both days was pretty disappointing and we kept being told by staff how busy short staffed they were. I asked for a flat white at breakfast one day and was told, they normally do them but they are just too busy right now.

Checking in/Out: There is a 10am check out time but a 4pm check in time. Does it really take 6 hours to clean rooms in such a reasonably sized hotel? On the day of check in my pregnant wife desperately needed to lie down. I tried to call reception to get an update on our room but despite about 5 attempts I could not even get through.

Lost items: Upon returning home after my stay I realised I left some clothes in my bedside locker in our room. I immediately called the hotel and told them. They said they would check with housekeeping and get back to me. I also informed them I lived close by so could spin by quite easily to pick them up. I did not heat back from them that day so tried again the next day. I was again told that they would check with housekeeping and call me back. After a few hours I ran out of patience and drove to the hotel myself. I was told at reception that nothing was found in the room and that we can't check the rooms physically as there are new guests in it. This leaves 3 possibilities. Either the clothes were found and not turned in, I imagined leaving the clothes behind, or the clothes are still in the room. I find the unresponsiveness and lack of support here extremely disappointing. Especially given I originally called before the next guests would have been checking in and could have quickly returned to the hotel to quickly check the room. The fact I had to drive to the hotel myself to get any sort of definitive answer is...