Solis Lough Eske Castle

I can’t say enough about this amazing, beautiful hotel and their helpful staff. With less than three months notice, the staff at Lough Eske, led by their wonderful wedding planner Stephen, helped us to plan my dream wedding. Every detail was perfect and I couldn’t imagine a better setting for the most important day of my life. In addition to a beautiful location and gorgeous property, the service at the castle makes for the best experience I’ve ever had in any hotel. All of my guests commented constantly on how friendly and helpful every person they met was, from the door man to the people at the desk to the bartenders to the waiters. It was such a lovely experience.

This is really a 3.5 review for the hotel and a 5 star for the breakfast. Service was probably 4.5 or so, not super attentive, not trying to over deliver but definitely top notch. The reason for not a 5-​star for service is because the first room they tried to put us in was the very last room on a wing of the hotel. Wifi was non existent from the bed or the desk. It was decent in the bathroom, the part of the room closest to the middle of the hotel. So we called and was like, is there anything you could do to boost the wifi signal to this room? The front desk was like, oh well sometimes it’s spotty and I’ll call the engineer and see if there’s anything we can do, probably not but I’ll check. No statement of and then I’ll get back to you or oh well would you need to move rooms etc. Note this room is FAR away from the front desk. Takes literally 10 minutes to walk back. After not hearing back from them for another 15 and to be clear, it wasn’t clear they were gonna do anything, my husband walked back up to the front and asked for a new room. They obliged but seriously, some follow through would have been nice especially since it’s not a surprise to them this happens if they are telling us the wifi is spotty in that room. I feel like they just blew us off. That said, aside from that one mishap, everything else about the service was great, especially the super friendly staff at breakfast who is whom we interacted with the majority of our stay anyway.
Breakfast — now if you’ve traveled to Asia and experienced the gluttony of buffet items, you will feel right at home here. Like Asia, there’s half a section for American-​like breakfast and another section for local or in this case Irish breakfast. Though to be honest, some of the «Irish» stuff included pancakes, sausage and bacon so not all that different than what Americans or other Europeans might eat. There was plenty of fresh fruit, cereal both healthy and for kids version, freshly baked croissants as well as loaves of bread with cheese or smoked salmon and anything else you can imagine topping your toast with. There was also a corner of fresh squeezed juices though seems like not many people noticed it there. And then on top of that you had an egg and crêpe station with the nicest chefs. Their omelet was superb. Better than I make at home. In conversing with them, they told me they strain the egg mixture — that was their secret. And of course super fresh ingredients goes without saying. Every morning, we rolled ourselves out of breakfast with no need for another meal til early dinner time. It was a perfect way to prep for our day trips away from the hotel.
Now on to the room itself — the actual room was lovely. Huge bathrooms, great walk in closets and lots of space for luggage and sitting areas, great spa toiletries. Furniture was a bit worn and some pillows were super lumpy … Like if they were in my household, I would have thrown them out and there were sometimes down feather butts poking out of the bed, though all that could have been overlooked. The main problem is that instead of AC, these people open windows. Now we are next door to a lake. A beautiful lake but all lakes breed «nature.» On my last morning there, I saw an insect the size of my hand perched on the top ledge in the hallway outside one of the corridors on our way back from breakfast. If I saw that bugger in my room not to mention perhaps in the bathroom with me while I was showering, I would have screamed bloody murder. Instead, we found several gigantic juicy flies and lots of small insects in our room. My gracious husband obliged in continuously killing crawling and flying bugs for the first few hours we entered our room every night because housekeeping liked to crack our windows open just an inch daily while we were out. Thank goodness there are no Mosquitos in Ireland. Though I’m sure I slept with a few bugs here and there during our 3 day stay. Get some screens for goodness sake!!! How is this ok for a 5-​star hotel?
Would I go back? Not sure. Depends on the season. I might try Harvey’s point or call to ask if they use AC. Also, a tip, the second floor seemed a lot hotter than the first. So more chance of opened windows being a necessity whereas in our new room on the first floor, I felt as if we could have survived without.

Just finished a 3 night stay at this luxurious 5 star hotel/​castle. I’ve always wanted to stay in a castle and jumped at the opportunity to stay at this beautiful place on the Lough. We were warmly welcomed upon arriving and were quickly checked in. They gave us maps of the surrounding area with hiking trails. The rooms are gigantic with a big king size bed, desk and table with couch. The bathroom is big enough to sleep an elephant as it comes with a bath tub, shower and separate toilet area. The toiletries are very fragrant (sandalwood or cedar) and there’s lots of it. The floors are even heated so no worries about cold feet in the morning. Breakfast came with the rate and it’s a first rate breakfast buffet with a wide selection of breads, cereal and fruit; many juices; and a wide selection of hot foods (bacon, omelettes, pancakes) with many made to order. You can even order several a la carts items like poached eggs or porridge. We’d often eat enough to get us thru lunch. The staff is so nice that they also won’t mind you taking a little extra to go. We only had one negative which was that the hotel tends to leave doors open to help regulate the temperature in the hotel (I guess). Since you’re in the Irish countryside, there’s insects and we often found insects flying around as we wandered around the castle and sometimes even in our room. It might be smart for the hotel to install some insect lanterns near the larger doors to prevent the bugs from getting very far. I feel that with us being in the countryside, insects in the building is inevitable so it was a minor annoyance to us. All in all, the stay was great and a great launching point for exploring around Donegal and the area.

