Hotel is right in the heart of Kilkenny and has a gorgeous view of the medieval mile and castle. A…read moreshort walk to Smithwick's and some really great local bars. Staff was excellent, but a little slow. Rooms were not ready for us at our arrival at 3 pm and wait staff at dinner took a while to come take our orders/bring our food. Rooms were nice overall but felt slightly dated. Would absolutely recommend staying here again.

The River Court Hotel is a lovely place to stay during your time in Kilkenny. It is right on the…read moreriver and within very close walking distance of pretty much every attraction within the city. When we arrived on our first day the front desk staff were able to check us in early and even upgraded our room to a castle view which was an exciting surprise! Our room was comfortable although one thing to keep in mind is that the hotel does not have air conditioning in the hallways and rooms, although it was cool enough at night to keep our windows open and the rooms do come with a small fan. The complimentary breakfast in the morning was very nice and the pastries (especially the chocolate croissants!) were delicious and a wonderful way to start our days before exploring Kilkenny. The hotel does have complimentary parking, which was extremely useful. We parked our car at the hotel when we first arrived and didn't end up moving it until checking out two days later since everything was so walkable in the city. I would highly recommend staying at the River Court Hotel!

Wonderful location. Great access to everything Kilkenny has to offer. The staff was just wonderful…read more Some of the nicest people we have encountered while traveling. Included breakfast was made to order from a menu. Rooms were of good size and functional. Definitely recommend staying here.

Everything about this hotel was really good. Can't go as far as say it was exceptional, but it was…read morereally really nice for what it was. It's very close to everything so that means everything is in walking distance. They have complementary parking on site that they don't charge you for. The bed was comfortable. The room was clean. The service staff was really nice. The only reason it's not getting five stars they don't have a fitness center. We would definitely come back and probably will be back and visit this hotel.

Kilkenny's brand new leisure centre boasts a 25m pool, an outdoor running track, floodlit astroturf…read morepitches, gym and aerobics studio among other things. It's easily the best (actually, I think it's the only) leisure centre in Kilkenny. You can join up long term or you can pay for once-off pool/gym sessions. Look out for their special off peak rates for the pool where you can swim for one hour for only 4 euro.

wear your wellies and prepare to get down and dirty! this little pet farm is located just at the…read moreoutskirts of Carlow town. there are a few animals, although not too many actual farm animals but you can see a cow or two in the distance. but they do have rabbits, snakes, guinea pigs and some falabella ponies and donkeys. the children get to handle and hold the small animals under supervision of the farm staff and then get a ride on the wee pony or the donkey for the older children. there are plenty of tractors and go-carts to ride on. basically this place is good for at least 2 hours fun for the children. there is an indoor cafe for the adults. i believe that the farm are going to have a little musuem for antique farm equipment, they are only open about 1 year i think.

This is one place that is great for kids as they have lots to do and giving the adults a well…read moresought break great place for camping been coming the past 5 years and our kids love it from 15,10 and 5 year old they totaly enjoy the time spent here the cafe is well priced and petting farm,barrell train,play ground,hay bales is great for young kids and most of all for me is family time in the afternoon (with no wifi)only when your in the cafe. This is the best campsite that we have stayed at in a long time and will be a long time finding one to beat it thats just my view everyone to their own.

The only place in Kilkenny to train in traditional jiu-jitsu, the club trains twice a week (Mondays…read moreand Wednesdays) offering both adult and kids classes. Anyone can join and they also offer 12 week self defence courses every so often for those who want to do a once-off course. The club is affiliated with the World Kobudo Federation and hosts an annual international martial arts seminar in St. Kieran's College gym every March. Members also have the opportunity to travel with the club to international seminars all over Europe. The standard here is excellent and the instructers are knowledgable and approachable.

Best place to stay in Ireland. Amazing staff…read more Felt like I was in a luxury home with 5 star service. I came for a few nights and stayed a week. As well as I came back for a few nights at the end of my trip in Ireland. Rooms are lovely and huge and well appointed. Restaurant is beyond delicious and the Irish breakfast buffet is bountiful, decadent And delicious. The staff throughout the hotel and restaurant make you feel pampered and important. Also everyone is very informative with information on things to do in the general area and day trips. Countryside is lovely and charming and a true castle is across the way ..

An excellent experience here at The Step House Hotel…read more The staff really excelled and were very helpful. We were staying nearby Borris and needed to find somewhere to watch Ireland play in the Six Nations. Cue the Step House. As we were stragglers in terms of arriving in time, we still managed to find some good seats. There was a good crowd and a great atmosphere here for the rugby. A bit of banter with one of the barmen during the game paid off post match when he sorted us out with a table for some dinner. Then he waited on us really fantastically. Really attentive. And the food was great too.

Kiltorcan Raceway:…read more Our company booked a group Grand Prix session at Kiltorcan Raceway during September 2019. From start to finish everything and everyone at Kiltorcan Raceway was amazing and accommodating! The booking process was easy, on arrival the staff were extremely welcoming (there's also a seating area with pool table for use when waiting!). The way the race worked and all the rules of the Raceway were clearly explained and as it was a dull and rainy day we were offered protective jumpsuits and gloves to wear. Once we were all kitted out it was straight to the track! The karts were all ready and waiting for us and we were shown how to use them and had the opportunity to adjust the seating to our liking with a staff member. Once the practice laps and race were under way the staff were jotted around the track to be on hand should any karts spin out or hit the tyre walls. Once the race was over we had an award ceremony for the top three drivers as offered by the Raceway and they also accommodated our group bringing our own trophies for a longer award ceremony too! Altogether Kiltorcan Raceway was an absolutely brilliant activity for our staff day out! A really professional outfit with lovely and helpful staff I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone who was looking for a group activity in the area!!

Great hotel right next to everything! But also live band at night and no Ac so you'll want windows…read moreopen and may be up later then intended then lol. Rooms feel unique. Was a little disappointed with housekeeping we came to things empty and they never refilled them for us. The restaurant ember was also amazing food and very attentive friendly staff. Right next to shops pubs convince stores and a car park. Location was the best. I'd skip the breakfast add on here and go across the street, tons of unique places to eat at.

When we arrived in Kilkenny, we knew our first stop would be the hotel to drop our bags (since we…read morewere well early before check in time). When we approached the hotel, we realized that it was centrally located and very nice without being overly fancy or too expensive. After our Castle tour, we returned to the hotel to check in and again (in Kilkenny) the staff was very friendly and helpful.  Our room was facing the side street and was overall very clean and nice. It was on the 1st floor but in the states, it would be considered the 2nd floor as the actual first floor is called the "ground floor". This meant unfortunately when people were seated below us at the restaurant patio outside, sometimes their cigarette smoke would waft into our room. It wasn't so bad but the street noise was problematic... Even though we went to bed after 10pm and we only stayed one night on a Sunday night, the music from the Left Bank was so loud that we had trouble sleeping, even after closing the windows. Had it not been for these two aspects, we would have really loved the hotel room and found that it was clean and comfortable. We had some bottled (non-plastic) waters in the room, and iron, hair dryer, comfortable beds, etc.  The hotel bar (The Brasserie) was also advertising live music, so we checked that out too. It was very nice inside but the music wasn't quite loud enough for us to fully enjoy so we called it quits after a round of drinks. For more recommendations and tips from our Ireland trip... Follow @vanmblin