Summerhill House Hotel

We were there for 3 days for a wedding. First night we were put in what SHOULD have been a nice corner room with a good view. Sadly EVERYTHING about the room was old, broken or barely functional. The shower did not work, the phone did not work, the chair was broken, the bed was an ancient painted brass bed and noisy, pillows were (as everywhere in Ireland) TERRIBLE. I was too ill upon check-in to complain but asked to be moved the next day which they did. Then in that room which was ok they never serviced the room. Never made the bed, cleaned the bath - nothing. No safes in the rooms. The restaurant was ok for breakfast the first day but the second day there was a big group in the hotel with, clearly a lower quality breakfast paid for and the staff just assumed that we got the same thing - was like pulling teeth to get service. All of the rooms and overall hotel did not feel professionally maintained and decorated. Felt like lots of do it yourself things bought at the hardware store like pressure curtain rods that sliped around when adjusted because they were not attached. And don't get me started on the their room numbering (system?) The 300 rooms were on the second floor. the 400 rooms were on the third floor and there was a mix of numbers on the ground and first floor. FUBAR is the word I kept arriving at.

We stayed in 201 - a huge room with one king and two twins. Didn’t need that for two of us, but guess that’s what was available when I booked. Very reasonable rate including a fantastic breakfast. There was continental buffet and then also included you could order eggs, pancakes, french toast, etc. We didn’t get anything extra, but saw others and it all looked good. Short walk to village area with shops and pubs.

I’ll start on the positives .…beautiful location within walking distance to Enniskerry village. Entrance to hotel is welcoming and beautifully decorated. Lovely reception, drawing room & bar. We had dinner in the terrace decorated room & the food was delicious…….Check in was 1500, we arrived at 1540 & our room wasn’t ready. Other quite simple and inexpensive things to correct, let them down considerably. You are wowed by the decor as you enter to disappoint when you enter bedroom. Zero consideration or comfort. Red/black carpet, yellow walls, grey curtains, white linen. Bedside lamps had us confused & their cables got caught up in our pillows. No spare sockets, we had to unplug the television to charge a mobile phone, we had four beds in this room how four people would manage I don’t know. No privacy curtains, every time you changed or came out of the shower you had to close over the dark heavy curtains as there was a public path outside our window. There were holes in the walls where previous pictures or headboard had been hung, no attempt to fill them in & paint over. At night time every guest stopped outside our door to chat & plan breakfast times, our room was opposite the lift. Reception was right beside us & they didn’t move people on. Lukewarm low pressure shower was so frustrating, AVOID room 201. As I said earlier food was delicious, the service was appalling. Very young awkward apologetic unassertive staff, they made us so uncomfortable. Local kids working a summer /weekend job. They were untrained & that’s so unfair to them & to guests paying a lot of money. I absolutely do not expect nor want a formal service, friendly & experienced is suitable for here. We ordered a bottle of wine, waited ages, it was then plonked on the table with the cork recorked & help yourselves. Zero wine etiquette. So we unpopped our bottle & had a taste ourselves, very nice wine but gosh a poor delivery. We decided to ourselves maybe the wait staff were too young to handle alcohol, if this is the case then bar staff / restaurant manager should look after wine delivery. On check out reception asked how was our stay, it was easier to say grand & leave. To start listing off our issues & getting ourselves frustrated again we hadn’t the energy. Management need to stay in rooms for a night & experience the shortfalls. Staff need training, this hotel could be great easily & inexpensively. Read the reviews & act!!

We had a good experience overall in our stay having travelled all around Ireland we finished here before heading home. The hotel is beautiful inside and in a nice location close to Enniskerry and powerscourt etc. the room was large and modern however the room was roasting to the point it ruined our sleep the windows do not open wide enough and no air gets into the room and with a bathroom with no window things soon heat up after shower etc. the beds are comfy but the heat of the room made sleeping difficult. The breakfast was fabulous and the settings nice the staff on check in and check out were great and friendly and welcoming it was a very good price for the night and I'd say under average for this type of hotel maybe because it has no air con in rooms price reflects this for summer trips great in winter I would say.

I don’t think I have ever left such a negative review but I felt I had to be honest. The drive into the hotel was just beautiful. The entrance also quite nice but that’s where it ended. We were greeted by an Irish lady who did not look up from her computer once to check us in. She then shouted at an elderly group who were going the wrong way. First impressions not good! Then the room… we stayed in room 211… it was awful! We had traveled from Cork and had been to visit glendalough so we were looking forward to a rest before dinner. The heating was on full blast! We had to open the windows which was no problem. Then the bed was a four poster. It squeaked every time we moved and the mattress was rock hard but look once again it was grand as my husband likes a harder bed than me. We then decided to head to Bray for dinner. We couldn’t get a taxi but that was ok as we just drove. Came back to have a drink in the bar and the young boy with glasses was just so lovely and was absolutely run off his feet but continued to be very pleasant and patient. Night sleep, well the room was extremely warm due to the heating being on earlier and the windows were open but unfortunately when we went to bed we had to close the windows due to children running , shouting and screaming around just outside our room at the back of the hotel. These children were not guests I may add.Now we are both parents and I understand children like to play but there were a few Green areas they could have played on and away from guests.I eventually opened the windows again at 11ish but the noise outside kept me awake. People walking on gravel outside our room. People up and down steps in the holiday homes opposite our room and then doors banging. I got about 2 hours sleep and was going to leave the hotel at 4:15 am due to not having slept. When we were checking out there was 2 Ukrainian ladies and a child with the lady in reception and to be honest we were too tired and annoyed to even mention the nights stay. Now this was not a cheap stay I may add and if the room had been up to scratch it would be worth it but unfortunately it was not.

Great food, lovely decor, nice staff and a good price. Decor is freshly redone, rooms and bathrooms seem to be also. Had a lovely walk into the village and a nice dinner in the restaurant. We had a nice quiet night away from the kids and will be coming back to book into the spa for another trip.