Galgorm — Hotel in Ireland

This was a ladies getaway to catch up. The hotel has some issues but the spa is the star offering an abundance of space, experiences and treatments.

Our family room was spacious and comfortable but absolutely roasting. There is a thermostat but even turned off altogether and both windows opened, the room was far too warm. A Dyson fan was a tokenistic attempt to cool the room but absolutely inadequate. An A/C unit should be available in the rooms to provide proper temperature control. I also found it a little concerning that such a family room had windows without safety mechanisms and could be opened wide at a low height which would be perfect for small children to climb. The room had two TVs but even with 4 tech savvy adults, we could only get one of them working. A bathroom which was style over substance, the shower having poor water pressure. It was a rain style shower but I have felt better pressure from actual drizzle.

Lunch in the spa was a low point. We ate outside overlooking the river & service was dire. We were directed to our table & told a menu would be coming shortly. The drinks menu was available by QR code but not the food menu. Eventually we got tired of waiting & retrieved a menu from staff. This did not alleviate our waiting as we had a prolonged wait for staff to take our order. When in a damp dressing gown after swimming, such waiting outside in the cold is not comfortable, despite heaters overhead. As we waited we were inundated by wasps. Two groups of guests left to get away from them once their drinks actually arrived. In such a luxury hotel the absence of electric pest zappers or gossamer curtains around the veranda to keep pests away was ridiculous. Eventually orders were taken & we waited again. The lunch of panini's was nothing special, the side salad drowned in dressing and seeming to be mostly made of red onions. We rushed our food to escape the wasps & so no pleasure was had from it.

Dinner in Fratellis showed us how much we were being overcharged in the spa. Cocktails in the spa were £15.50 and mocktails £11. About £3.50 more expensive than what you pay in a standard bar for the former & double what you would pay for the latter. Yet even on site the comparison shows greed since Fratellis cocktails were £13.50. The exact same cocktail as the spa but £2 cheaper. The mocktails were different & actually more complicated but were £6.95, so much cheaper than the spa. How Galgorm can justify this price difference on site is head scratching. The cocktails were hit & miss since even when sticking to simple strawberry daiquiris, the four that were had all tasted different & were very inconsistent. Staff obviously need more consistent training in making cocktails, especially for their price.

Fratellis dinner was nice despite the rather mundane and limited menu. The white truffle mash was a let down, tasting like Smash drenched in cheap truffle oil which gave it an overpowering and sour taste. The lamb couscous was delicious, the steaks well cooked and the pizzas unexciting but nice. The deserts of lemon tart and chocolate caramel mousse were the best part of a disappointing menu. For such a nice hotel the menu is basic, consisting of things you would make at home. The limited pizza and starter choices were particularly disappointing. We ordered tea but when two small pots arrived alongside three huge cappuccino style cups, well there wasn't enough tea to fill even two cups never mind the third. We asked where the third teapot was and were told we would be charged for a third...the logic of two small teapots for three huge cups seemed to escape the server who said each small pot was for two people. Breakfast the next morning was standard buffet style. The fresh fruit was excellent quality. The cooked food was fresh & the chefs were quick to fill orders for Eggs of our choice. The choice of bread was a little limited since there was no rolls and the croissants had run out.

In all: The Galgorm is a nice hotel, the spa the standout star of any stay but there is definitely room for...

I'm posting this review 2 months after having visited Fratelli Galgorm with my family on 9th December 2023. The reason I've waited to leave the public review until now was to allow the galgorm group the opportunity to revert back to me but unfortunately they haven't, despite multiple emails from myself explaining my complaint and asking for an update/resolution.

We had booked for the Santa experience with the galgorm and booked a reservation to done in Fratelli as this was the only location left with available bookings. My sister and I had recently both had our first babies and wanted to have a memorable family day out to kick off the Christmas celebrations for the first time with children. Given that both our children were less than 6 months old, we didn't mind paying extra for a luxury experience, given that the children wouldn't be of age to know about Santa, it was more for the benefit of a family day out and making memories. Safe to say I wish I'd have taken the kids to a local shopping centre to see Santa as I would bet it would have been an better experience overall and for a fraction of the price.

When making the booking I advised that we would need space in the restaurant for 2 prams. To sum up, they did not take this into consideration and placed us in front of the kitchen ( which was constantly busy with waiters ifting hot plates etc over our heads). They asked my sister push her pram into the corner up against a boiling hot raidator. Also this was in a corner where high chair were kept, and waiters were in and out lifting high chairs over my niece's head. They asked me to push my pram up against a fire exit door, at which point I politely refused given it was far enough from where our table was and my child was 3 months old. I was then told to squeeze my pram between the table and a cutlery desk. My child was sleeping in the pram, whilst waiters stacked glasses 2-3 levels high above where he slept. Complete health and safety risk. I'd like to say this was the worst of my complaint, but was just the beginning.

