Deer Park Hotel and Golf Course

3 out of 5 stars3 Stars - 2 Reviews and 238 Opinions

Howth, Howth, County Dublin, 13, Ireland

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Deer Park Hotel Golf & Spa
Deer Park Hotel and Golf Course Deer Park Hotel and Golf Course Deer Park Hotel and Golf Course Deer Park Hotel and Golf Course

71%

Satisfaction Average
Excellent
28%
69
Very Good
22%
55
Average
20%
48
Poor
12%
30
Terrible
15%
36
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Value Score Poor Value

Costs 60% more than similarly rated 3 star hotels

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  • suvanki's Profile Photo

    Lovely location with stunning views.

    by

    I had been wanting to stay in Howth, and was pleasantly surprised, when I came across this hotel on Venere.com and it was within my budget- 44GBP for single occupancy of twin room, en-suite and breakfast included - plus free use of the indoor pool, gym, sauna, steam room and classes- Spa treatments available at extra cost. Well I'm afraid that I didn't get to use the pool etc, but Next time!!!!

    I'd arrived a few hours early (Check in is from 15.00), but the friendly and helpful receptionist soon found a room that I could have straight away (I don't think the hotel was too busy) Well, I was very impressed - I had a view straight over the golf course to Irelands Eye!
    It was from Deer Park, that HG Wells was inspired to comment on " the finest views west of Naples."

    My room was comfortable - twin beds, wardrobe space, bedside tables with lamps, dressing table/writing desk, armchair, TV, with Irish and BBC channels, teamaking equipment, free WIFI, helpful guide to the hotel and history of the Castle and things to do in Howth.
    Bathroom-Shower, WC, twin basins, heated towel rail, hairdryer. Loo rolls, towels, tissues
    Complimentary shower gel/shampoo/soap/shower cap.

    I didn't have long to enjoy the view, or explore the hotel, as VTer annemariebyrne had kindly offered to take me out for the day, and we were heading to Carlingford.

    Returning later, I was too late to eat in the bar-it closed at 21.00 for food (Food is served throughout the day). I had a 1/2 pint of bitter and a packet of crisps, which was fine as I'd eaten earlier. The Hotel restaurant is The Four Earls, which has an extensive menu - see the website.

    My initial plan to go into Howth, and find a bar with live music was thwarted, when I realised how long the walk was up and down the driveway, which was unlit, and was lined with trees and shrubs - plus the castle looked quite forbidding in the dark. I'd seen that there was a courtesy shuttle bus, but I wasn't sure if this was available at this time of year. It wasn't too difficult a choice, as I was tired from my early start, and an afternoon hunting leprechauns in Carlingford !!

    I enjoyed a relatively good nights sleep here (I don't sleep well, especially in hotels), which I was pleased about.

    Breakfast was served from 07.30 - 09.30 - Initially I was told that breakfast wasn't included in my booking, however I queried this - my booking form stated B&B - The waiter returned and confirmed that I didn't need to pay. I think it was 12 Euros for the Irish breakfast, less for the continental option.

    Self service for juices, cereals etc - choice of yogurt, grapefruit too.
    Waiter service for cooked breakfast- I had the full Irish - Bacon, sausages, black pudding, white pudding, hash brown, grilled tomato, mushrooms and baked beans plus egg (choice of fried/poached or scrambled) toast, tea or coffee.

    I enjoyed my breakfast-I was hungry, and I had a busy day planned.
    It did appear that most of the ingredients had been pre-cooked and kept warm, but the egg was freshly cooked I think. This was a bit of a shame, but I'm guessing that as there were only a few guests, staffing was reduced accordingly. Anyway, I ate everything on my plate - it was edible, just a pity that the locally sourced ingredients didn't get the treatment they deserved.

    The breakfast room has views over the golf course. There was a steady stream of golfers and 'gym bunnies' sweeping into the car park. Apparently this is a popular golf course as it's open to the public -ie no membership required.

    Sadly, I had to check out - I would have like to have stayed and relaxed a bit longer, but I wanted to see the castle and Howth harbour, before heading back by DART to Dublin.

    Prior to my stay here, I'd read very mixed reviews of this hotel- Reviewers either stated it was the Best, or Worst place they'd stopped at. Some mentioned dirty rooms and peeling wallpaper-well I didn't see anything like this - The corridor to my room, and my room itself was clean and nicely decorated. I'm guessing that there is a different wing?

