We got married in the Moyvalley on New Years Eve and we felt we owed it to the Moyvalley to write this review as soon as we got back from honeymoon. The staff and hotel were amazing the food was exceptional and every single guest commented on how fab the place looked. The rooms, apartments and cottages were all perfect for our guests all spotless clean and everything working perfect. The staff were so accomadating and friendly throught the whole expierence especially Terry, Sheena & Lana. We could not fault the place it was everything we wished for and more. We highly reccomend it as the perfect wedding venue. Thanks again to all who helped made our day go without a hitch. Louise & Steven

We got married here last september.

Everything went great - all the staff were so friendly and helpful and Terry the General Manager was really hands on, always there to make sure everything was going well. It really felt like home for the weekend. We were turely happy with it.

Only 2 small things didn't go exactly to plan :
(1) the cake was never cut up to go out with the afters food .
(2) people were never asked what drink they wanted for the complimentary round but the equivilant in cash was transferred to the bar. It meant some people got a few free drinks while others didn't benefit but that way people were rewarded for staying in the main function room so that worked out ok.

Our main concern was keeping the party together as the bar outside is so near its hard to stop people going in there but at one stage there was nobody behind the bar in the function room. I loved when they closed the outside bar as that meant everyone had to stay in the 1 room so it would have been great if this happened even earlier but I understand it has to serve other hotel guests as well.

But all our guests were very impressed with the accommodation, the food, the wine and the service. Some said they would have liked breakfast served a bit later but it was great we were able to stay up as late as we wanted. The BBQ on the Sunday was fab too - it was a great spread.

All in all, we had a fantastic time and are so glad we chose Moy Valley to celebrate our wedding.

We got married in the Stone House, Moyvalley on 13th Nov, 2009 and has our reception in Balyna House, Moyvalley. They are both just amazing. If you are looking for something different, romantic, amazing and fairytale like this is the place to go. The whole setting is wonderful. The wedding co-ordinators are excellent and all the staff were just so helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. Absolutely no stress. We stayed the night before the wedding and had a lovely relaxed evening with our families and friends. On the moning of the wedding all the lads were able to go for a round of golf while the ladies were getting their hair, make-up etc done. The meal for the reception was excellent. Chef also made our wedding cake which was fabulous. So many people rang and text us afterwards saying it was the best wedding they were ever at. The bedrooms in both the Hotel and Balyna house are all decorated to an excellent standard. I would have no hesitation in recommending this venue to anyone.

Kildare already has the Newbridge Museum, the National Stud and the Japanese Gardens. Now there is a new attraction that represents all that was crazy about hotel developments in Ireland over the last 10 years.

The Moyvalley Hotel is like a white elephant in the middle of nowhere. It's large, sprawling, empty and soulless. With purpose built apartments opposite the main entrance you feel upon arrival that you're driving into a complex somehere in Spain (apart from the rain) that bypassed planning applications. Whilst the staff do their best to lift the weight of the concrete structure off your shoulders, they don't manage it. This is because they lack one of the main qualities you need from the people that you're entrusting your experience to - confidence. At no point did we feel reassured or relaxed by the staff. They didn't know, for example, the price of individual dishes in the main restaurant, anything about the wines on offer, the details of our reservation (hence we were moved 3 times within 20 minutes of arriving), or in the case of the bar manager - how to lay a knife and fork.

The quality of the build and furnishings are exceptional and no expense has been spared. But this in iteslf only exacerbated the thought that it was us, the taxpayer, that was going to be paying for all of high tech mood lighting, beautiful stone garden furniture and artwork.

Our room rate was EUR 150 for one night's B&B which we felt was a good rate when booking. This was especially so when we read the reviews in the Georgina Campbell guide and here on Trip Advisor. However, our first thoughts when entering the empty hangar of a reception and then traipsing down a corridor that would have made an airport business hotel in Eindhoven seem atmospheric was that EUR 75 was too much. After being put into two rooms that made us want drive 200 miles home immediately, we were kindly moved to a set of attractive terraced cottages. Both the inside and exterior were designed to be reminiscent of the 1950s (with modern equipment though) and many people will love this. I didn't as it reminded me of married quarters in an army barracks - but I appreciated the designer's efforts anyway.

When eating we then had a choice of the restaurant or bar. We chose the bar because the restaurant was virtually empty and we were craving for some type of atmosphere. In fact, we made the right choice as the food was well done bar fare.

If you see my other reviews it is unlike me to be critical of a hotel but if asked whether I would recommend Moyvalley I would have to say no. Not because it is terrible but because you never once felt that the people that built the hotel or ran it, were doing it for love or the fact that they were good at it. I would rather a friend's money went to the types of places and hosts that have made Ireland famous for its welcome but are now seeing their livelihood disappear because of exactly this type of white elephant development. In fact a government report said that there is a surplus of 15,000+ hotel rooms in Ireland at the moment. I know of 54 that could go immediately!