The service in terms of the waiting staff was appalling. Table not cleared after our mains and when I asked for it to be cleared the waitress looked offended that I'd asked the question and lifted 2 plates before disappearing altogether. The packages was a 4 course meal to include tea and coffee, but we had to again to request this. No spoons were provided with the cups and saucers, so if we wanted sugar or milk we ended up stirring this with the rear end of a knife left on the table. At the end, no one came to check was all ok or offr the bill. I asked at the front desk and paid what was outstanding just so we could leave.

The food was below average. Starters were cold, the main was undercooked, dry and no condiments normally accompanying a Christmas dinner were provided i.e. gravy or cranberry sauce. I was beyond stressed and angry to even eat dessert. Overall it tasted as though the food had been reheated and thrown at us.

The worst and most shocking part was when my sister and I went to use the baby changing facilities. We queued for a while for the toilets, realising the baby changing was in the disabled toilet which isn't unusual, however, seems to be who didn't seem to know why the door was locked. After another few minutes, the manager approached us to advise this was out of order and asked could we use the normal toilets or alternatively walk across to gillies. That day we had torrential rain and he expected us to take them out into the cold across the courtyard to have their nappy changed. Really? Considering this was a family event, they should have expected parents would need access to changing facilities.

Overall, it was a shocking experience and I could say much more if it wasn't for the cap on the word limit. Supposedly a 5 star resort that I would give 0 stars to if I could. To add insult to injury, despite phone calls and multiple emails to follow up, no one from the galgorm have come back to me to resolve this. Absolute disgrace, do not give this...

After staying here twice before lockdown 1st started, me & my wife went back this year. We were greeted by Paul at the door & he makes you feel like royalty, he was there before & always stood out with his level of care & professionalism helping with your bags & parking the car for you. All the staff were very pleasant, as they were before, which is great to see. Our stay was got with a voucher we got as a wedding present, after we said this to the woman at reception, a short while later she had arranged for a little gift tray with card congratulating us was a very nice touch, the staff here go above & beyond.

Since we were there before there has been a lot of new additions, such as the Alpine Garden. It is so nice there, the 2 riverside infinity pools are so stunning, and the garden landscaping was all done to perfection too. It's great you can scan the QR code in these areas which brings you to their website to order drinks to have brought to you. The facilities are top notch, we had a great time using them.

Gillies on site restaurant doesn't open until 4pm which is annoying, the conservatory is open for lunch but it's too fancy for me, theres nothing I wouod eat on the menu. The Castle kitchen is an option for lunch, it's just a bit inconvenient to go off site to go to it, especially if you want to drink a few alcoholic drinks.

Gillies was a highlight of our 2 previous stays before, but the prices there have got very expensive, and the food not just as high standard as before. The menu online that we looked at before we went there didn't match with the one in Gillies itself which was very disappointing, because on the menu online I liked 2 of the item on it, but the actual real menu only had 1 item I liked. So staying for 2 days meant I had to eat the same meal twice which isn't ideal. I got the burger which was nice, but it was £21 for a burger with no side included, so we both had to order our sides separately at £5.50 each. So in total for 2 burgers & 2 chips we paid £53. It's very pricey compared to before, I get things cost more now, but that's a huge hike. The last time we went the burger came with cheese, bacon & onion rings + a side of chips for a total of £18. Fratelli's is closed on a Tuesday & Wednesday, which of course was the 2 days we were staying, so we didn't get to dine in there. Instead we opted for the room service menu which included Fratelli's menu after 10pm, that food was very nice.

The room itself was the deluxe room, which is a very nice room, but it wasn't pleasant to be greeted with a poop stain on the inner rim of our toilet seat. Other than that the room was perfect & the complimentary mini bar that's included is quite good also, the little oat biscuits they have in the room are delicious too. The in room WiFi was terrible, mobile data had to be used most of the time, even though I wasn't in a great network for that, it still worked better than the WiFi.

All in all we had a great stay, our package for 2 nights in a deluxe room which included the 1 hour private hot tub experience beside the river with a glass of prosecco each (though we asked for an alternative, and mocktails were our option, they were so nice) and use of the thermal village, which cost £463. It's definitely a bit pricey compared to before, the facilities are great, but the added prices of the restaurant & some drinks in the spa etc make the trip that bit more expensive. If you're like me & wouldn't eat from the conservatory restaurant or go to the Castle Kitchen off site, the late opening of the restaurant is a big put off, because if you eat as soon as it opens, you might not be ready for more food before it closes at 10. Next time I will give the Castle Kitchen a go, the menu there looks great, with the variety that Gillies use to have actually.

It's definitely a great place, but has become something we can't do as often as would like to because of the expense of stay plus food & drink.

We will be definitely back...