The hotel location is good right in the centre of the city, without being above a nightclub (which can be an issue in Kilkenny) and the rooms were clean, with standard facilities. A couple of issues we had with the room were that it was too hot and difficult to sleep in. I'm not sure if the window did open, but we couldn't figure it out at night. The shower is old and difficult to get the temprature correct - it can get very hot.

Breakfast was fine - small hot section, and pastries/cereals and toast. There is a pancake machine, which my son was looking forward to using, but it was broken. Pool is fine, though the changing rooms were very dated and a bit grubby. You have to cross the road to get to the pool, which is a bit of a pain.

Overall the hotel was adequate, though not much more tha a 3 star hotel standard. My only real issue with the hotel was the price. It was well over €300 for one night for 1 adult and 1 child in a standard room. You can pay less for 5 star hotels in Ireland and this definitely wasn't 5 star.

My expectations were high because of the price when booking, but they were not met. I travel to Kilkenny quite regularly, but I will stay elsewhere next time.