Woodlands Hotel - Waterford, Ireland     

Thankfully I didn't actually stay at the woodlands but did attend a function there over the course of a weekend. I have no idea what the bedrooms are like but if the state of the common areas of the hotel is anything to go by, I am glad that I didn't get to try one out. The reception and bar are dull, souless spaces with a smell of deep fat frying permanently. The bar food was expensive and poor to mediocre in quality. Getting a drink on Saturday night, despite the presence of 3 staff, took 25minutes standing at the bar. I could perhaps get over all of that were it not for the state of the toilets which were littered with paper..etc and showed no sign of being cleaned at any stage. Boy was I glad that the Woodlands was full and I had to stay elsewhere !

I stayed a this hotel on a short break (3 days) with my family. We really enjoyed the whole experience. The staff were very friendly, from the receptionist who arranged help with our bags up to our bedroom, to the typical friendly Irish barman, who gave us some excellent recommendations on things to do in the local area. The bedrooms were very spacious, which is very important to us, especially with two small kids. The pool area was of a really high standard, very clean with nice staff and has a kids pool as well for the little kids. We went to Tramore and Dunmore East on day outings with the children and found that there was lots to do. The price of the amusements in Tramore is a bit expensive, but the surf school seems good value, although we did not try it - maybe on our next trip! Dunmore East is a delight, the marina and thatch cottages are so picturesque. The food in the hotel is good, I was a bit worried having read some of the other reviews, we ate there on the first night and enjoyed it very much.