    Well I'd certainly stay here again, and would recommend it.
    Probably not suitable for anyone that wants to be 'in the thick of the nightlife etc', but it's a Spa hotel at a reasonable price. (Although the treatments aren't that cheap)

    Unique Quality: Great Views over to Dublin and Irelands Eye. Friendly helpful staff. Great location - 20 minutes from Dublin Airport, 9 miles from Dublin Centre, 15 minute walk from Howth DART station - though the hotel will arrange pick-up.

    Apparently the Rhododendron gardens are worth seeing.

    Although Howth Castle is closed, you can view from the outside.

    Also in the grounds is The Kitchen in the Castle Cookery School and the Transport museum (closed at my visit)

    The walk down the drive was quite pleasant, with lots of attractive established trees and shrubs, with plants growing through the undergrowth. The brightly coloured daffodils were in full bloom too.

    Directions: From the train station, turn Right and continue along the road, until you see the sign for Deer Park Hotel. Continue up the driveway past Howth Castle and it's in front of you.

  • orlikins's Profile Photo

    Deerpark Hotel, Howth's top hotel

    by

    Seeing as I only live 2 miles away from Howth, I've never stayed overnight there.

    However, the views from the Hotel are amazing. You clearly can see the isthmus and the sea on both sides of it, as well as Dublin Bay and various local landmarks.

    Howth Castle is on the grounds as you come in, but more about that later!

    Unique Quality: http://www.dublintourist.com/Regional/Howth/Accommodation/

    Directions: Howth, Co Dublin, before you enter the village from Sutton/Dublin

More about Deer Park Hotel and Golf Course

Great location, pity about the rooms

by TripAdvisor Member rachm77

Just wanted to add my voice to the many already stating the obvious - this hotel could be amazing with a lick of paint and a bit more care.

Overall we really enjoyed our stay, but that was due to the great location, good restaurants in the area and easy access to Dublin rather than the hotel itself. On the plus side the pool area is great, my husband and friend enjoyed a few rounds of golf and the bathroom and bed were ok. It's really the ambience and slightly tatty decor which let this place down - oh and the truly awful breakfast. I probably would go back, but wouldn't pay full price (we'd taken advantage of a good 'online offer').

Impressed

by TripAdvisor Member shanecon

We have just returned from a weekend break at The Deer Park Hotel and Golf spa and had an excellent time.

I found the hotel to be what I'd expect from a 3 star hotel with one or two added bonuses, these being namely; quality/reasonably price golf (2 -18 hole, 2 - 9 hole, 1 - 12 hole par 3 & a pitch & putt course), a fantastic location, great views, good food & reasonable price.

Ok, being, I like to think still quite young, the decor wasn't to my choosing but there was nothing THAT wrong with it. We loved the fact that a short walk to the bottom of the hotel drive and a 200 yds turn right you were right at the local DART railway station the gave regular access to Dublin City centre for only 2 - 4 euros. And there's a rather nice pub beneath the station called 'the Bloody Stream' (look out for the Brian O'Driscoll look-a-like barman.

We didn't see that much of Howth but what we saw looked pleasant.

Would I go back or recommend it? Yes. Definitely, in fact we're already planning our return.

Worse breakfast in the world - Best spa and pool

by TripAdvisor Member travelling_everywher

I arrived by Dart train service from Connolly station, Dublin which was fast and easy. From the train station you do have a good 15 min walk to the hotel up a hill and I would not reccommend if you are not fit. First impressions were beautiful setting around golf course, ok entrance, nice room. I was given a large double bedroom even though just me. Not that friendly not that unfriendly. Room had fridge and toaster and kettle and t.v. but no hair dryer. A beautiful spa which is why i booked and pool. Steam room and sauna and jets in pool.
This hotel is really let down by the breakfast. Staff look like they want to kill you in your sleep - do they spit in your breakfast questionable?? Greasy dirty waiter and crockery. Eastern european staff who are obviously underpaid and struggle at times with english. Food should carry a health warning. When ordering cooked breakfast be prepared for a 30 min wait or better still eat else where and dont bother. I tried various options ie. full irish - greasy enough to clog all your arteries in one plateful, cheap sausage and just yuk everything tasted the same - grease. Second attempt was poached egg on toast as toast was only thing edible. Eggs were so hard u could bounce them off the wall. The glasses for the [--] juice were so dirty I went through 4 to find one then had to clean it myself b4 poring juice. Filthy coffee pot, sour milk enough said.

