Rochestownpark Reviews 1

First off, our room wasn't nearly so posh as shown on their website. We weren't expecting an ultra-luxury hotel, but neither were we expecting something more akin to a motor lodge. The place certainly didn't live up to its 'Four-Star' reputation.
The room was clean, yet uncomfortably humid and stuffy given that it was rather unseasonably warm for this time of year in Ireland. Unlike other hotels we lodged in over in Ireland, there were no electric fans in the rooms to circulate the stuffy air. The en-suite bath was especially cramped, making it rather difficult for two people to be using it simultaneously. Unlike what we Americans may be accustomed to, there were not some of the basic amenities in the bath, such as hand lotion or hair conditioner.
The majority of staff were happy, smiling and eager to serve -- the kinds of people and faces that come of mind when thinking of Ireland as "the land of a thousand welcomes." However, there were some staff who may have been demonstrating overt Anti-American sentiment, because one of us was oddly refused 'pre-paid' breakfast service. We chose to stay at Rochestown largely in part because of the full Irish breakfast that is available and booked our reservation accordingly (two adult breaksfasts). On the morning after our first night of the stay, we had a delightful experience at breakfast, with good food that could be ordered for table service by menu. (We typically like to avoid buffets in Ireland because there seem to be fewer sanitary precautions taken to protect patrons from other's coughs and sneezes, etc. For example, many foods are just out in the open with no covering whatsoever and no sneeze-guards as are often routinely found here in the United States.) The food was savory and delicious and the dining hostess and table server were joyful and acommodating. Given the fine experience we had on the first morning of our stay, we looked forward to the same level of greeting and service the very next day. However, our experience was the polar opposite! The dining hostess greeted us in a curt fashion and had the most dour look on her face. She announced that only one breakfast had been booked and paid for, which was NOT our understanding and directed us to take up the matter with the reception staff. We did and were appalled to find that the reception staff could not locate our reservation. We didn't think there would be any worry, given that we had our booking number. We gave her the booking number but that wasn't good enough! She wanted to see an email from the hotel to us with details! Perhaps the problem had to do with the staff who speak ESL, or maybe it may have to do with something dodgy going on. Rochestown Hotel is not the only place nor the only vendor in Ireland by which we appear to have been targeted as an easy mark for such tactics as being refused service for things already paid for.