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A beautiful hotel in a beautiful part of the country. We were welcomed warmly on arrival and the experience had that authentic Irish high-end feel to it. Really good check in experience and a very good room (junior suite). Lovely bar area with very attentive service. Our three star review is due to two main issues. 1. Our experience in the Cedars restaurant was not good and was out of step with the rest of the hotel experience. Food was high quality but service was poor. The food was thrown at us, very short gaps between courses, wine served several minutes after the food had arrived, waiting staff were snappy and clearly didn’t want to be there. They were understaffed, but in addition to that the service culture was not evident in the people serving us. We couldn’t wait to get back to the bar (which was excellent again). And 2, the room was lovely but way too warm and there was no facility to adjust the temperature. So, overall slightly disappointing as we left unrested.

We found a Pig's Back offer for the Ballyliffin Hotel that would have been rude not to take. We decided on mid Nov when the weather took an upturn, and had a fantastic pre-Christmas rush two day break in the Ballyliffin Hotel. The reception and dining areas are very well presented with fresh decor. The bedroom (239) was spotless, (as was the shower room), one double bed and good storage. One chair between the two of us wasn't great as I had to watch TV on bed, hubby having a bad back and needing the chair - though maybe a health and safety issue as two chairs at the end of the bed would have been tight. We had a slight issue as the heating wasn't on on arrival and it had turned chilly, but all it took was a word with reception to remedy this. We looked ”downtown” and had a small amount of sea view, overlooked the car park and heard very little noise. Minimal vehicles pass the hotel late or early. Food was excellent - the hot breakfast was not standard fry option - but you could have a large or small fry, and various less usual options such as the maple syrup, bacon and pancake option which I highly recommend. The muesli and plain yogurt was excellent too, topped with a little fruit salad. Husband enjoyed honey and blueberries on his porridge. The proper coffee is a lovely change in a hotel breakfast room. We had turkey and ham dinner to encourage the pre-Christmas spirit and it was delicious, plentiful, and piping hot. We were so full that one desert was sufficient between two. Highly recommend this hotel if you want a quiet seaside break in comfort, and like good plain food.