This castle is amazing and one of the best hotels we have been to while vacationing. Staff is beyond friendly and accommodating. The room is gorgeous and very well appointed. Bathroom is lavish with a separate toilet room, shower room and main bath tub area. All marble tile and heated floors. The bed is so welcoming soft and comfortable. The grounds are well taken care of and the gardens lush and lively.

Beautiful Hotel in Donegal which also had an awesome spa. The Castle is huge and very cool. They had complimentary bikes you could take out to explore the grounds with. The room we had was huge and had a world class shower. The breakfast and other meals were superb.

Didn’t stay here, but Had Tea service, Afternoon Service.
I must say the Gentleman Server went out of his way to give us great service, and talk with my 8 year old daughter including catering to her.
He made her enjoy tea, I would go back in a heart beat, its a beautiful castle, and he pointed out a lot of details for us to explore. He made us feel very welcomed. and helped us have a beautiful tea service
Thank you again.

This is one of my favourite places to visit, It’s an Amazing Castle with beautifully decorated rooms for you to sit in and relax while enjoying a drink. The first thing i noticed was how friendly the staff are, The minute you arrive there is someone to take your luggage and show you to your room once checked in. Food is fantastic, you have a choice of eating at the bar or dining in the restaurant, I have tried both and was not disappointed.
The rooms are very specious and XL Kingsize beds are something i will always look forward to on my returns as well as the heated bathroom floor.
My wife uses the Beauty Salon each visit and i intend to use the Swimming pool on my next visit something i haven’t done yet.
Lastly something that stands out for me is the breakfast, WOW !!! I absolute the breakfast experience here, Continental Breakfast and Cooked Breakfast with your own Chef.
This is a must for anyone who wants a nice relaxing night away in Donegal.

Lovely hotel for a wee romantic break! It’s a nice building and setting but we found it ever so slightly tired in places and the layout means lots and lots of walking down endless corridors! Spa and pool area are simple and pleasant with lovely views to the landscaped walled gardens and Courtyard. Overall it’s very good hotel but maybe a slight let down if you are expecting a truly 5 star experience.

Solis Hotel, Donegal’s foremost 5 star hotel. What a treat (Though you will notice I’ve given it 4 stars and not 5) This hotel is beautiful, a couple of miles from Lough Eske and built out of the ruins of the old Ancestral home of the founding/​ruling family of Donegal.
We arrived on a Friday night after work after a long drive up from Belfast just as the light was fading. There is a beautiful long drive way (If you go in the back way like we did) with teasing glimpses of the lake and the Bluestack mountains in the distance. The overall impression when you see the hotel with its regal fountain out the front is Wow!
We lugged our bags up from the car park and checked in. There were fires lit and little rooms off the entrance hall to sit and have a drink in. A grand staircase and extremely friendly and helpful reception staff. We checked in and were offered to be shown to the room (I’d recommend this if you get lost easily as it looks deceptively small from outside. Its a bit of a TARDIS)
The room itself was amazing, pics have been added for reference. We got changed and headed to the bar for some food. (You can eat in the restaurant but this has to be booked) The bar itself is great, they have a nice varied menu and we went for Smoked salmon and a spinach tortellini. Both were delicious, and while we were eating and drinking there was a singer/​guitarist playing who was excellent! We finished up with some cocktails eleven Euro, 90 each (About £8) they were fantastic, hats off to the bar staff. (I recommend the Hemmingway Daiquiri — Drinking makes people more interesting ((His words not mine)))
So after a restful night in a humungous bed, I had a long soak in the big bath while the other half used the Spa, which by all reports was great. The breakfast was hands down the best breakfast I have had in a hotel anywhere! Huge selection with a chef on hand to cook fresh eggs and pancakes and cheesy potato bread for you.
Overall the experience was restful and luxurious, a great wee treat. There were just a few things that made me mark this down from a 5 to a 4 star rating.
1. There were a number of stains on the carpet in our room, and cobwebs on the area above the window.
2. there was a corridor on the way round to our room which smelled horribly of vomit. It was clear it had been cleaned, windows were open and scented flowers placed, but it didn’t help. It seemed to get worse every time we walked down the corridor.
3. Some of the décor was a tiny bit tired looking and needed updating or freshened up.
As you can see the downsides are very minor, but I’m judging this as a 5 star hotel, so I feel I’m justified in being a bit picky. Don’t let it put you off though, go and treat yourself, if for nothing else then the breakfast.

