Great Southern Killarney

“Killarney - Great Location”

Beautiful hotel and a great location to explore the fun town of Killarney. Bar and restaurant were very nice and the grounds are well maintained and beautiful. Room was a little far of a walk but overall a very nice hotel to spend time when visiting Killarney.

“Step back in time and enjoy the hospitality”

It is rare when I find a hotel property that reaches beyond my expectations. The Great Southern Hotel not only exceeded my expectations, the day I checked out, it felt like I was leaving home. This grand property is a 4 star Victorian hotel, opened in 1854 and located in the heart of beautiful Ki... more

It is rare when I find a hotel property that reaches beyond my expectations. The Great Southern Hotel not only exceeded my expectations, the day I checked out, it felt like I was leaving home. This grand property is a 4 star Victorian hotel, opened in 1854 and located in the heart of beautiful Killarney. The staff was exceptional and always ready to share their hospitality. Sean at the concierge desk had many great suggestions for tourist activities. He also provided his local tips for exploring off the tourist trail that truly made us feel we embraced all that Killarney had to offer. At breakfast every morning, we were greeted with a smile from Kathleen. No matter how busy the morning breakfast rush became, Kathleen always greeted us with a warm welcome and came by our table to check on us. The Great Southern Hotel breakfast is included with the room rate. It is a white linen full service experience that should not be missed. They offer warm menu items such as avocado toast, smoked salmon, organic porridge and a delicious traditional Irish breakfast. The room adjoining the elegant dining room is filled with delicious self-serve items such as homemade yogurts and fruits, meats and cheeses, breads with homemade butters and an actual full size honeycomb that drips into a honey bowl for your enjoyment. They even have a gluten free section that I highly appreciated. You are served coffee or tea in a silver teapot. We always were lucky enough to be seated by one of the windows overlooking the garden. As I added a dainty sugar cube to my morning tea, I felt like I was in a scene from Bridgerton and felt the urge to practice good posture. It was the best breakfast experience I have had in all of my travels. I will forever be grateful to the Great Southern's generous hospitality and the memories we made around the breakfast table each morning. The designers of the hotel did a wonderful job balancing the old with the new. When you walk in, it has a grand feel and yet you feel like you are a guest in someone's home during the Victorian era. The hotel has a fascinating history with many famous guests that stayed before us. I will skip my history lecture and let you discover the stories on your own. The hotel's bar has an elegant Great Gasby vibe and is a perfect spot for an after dinner drink. The property also has a spa, workout center and beautiful indoor pool solarium. Be prepared if you plan on swimming. They require all guests to wear a swimming cap, but they will provide one if needed. We stayed four evenings in the Victorian suite. It was literally a room with a view. It is a corner room with three ivy lined windows. You can take in the fresh country air by opening all of the windows. The sounds that came through during our stay felt like sounds from the past. You could hear the church bell ringing, the train whistle pulling into the station, an old fashion model-t car honking its horn as it dropped off a bride and the click clacking of a horse drawn carriage strolling by. The suite has a separate dressing room with wardrobe and dressing table. Irish bathrooms are not set up with electrical outlets for blow drying your hair. Having my own dressing room with a mirror and outlet definitely made me feel royal. The bathroom is large with a shower and large soaking tub. It also has a window that opens. I am not sure if this suite has air conditioning. I was told this suite was one of the rooms that did have AC but did not see vents that led me to believe it was an option if things heated up. We were guests at the end of July. The temperature was in the 60's during the day and 50's at night. The room also had a portable fan as an option but we never felt the need to use it. I am warm natured and slept like a pampered princess with the cool breeze coming in through the windows. Only two minor things worth mentioning. The shower is roughly a 3x3 enclosure. It was not an issue for me but I wondered if someone who is more robust or claustrophobic would have issues. The other minor notation, it would have been convenient to have a bedside outlet to charge my phone instead of across the room. This suite was truly inviting. Almost as if you stepped back in time and used the ambiance to simply relax, read or sit by the window and watch the world outside. This was the very first time in our family travels that the television in our room was not turned on. That is truly a historical event when traveling with a teen. I highly recommend the Great Southern Hotel if you find yourself in beautiful Killarney. I am not sure how hotels are given their star ratings, but if it were up to me, this grand beauty is definitely a 5 star experience. I have been fortunate enough to stay at 5 star hotels. Many do not compare to the warmth, generosity and elegance this property offers. I guess they have had 170+ years to practice getting things just right. Thank you Great Southern, hope to see you again soon.