Management wonder around pleasently but did not seem to do anything and did not seem to care.

I would stay again cos it was cheap the room was quite gd and mainly for the spa. Eat anyway else.

Just say no

by TripAdvisor Member neha21

Sadly, this was booked through Dublin's Tourism Office. They should be ashamed of their high acclaim. We booked two nights and left after the first one (would've departed sooner but we had arrived at 8pm). Everything was broken in the room: door would not lock, tv did not work, coffeepot rusted inside, and the entire hallway reeked like
some animal had died recently. We changed rooms three times (I've never had to change rooms once) and it was the same thing over and over--more of the same. Broken lamps, rusted and exposed pipes, unbearable odor, dirty furniture and sheets, etc. The tourism office rated it grand and excellent and called it a resort. We thought with the words spa and golf in the name, we'd be okay, but boy were we fooled. The indoor pool, which we didn't plan on using, did not
"work" according to staff. The hallways and rooms were icebox cold and the heat just never came. I have never been so miserable and I've stayed at my share of horrific hotels. My sister's asthma acted up and terrified me.

Avoid at all costs

by TripAdvisor Member MsManda

I wouldn't usually be so negative about a hotel but this one takes the biscuit. We stayed for a night when there was a great deal of 90 euro per night plus breakfast. We went with our six month old daughter.
When we turned off the road into the property we thought 'Wow!!'. That quickly ended when we were greeted by surly staff and a baltic bedroom. We asked for a heater or for the heat to be turned up but they couldn't locate a manage to do this??? Decor was dated and the room was socially clean but dated circa 1970. We managed to get a change of room to another upstairs boudoir but it stank of cat pee. I jest not. We went to another one which was again just about acceptable. It did have a beautiful view over Dublin Bay. We were keep awake all night by people in the corridors banging the fire doors.
The restaurant ' The Four Earls' was ok, service was slow but the food was good with really fresh vegetables.They were fairly baby friendly too, however I felt it was abit pricey for what was on offer Thats were the 'love affair' ends as the breakfast was horrific. Preheated buffet style with poor quality fayre. Abyssmal.
The only thing going for this place is the swimming pool, it is really nice and they have treatment rooms for beauty therapy. I'm afraid that this is not enough to redeem this hotel. It needs a total refurb and staff training in social skills.It's a pity really as the location is gorgeous and it is a stones throw from the airport and M1.
If you have lots of money to spend on a low quality product, by all means go ahead. Avoid at all costs at weekends from March to October as lots of noisy Dubs have thier weddings and it get very crazy. I would recommend looking at other venues in the locality as Howth is gorgeous with lots to see and do. Phil Lynotts grave (from Thin Lizzy), farmers market on Sunday, beautiful walks and great fishmongers.

Outstanding location

by TripAdvisor Member Silk_purse99

Myself and partner, avid travellers to Ireland spent 5 fantastic days at this hotel in July/ august.
Howth is a superb place to stay - HG Wells was right - Howth has the best view west of Naples. We spent 5 days walking the cliffs, sampling the local food and drinking the black nectar.
Deer Park is unique, the largest golf complex in Ireland and the VIEWS!!! Superb!
The hotel itself is very laid back and we appreciated this quality.
The Dart railway link to Dublin is ideal and we were so impressed by the local people, especially a representative from The Bloody Stream, a local hostelry who insisted in driving us to the hotel from the pub.
Heaven on earth.

Strange, dated, mediocre hotel - fabulous location

by TripAdvisor Member Tripper43

Stayed here for one night at the end of our few days in Ireland. As everyone else has said, it has a great location and views and is probably a good choice for a cheapo golf weekend with the lads - the golf course looked OK to me but I'm no judge. As to the rest... you pass the original castle to get to the hotel and this is stunning, apparently owned by one of the oldest, grandest families in Ireland or Europe. So my theory is that they're holed up in faded grandeur, unable to pay to decorate or have the heating fixed and eeking a living out of the plebs in their hotel at the end of the drive (out of sight is out of mind). The last thing they're paying for is a refurb. This is one of the few cases where you'd just wish the developers would get in there.

