Summerhill House Hotel

Absolutely terrible experience, paid over the odds in comparison to far more superior hotels in the area ,for what we thought would be a lovely stay in a beautiful house for valentines .How wrong can you be? Arrived to a “ crematorium “atmosphere, no guests, no atmosphere,shabby decrepit decor ,and no bar despite being advertised -so we went straight to bed at 8 O Clock.The entire place needs major work, the house was probably once beautiful but now is just rundown and no amount of candles can disquise that. Plugs weren’t working in our room ,” clean”towel in our room had a clump of thick black hair in it and the lift was shabby and dirty and reflective of the rest of the hotel.Breakfast was unappetising and mostly cold.Told receptionist on the way out we were deducting 30 Euro due to the various issues and we still over paid at that. In fairness she apologised ,but was waiting on her manager to show up- presumably she did because the 30 Euro has been removed from our account in spite of the issues- customer service is clearly non existent too.Don’t be fooled as we were by nice photos and clever marketing, all they were short of was Jack Nicholson and a set of twins a la “ The Shinning”- Do yourself a favour and AVOID 😡

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.