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“Pleasantly impressed”

We booked at this hotel through Golf Breaks as part of a 10 day 3 city golf and sightseeing tour with our wives. We pleasantly surprised how nice this hotel is. We were told that it is a 4 star hotel and by european standards, 4 star hotels can often be old and tired but not the Great Southern Ki... more

We booked at this hotel through Golf Breaks as part of a 10 day 3 city golf and sightseeing tour with our wives. We pleasantly surprised how nice this hotel is. We were told that it is a 4 star hotel and by european standards, 4 star hotels can often be old and tired but not the Great Southern Killarney. I would probably rate it a 4+ star hotel. It is situation very centrally located in Killarney in walking distance to the restaurants and pubs yet the hotel is a classic old hotel set in a park like setting. It is an old grande dame hotel that still has kept iss class and service levels. On site parking is safe and secure. From the moment we arrived the bellman and the front door staff could not have been any more welcoming and helpful. As you enter through the front door, there is a fire place, often lit, to your right and the concierge staff is across from the fire place and always looking to help with dinner reservations or suggestions. When leaving for the day, the front door staff would offer bottled water as you leave. The hotel was very clean and well kept. From the cleaning staff to the check in staff and the restaurant staff, everyone was friendly and accommodating. Our room was on the 3rd floor and overlooked the front door. It was large and well appointed with a king bed, ample storage and closet space and a very large marble bathroom with a separate soaking tub and shower area. The hotel provided nightly drinking water which was nice and a coffee and tea station which is nice for an afternoon pick me up or a cup while dressing in the morning. Our room had AC which was nice not having to open the window over the front entrance nonetheless the room was quiet at night. The hotel itself has the feel of being in one of Europes grande old hotels including an memorial area commemorating a stay by former US first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy. Our room included breakfast and the breakfast room was grande and the offerings were extensive including a prepared hot breakfast as well as a help your self continental section of breads, pastries and cereals. If you were heading out early for golf or site seeing, they had to go boxes and coffee to go containers ($2 euro for the to go insulated cup). The public areas were pretty and the grounds to the back were beautiful. We did not dine at the hotel but for breakfast but we did have drinks in the bar. The bar was in a beautiful classic bar like setting and the wait staff was helpful and the drinks we prepared well. There were a number of golf groups at the hotel and it was fun hearing everyones golf stories in the bar. We enjoyed our stay and would certainly book again should we be in Killarney again. We also liked Killarney a lot. Many travel sites call it touristy and over run with tour buses and we typically avoid such places but must admit, Killarney was a great place to stay if you are visting SW Ireland. Thank you Great Southern Killarney for a great stay. Hope to visit you again.

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“Nice hotel but not for this kind of money!”

Overall we enjoyed our stay- particularly the staff at the restaurants were amazing and really made great efforts and attention to details. But, for what it is, it is very overpriced. We booked two Victorian suited which were very expensive as it was a special treat for our parents. But, the tw... more

Overall we enjoyed our stay- particularly the staff at the restaurants were amazing and really made great efforts and attention to details. But, for what it is, it is very overpriced. We booked two Victorian suited which were very expensive as it was a special treat for our parents. But, the two suites were nowhere near comparable. One had a lovely view, the other looked out over the bins. One had aircon, the other didn't. One no dressing room but only a rickety old wardrobe which was falling apart. One was lovely and quiet while the other was next to a housekeeping cupboard and the lift which kept us up all night and was noisy all day. Our TV was also miniscule and we couldn't even look anywhere in it's direction from neither the bed nor the couch. We asked to change rooms which eventually (and after a lot of running and searching for staff) happened but we wasted much of a day organising this. The spa and pool are nice (though not 5 star) but to get to them, you have to walk through their event's area where there was weddings on when we were there. Very awkward to have to walk through for everyone involved, especially with kids, bathrobes and pool toys ... Surely there can be different acces to the pool and spa area!? They advertise with being family friendly but the playground is average and the fairy trial is sadly been abandoned and not looked after. Upon checkout we noticed a discrepancy in our bill of over 400 Euros! It took a good 15-20 minutes to sort this out and we never even got an explantion nor an apology. I also did feedback via email which again got no response. Again, overall it was a nice stay but not for the money we paid. It wants to be a Deluxe Hotel but sadly isn't anywhere near that overall. The hotel and some of the staff (mostly at the reception) need an update and more training.

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