Located just a stone’s throw away from the village of Cong on the shores of Lough Corrib, Ashford Castle has seen a lot of changes of ownership over the years and not all for the better. From an outsider’s point of view, Ashford seemed like a fairytale castle offering luxury accommodation, service and food. The reality was an old, musty castle offering reasonable accommodation and pretentious food.
Ashford was in need of serious investment and always appeared to be firefighting just to keep the doors open and on several occasions, almost shut for good.
Thankfully though, that investment and change of vision came from the Red Carnation hotel chain and the castle has never been better.
Welcome to Ashford Castle…….
We’ve been to Ashford on a few occasions so the views expressed here are based on several visits.
On arrival at the imposing front gates, you’ll be asked by the gatekeeper why you’re here today. If you’ve reservations for afternoon tea or are staying the night, you’ll be allowed to pass, however, if you only want to visit the grounds, there’s a charge of 5 euro to enter, but you still won’t get into the castle unless you’ve got a reservation.
Once through the gates, the road winds through the well-kept grounds and the castle soon comes into view. If you’ve paid just to visit the grounds, you can park up and go for a walk. You can also grab some lunch at Mrs.B tea rooms. You could also make your way to “The Lodge at Ashford”, the other accommodation option on the grounds and perhaps have a more filling lunch.
As a guest, you drive across a bridge which has another member of staff to check your credentials. If you’re overnighting, you’ll be asked to pull up at the front door and you’ll be looked after, if you’re here for afternoon tea, you’ll have to park your car in the other parking spaces, you won’t be allowed to drive across the bridge, so once parked up, you’ll just walk across.
Once you pull up to the front door, your bags are taken by the doorman and your car is taken away. Once inside, you’re greeted by a member of the reception team and you get checked in. You’re also offered a drink to enjoy on arrival.
Next, you’ll be escorted to your room and also get a a short tour as you make your way along, such as showing the spa and the cinema.
Our room on this visit has views of Lough Corrib and is a decent size, it has the usual modern luxuries although the decor has an olde world charm to it. On a previous visit, we stayed in a suite which was similar but larger than our river view room. Soon after you get to your room, your bags arrive.
There are several dining options. You can have a few nibbles in any of the lounge areas which are all very relaxing, or you can dine in the dungeon downstairs. However a lot of guests choose to dine in the George V dining room. Jacket and tie required for men. Given the plushness of the restaurant, you’d be very out of place wearing anything but the finest attire. Actually, smart casual is expected throughout the castle. As long as it’s not sports attire you’ll be fine.
Afternoon tea is very popular so book well in advance. If you’ve read over any of our previous posts, you’d know that we’ve been disappointed with afternoon tea in various establishments in the past.
Unfortunately, Ashford’s afternoon tea did not quite hit the mark. The sandwiches were reasonably tasty and the scones were ok, but not as good as the could be. There’s a decent choice of teas on offer and of course, you can have coffee. The pastries are the big let down, one or two of them are decent, but some of the others are like something that came out of a box. If something should taste of, say, raspberry, well it should taste of raspberry, not some amalgamation of artificial flavours.
If you want the enjoyment of afternoon tea in a castle, it’s worth trying for the service, atmosphere, ambiance and you will enjoy the relaxed pace of the experience. The service thankfully, is fantastic and you can have more sandwiches if you like.
Walking the grounds is a must do. You can go for a short stroll or a much longer walk and you can easily visit Cong village about a 20 minute walk away. There’s also plenty of outdoor activities that can be booked in advance, such as falconry, river cruises and golf.
There’s plenty to keep you amused during your stay. The cinema is a good size and you help yourself to popcorn and sweets – check viewing times at reception. The spa is small but very lavish and offers all of the usual massages, facials and other rubs and scrubs.
There’s a video games room for the kids, or, ahem, grown-up kids. You’ll find a billiards room which has a small bar and you can also play board games. There’s also a smoking room and you can purchase a selection of cigars if that’s your thing. If you fancy a quiet spot to read, there’s plenty of window seats to relax and read a book from the library.
Dining in the George V room is fantastic. The service is excellent and the dining room is very plush and finished with the best of everything. The food is a mix of French and Irish influences and for the most part, is very good, but not amazing, something you’d expect given that everything else is wonderful. Most of the dishes we had while dining here were tasty but some did not hit the mark.
Breakfast is also served in the George V, no need for jacket and tie for breakfast, just casual. Breakfast is a combination of table service and self-service buffet. There’s a good choice overall and you can really go to town on the amount of food you eat. Just like every hotel the world over, you’re not guaranteed a decent cup of coffee, however the coffee here was pretty ok.
To finish, Ashford Castle is an amazing experience and somewhere we always enjoy. The only slight criticism we have is the food – don’t get us wrong, the food is very good, but on the grand scheme of things could and should be better, especially the afternoon tea*.
Until next time.
C&J
*On returning home after our first stay at Ashford a survey was e-mailed to me to fill out and offer some feedback (which I always do). I mentioned our disappointment with the afternoon tea when filling out the survey. I sent it back and got a reply the following day. I was thanked for my feedback and that they will be looking into how to improve their afternoon tea experience.
Unfortunately on having the afternoon tea several months later, things had not improved.
cjfoodandtravel 