The castle was breathtaking. Our room was lovely. We had drinks in the bar and the staff was very friendly. We took a walk around the grounds which was spectacular.

First of all thank you Groupon for an all inclusive vacation package.
The castle hotel was in the middle of nowhere which is to be expected. The front desk staff was very nice and welcoming, as soon as the men/​bellboy? saw us walking outside with our huge luggages they ran and took over our bags which was a huge plus and of course because of that, hubby gave him a good tip.
The room doesn’t feel medieval-​ISH because it’s modern like Hilton or Westin hotels in the U.S. so i didn’t felt like we were brought back in time LoL. We tried their dinner and overall it cost us around € 130 for some appetizers, main course, wine, and desserts. Not bad for an anniversary dinner trip but for a 5-​Star hotel, that is to be expected. I do have packed instant noodles as option 2 for dinner hahaha!
The only downside to this place is the wifi connection. We were in Rm230+ and wifi was fluctuating, that’s all. People our age wants to connect all the time to friends and send pictures consistently. The wifi connection near the lobby was excellent though but i can’t stay in the lobby for the longest time.
Overall, our overnight stay was good and was worth it. I highly recommend this castle hotel but stay more than 1 day so you could appreciate the surroundings much better.

We found the Lough Eske Castle while hiking around Lough Eske from our hotel down the road.
We thought the exterior was gorgeous … the mix of new and old buildings, the wonderfully dense woods around the property and the cast iron sculptures sprinkled around the grounds were immediately captivating.
We stopped in for a quick drink at their bar and we also impressed with the interior… a beautiful mix of the old castle architecture with modern art aesthetics. So we decided to come back that night for dinner.
Best decision we made that week!
From the moment we were greeted to the minute we left, the staff was friendly, efficient and professional. The table service was superb … they were there almost at the moment we realized we wanted something more.
And they served food to match … oysters fresh from Donegal Bay, a lovely sea scallop starter with tomato comfit and rocket salad followed by a perfectly medium rate Irish Sirloin. It was hands down the best food we had during our visit to Ireland.
I am hoping we can actually stay at the hotel at some point in the future, but it is well worth the visit for dinner if you are in Donegal.

WOW, what can I say. We were on a HOTEL CASTLE tour and this was by far the best. The area was fantastic. The rooms were huge, even a walk-​in closet. WiFi was reliable. Breakfast was included and I would have loved to have stayed just for the breakfast… It was extremely bountiful, wide selections. fresh fruit, cheeses, sausages, breads, home made yogurt … Eggs to order, crepes… Can’t say enough. I didn’t try their dinner, nor see their menu.

We stayed in this hotel because it was prearranged by our tour company, but I’m so glad we did. I think it was the most enjoyable experience of all our hotels in Ireland.
The area is fantastic; wild and untouched. It is fairly far removed from anything else, try to arrive during daylight the first time!
The castle itself is gorgeous, inside and out. Our room was large and luxurious, with fluffy duvets and a great towel heater. The staff were friendly and helpful.
Breakfast was fantastic!!! I was so happy to have that included in our room rate, as it was first class! Even had salmon on the spread. Yummy.
A few things that I would have hoped for in such a nice establishment, and thus why I had to dock a star:
— no porter to assist with luggage up the entry staircase.
— no leisure center or exercise facilities. This would have been good as the surrounding roads were narrow and could have been dangerous for runners trying to get a workout in.
— no complementary water. Other hotels have provided this, as the water isn’t great to drink. Guess they want you to buy the mini fridge offerings.
— our mini fridge kept opening (or perhaps not closing fully) and our food went warm that we had placed in there. The fridge was obviously old school and could have used an update.
However, these things were fairly minimal compared to the other great aspects. I would certainly stay again!

The castle itself is beautiful but the service is laking. For being at a 5 star establishment there are several things we felt they failed on. First you have to park far away and drag your luggage in yourself. There was no bell man to meet us at the door. We did get help going from the front desk to our room but that poor man had to carry our bags up and down endless stairs as there was no elevator. They allow dogs there and the people bellow us had there dog barking through the night and morning, I had to call from my room twice and then get out of bed early in the am and walk down to the front desk and demand they addressed this. At the time we booked they had an advertised special on their website for The Gathering but they told us it expiered and they would not honor it, three months later when we finally stayed there they still had it listed on their site. When we checked out they did not offer to help with our luggage and in fact watched us struggle with holding the doors open and wouldn’t help. This was the most glamourous place we had ever stayed at yet we got the worst service. It’s very expensive and I recommend taking your money elsewhere.