Ardboyne Hotel

Nice place to stay.

Smoking area situated right outside room windows. When there’s a function it’s impossible to sleep with all the noise from the smokers

Excellent! Value for money.

What a hidden wee gem of a hotel fabulous staff bent over backwards to help you food omg 10/10

We arrived at the hotel and were greeted by the receptionist, but unfortunately, after that, our experience went downhill. The room was damaged, outdated and, most importantly, the hygiene and cleanliness standards were very disappointing for a four-star establishment. I would have expected a much higher standard of cleanliness and maintenance. I would, however, like to acknowledge Keeley, who dealt with our initial complaint and upgraded our stay. She was very considerate and caring towards us, particularly given the circumstances surrounding my fiancée, who had only recently been discharged from hospital after a very serious and life-threatening situation. We genuinely appreciated the way Keeley looked after us that evening. Unfortunately, there were still issues with the room. The heating system was extremely noisy throughout the night, with loud banging noises that repeatedly disturbed us. This was very disappointing and certainly not what we would expect from a four-star hotel. Our breakfast experience the following morning was also extremely disappointing. The service appeared disorganised, with three young members of staff talking, laughing and giggling, while there appeared to be no manager or supervisor present. There was nobody greeting guests or explaining how the breakfast service worked. This was particularly concerning for us because my fiancée has a very serious allergy. It would have been reassuring to have a supervisor or manager available and, more importantly, for allergies to be discussed or clearly highlighted. I did not see any member of staff asking guests about allergies, which I found concerning from a food safety perspective. I also noticed that only one table appeared to have their order taken at the table, which happened to be ours. Other guests seemed to have to walk up to the counter themselves to order their food. In my opinion, this does not reflect the level of service I would expect from a four-star establishment. There were also issues with the food and beverage service. The toast appeared to be frozen, with a separate toaster being used away from the breakfast service. The juices were not being kept chilled or on ice, meaning they were being served at a noticeably warm temperature. As someone who works as a Food and Beverage Manager myself, I have to say that I found the overall standard of breakfast service and food presentation particularly poor. Before leaving, we tried to give Keeley some feedback. This was intended as constructive feedback rather than another complaint. Unfortunately, she became quite defensive, which was disappointing to see. This was especially unfortunate because she had been so caring and considerate towards us the previous evening. We were not looking for an argument or trying to cause any problems. All we wanted was for our feedback to be acknowledged with something as simple as, “Thank you, we’ll look into this.” Feedback should be welcomed as an opportunity to improve the guest experience. It was particularly disappointing to leave the hotel on a negative note, especially after Keeley had shown genuine care towards us the night before and was aware of the serious circumstances surrounding my fiancée's recent hospitalisation. Overall, there were some positive aspects, particularly Keeley's assistance when we initially raised our concerns. However, the condition and cleanliness of the room, the excessive noise from the heating system, and the standard of breakfast service and food safety awareness fell well below what I would expect from a four-star establishment. I hope the hotel takes this feedback constructively and uses it as an opportunity to review its housekeeping, maintenance, breakfast operation, allergy procedures and management presence during service. We are not looking to leave on bad terms; we simply feel that honest feedback is important, and it would be a shame if it was not taken seriously.