The hotel architecture is 1960s prefab golf club. It's shabby, leaky and unattractive. it has the feel of a cheap B&B on a grand scale rather than a hotel. The rooms do vary - some are better than others, but expect nothing special. The telly didn't work properly in either of ours. (Go to the gym if you want to watch TV as each tradmill has its own screen - totally out of keeping with
the rest of the hotel) The bed was so soft (and sloped head to foot)we both ended up sleeping in a dip and waking with backache. No proper wardrobe, just a short rail behind a curtain. Nothing in the mini bar just milk. No lift! The pool is nice as was the gym (locals can join the health club) and I didn't try the spa.

The jolly girl on the front desk and the lechy bar manager were the exception. Most of the other staff were super-morose Eastern Europeans who looked quite scary.

Breakfast was edible and the dining room looked like it'd been decorated since the 70s so it stood out a bit. I wouldn't eat dinner there - especially not with the choice of lovely looking places in Howth, which is stunning. We spent the morning there watching fishing boats and spotting harbour seals in brilliant sunshine. Visit Howth by all means, and only stay in this establishment if you get a great deal.

Tired, dirty and a real disappointment

by TripAdvisor Member Lucien80

Arrived at the hotel in the pouring rain just as it was getting dark and did not have an opportunity to appreciate the magnificent views until the next morning.

Room had furniture that should have been gorgeous (lovely dark mahogany) but was scruffy and chipped. It was nearly impossible to watch the television due to dreadful static. Everything in the room looked grubby and old and was not particularly clean. There was no wardrobe, just an alcove with a curtain across it with a shelf and hanging rail.

I made the mistake of putting some clothes on the shelf and had to attack a jumper with a damp towel the next morning as it was covered in dust.

We did not want to use the kettle as it was very badly furred up and the plug was cracked. The fridge was discoloured and dirty and the bathroom had very bad mildew around the bath and the sink.

The bed was very large but the mattress was very old and saggy and the bedlinen seemed to be made for a standard double when the bed was obviously a twin bed.

Cleaning of the room was superficial at best. I used a glass from the bathroom for some juice and left it sitting on the bedside table the next day when we went out and it was just left there.

Reception were delightful, very helpful when on two occasions, our keycard would not work (the first, they gave us a new one, the second, a helpful porter showed us where to hit the card reader as the connection was loose). The restaurant menu was odd to say the least but had excellent soup, steaks and salad and passable desserts. The service was a little slow and both waitresses a little rude at times but not dreadful.

The hotel is very close to Howth Harbour (and some excellent fish and chips) and to the DART if you plan to go into Dublin.

The common areas of the hotel are smart, the staff (on the whole) helpful and friendly but the rooms are just vile, to the extent that we considered leaving early (my travelling companion does not like to complain).

This hotel could be wonderful, with a fantastic location, lovely large rooms and a good team on front of house.

However, they need to spend some serious money on the bedrooms to actually start looking and feeling like a hotel instead of a dosshouse.

Avoid at all costs!

by TripAdvisor Member Helpful1Louth

Never have I been in such a sub standard hotel. I dont know how they get away with having any stars at all, never mind 3!
Four of us took two twin rooms for a weekend. Judging from their website it looks fabulous. Little did we know what we were letting ourselves in for.
The list is endless. One of our rooms had little or no heat, the other was like a sauna. When asking the duty manager about this, he just shrugged his shoulders and said it was "unfixable". The plugs & sockets in the rooms were falling apart. A definite health & safety hazard. During the night the smoke alarm in the rooms went off twice, which was a worrying thought!
The showers were hardly spitting out water, which was cold anyway. The same went for the showers in the pool area.
Breakfast was a nightmare. The quality of food was substandard overall, and we almost had to beg staff (when they did appear) for tea & toast.
The bedclothes had numerous undefinable stains. The furniture is old. We had no remote for the tv, which had bad reception anyway. The worst was still to come when we discovered a used condom to the side of one of the beds...Just goes to show the level of cleaning done to the rooms!
Throughout the hotel the staff were unfriendly and rude; the only exception to this were the waiting staff at dinner who had a fulltime job excusing the mix-ups in the kitchen.
Although the spa in the hotel is clean and our treatments were of good quality, the staff were nowhere to be seen at the spa reception when we wanted to pay.
The so called Gardens the website boasts is nothing more than a muddy track, which is unkept even in winter with paint pots and other rubbish strewn along the way.
The only good thing about the hotel is the views of Howth. The whole place needs refurbishing and staff who actually like working in the service industry! Never again

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Address: Howth, Howth, County Dublin, 13, Ireland