Carton House - A Fairmont Managed Hotel 5 gwiazdki

Three friends went to Afternoon Tea today at the Fairmont managed Carton House in Co.Kildare Ireland. This National Momument has been Stunningly restored and lavished with fine antique furnishings including Sevres porcelain vases and amazing stucco work and landscaped gardens. Sadly, the afternoon tea service which was served in the Manor House could not hold a candle to its exquisite surroundings. Tea had to be re-ordered four times before it arrived hot and strong. Food was served after 45 minutes and the order for my friend who is a diabetic was a barely acceptable tomatoe, radish and greens salad. Scones were tasty with cream and straberry jam. The patisserie chef made an interesting effort in presenting the deserts in an unnovative way. For my diabetic friend, desert was pineapple , strawberry and frozen fruit skewers. I ordered a pot of Coffee instead of tea which was just okay. Brian & Liam who are mature and experienced staff at the hotel supported us with valet parking and a personal historic tour of the magnificent house. This is a Fairmont managed hotel where serving ataff need serious training to ve attentive to customers who pay EUR 65 each for an afternoon tea service which was memorable for the wrong reason. Lack of attention by serving staff and willingness to observe the needs of disabled customers. Not recommended.

Carton House is a wonderful hotel in many ways — the grounds, scale and day-to-day staff are excellent. We stayed for a weekend family get-together and the rooms and lobby areas worked very well. Service throughout the hotel was warm and professional, with the front desk particularly good. Unfortunately, the food offering let the experience down. Value for money was poor overall, and The Carriage Restaurant did not work for us. On arrival, we were told the set menu was the only option: €60 for two courses or €70 for three. This was frustrating, especially as several dishes were cheaper on the standard menu, which we were not allowed to order from – despite another group behind us doing exactly that. With teenagers in our group who are past kids’ menus but don’t justify €60 steak-and-chips-plus-dessert meals, this was an annoyance. When we queried this, the manager was unhelpful. In the end, we ordered the set menu. For the price, the food was standard, and attention to detail was lacking, and the overall impression was that our group was more of an inconvenience to the kitchen than welcome guests. Carton House is a great hotel, but the food offering — particularly in The Carriage — feels overpriced, inflexible and access poorly thought through. It significantly detracts from what should be a premium but welcoming experience. We all enjoyed the hotel, but the drive home was dominated by discussion about the poor value and limited food options – which was a shame.

What a beautiful time we had in the STUNNING Carton House. Every staff member we met were so friendly and helpful. From Brian at guest relations who gave us an extensive history of the house, to Chloe at reception who gave us all the information we needed for our stay, to Ann who couldn't have made us feel more welcome. We had a beautiful meal in the Carriage House and enjoyed a nutritious breakfast there also. We loved exploring the amazing grounds and walkways and finished that off with a lovely swim/sauna/steam room. We thoroughly enjoyed everything that Carton House had to offer and we will definitely be returning.

Very disappointing stay. Spent Jan 25 here and that was a completely different experience which we enjoyed so much as a family, therefore we were excited to spend a few nights here Jan 26. Room was interconnecting for family of 4. Nothing out of ordinary, however was presuming we got a balcony room but didn’t. Tv cut on and off couldn’t really watch anything. Ordered room service first night, lukewarm to cold when arrived. What was the most disappointing for a 5 star hotel was breakfast. A cold buffet . We arrived at 10 both mornings. The whole experience was so different to the year before which had so much more to choose from on the menu and the service was so much better. No effort noted, food like something you would see at a deli waited on tea/ coffee, could say a lot more but no point. Staff were polite for the most part but the personal element is lost. Sad to be reviewing such a lovely location and giving negative feedback. Also reception telling us the Carriage restaurant was booked out yet when we went down luckily one of the staff did kindly provide us with a table which we appreciated and on a positive note food was very good. In context on observation on the evening. There was noway place was booked out as at all times plenty of free tables.

Overall, an average stay but too many issues for it to be a brilliant stay. Another hotel on the Castle circuit of hotels in Ireland. Carton house has fallen from the top tier to the mid- range castle stays. Long check in times, no system in place, only two small desks for over 125 rooms. Staff at check- in seem disinterested. For the room rate the hotel rooms go for classic style, but are not of good value for the rate. Our TV did not work and we called reception twice, and spoke to staff in corridor, nothing was done for our whole stay ( 2 nights) we met a couple in the bar whose TV also didn't work and they got no response from the reception. Stains on the chairs, wood chipped everywhere, it looks tired. The staff we encountered in the bars/ restaurant were fantastic, a real asset to the hotel. Food was fantastic and drinks were good. Service was also very good at times and at others very, very, slow. Whoever in the management group thought it was a good idea to move the breakfast to the carriage restaurant, has not thought about the customer experience. It used to be in the Morrison room and not the self service and round tables with food have created a massive mess of a system where they do not have the space to cater for the guests. It was a car crash both mornings with people constantly bumping in to each other to get their breakfast. We spent over 1k euro in 48 hrs ( including room and breakfast) for a hotel experience that was not worth it. We had a nice time ourselves and just got on with. We won't return but Carton house has serious work to do, by the looks of the reviews lately ( same problems) the management are not pro active enough and that will hurt them in the long run.