Barberstown Castle
About
See why so many travellers make Barberstown Castle their hotel of choice when visiting Straffan. Providing an ideal mix of value, comfort and convenience, it offers a romantic setting with an array of amenities designed for travellers like you.
Barberstown Castle is a romantic hotel offering a flat screen TV in the rooms, and it is easy to stay connected during your stay as free wifi is offered to guests.
The hotel features 24 hour front desk, room service, and newspaper. Plus, guests can enjoy free breakfast, which has made this a popular choice among travellers visiting Straffan. For guests with a vehicle, free parking is available.
If you are looking for a good pub, you may want to check out Friel's of Straffan while staying at Barberstown Castle.
At Barberstown Castle, your comfort and satisfaction come first, and they look forward to welcoming you to Straffan.
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The castle is set amidst lovely grounds that have a park-like feel, although our visit coincided with rain, limiting our ability to fully explore and enjoy them. Despite this, I could easily envision the grounds being used for outdoor concerts or leisurely strolls.
Breakfast in the quaint breakfast room was a highlight. The meal was delicious and surpassed other Irish breakfasts we've had at different hotels. It was a perfect start to our morning.
Regarding the room itself, while I found the value reasonable given the size of the suite, there were noticeable areas that could benefit from attention. The carpet had some stains, and there were minor cosmetic issues such as visible caulking on the baseboards and peeling wallpaper in the bathroom. These details detracted slightly from the overall grandeur that one expects from a castle stay.
It's important to note that these cosmetic fixes were specific to our room rather than the entire hotel. Despite these minor flaws, Barberstown Castle retains its historic charm and grandeur. With some attention to these details, the castle could offer an even more authentic and luxurious experience for guests.
Overall, our one-night stay was enjoyable, and we departed with fond memories of the castle's ambiance and the warmth of its hospitality.
We had our daughters 30th birthday in Barberstown Castle. We booked it with Samantha the events manager.
Our daughter has profound special needs so we wanted to have a special day with family & friends. We chose the old castle banquet room. Our guests & us were blown away by the rooms ambience & warmth . The choice of food was served piping hot & cooked to perfection. The waiters were so attentive & Richard & Ted we’re on hand to make sure Rebecca’s day went to perfection. I’d highly recommend barberstown castle for any event.
Thank you Barberstown Castle for creating the perfect birthday for our Girl.
Anthony & Lorraine x



A piano player arrived to entertain a bus load of arriving convention attendees and played so loud it was disruptive to a conversational exchange across a table. When the adjoining cocktail reception moved on to another facet of their entertainment package thankfully the heavy metal piano player went with them. The starter was apple and chicory and was encouragingly in size and quite taste with a pronounced variety of flavours from blue cheese walnuts doing their best but failing to deal with a rank salad aftertaste where the economical safe bet rabbit food is thrown on the plate without any embellishing vinegrete. Steak was unremarkable lacking that succulent seasoned flavour from a chef who is focused on a spectacular customer experience.
The attending staff were suitably helpful pleasant and done their very best within a hospitality space that was divided and challenging.
I fully accept its difficult to solve the commercial nature of the hospitality business but I have say I felt the paying restaurant customers were shortchanged on this occasion.
I suspect the regular staff pick up on the customer niceties and preferences on a normal night that elevates a customers night out to an indelible high but tonight their focus area was compromised by a conflicting event.
Nonetheless I thank my brother for bringing me to a performance space that entertained the inspirational guitar offerings of Eric Clapton when he wasn't chasing Patti Boyd around the historical grounds of Baberstown Castle in the County of Kildare.
There was a side exit near to our room we used for smoking, as the only other option was through reception in our pyjamas.
Upon checkout, a different woman at reception said just a minute after I asked to check out, and made a phone call to a member of staff that my room number was checking out. This was not standard procedure, so naturally we were unsure with what was going on. My friend forgot something in the room and ran back up, I was asked to take a seat in the lobby. When my friend returned she said the manager was in our room and was accusing us of smoking in the room saying it’s a criminal offence. My friend replied that she knew that and that is why we did not smoke in the room and if they checked the cameras they would see us using the side exit for smoking. This did not stop the manager from saying we were smoking in the room and found residue of tobacco on the desk as “proof” and said we would be fined. My friend explained that the smell of smoke was likely on our dressing gowns provided by the hotel and that we did not even open the windows once during our stay so it was obvious smoking was not done in the room.
I asked to speak to the manager at reception upon knowing this information, as the booking was done on my card and I was not accepting a smoking fee when we followed the law and smoked outside, not in the room or the hotel.
The receptionist made a phone call and ignored me and addressed my friend saying you already spoke to him, do you want to speak with him again? To which she replied well we don’t know what is going on, can we leave? The receptionist responded with a of course you can leave, making us feel stupid for asking when she is the one who told us to wait.
I have never been treated like this as a paying customer in a hotel. €210 for a deluxe double, for a getaway to get comfortable while suffering from an illness and to be accused of smoking, told it’s a criminal offence and that we would be charged a fee, is totally unacceptable.
It’s a real pity because the hotel itself is beautiful and the staff in the garden bar were professional and polite, and we would have returned and spread the word to family and friends to stay here; had it not been for the issues mentioned above.
I expected better. Really disappointed to be treated like this from such an establishment.



Barberstown Castle, a 4 star Country House & Historic 13th Century Castle in the village of Straffan, Co. Kildare, is the perfect venue for luxurious getaways, special celebrations, weddings, conferences, gala dinners, and private dining.
On our arrival, we were bowled over by the warm, professional welcome from the staff, and the stunning interiors of this unique and beautiful building. Christmas had literally just arrived that morning, and we were surrounded by sumptuous decorations, crackling log fires, a variety of delightful bars, restaurants & public areas including a dramatic Medieval Castle Keep, an Irish Pub, and a Garden Bar where we enjoyed lunch.
Offering delicious bar food and drinks, with great views of the pretty gardens, it’s the perfect bar in which to relax and unwind, and we loved the dishes we ordered from the new winter menu, especially the fresh Grilled Salmon Niçoise Salad, and the tender Salt & Pepper Calamari Pop with a zesty lime & coriander dip.
The Castle has been beautifully and sympathetically upgraded to a 61 Bedroom Failte Ireland Approved Hotel, and we had the privilege of staying in the recently renovated Barton Suite.
Decorated in restful neutral tones, in a classical style, this spacious, comfortable suite was absolutely perfect for a restful stay. With wonderful views over the lovely gardens, and a terrific à la carte breakfast served in the elegant dining room or the striking medieval keep, the whole experience was second to none.
It goes without saying that Barberstown Castle Hotel is a proud member of Ireland’s Blue Book and The Historic Hotels of Europe.
Many thanks to the owners and team at Barberstown Castle for making us so welcome. We can’t wait to make a return visit to this gorgeous hotel

Although I couldn't fault the freshness of the ingredients, the seafood chowder starterlacked the creaminess I like in a chowder. No prawns, mussels or crab meat (not an expectation on my part) and only 1-2 pieces of smoked fish.
The sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce and artichoke made for a good recovery. The steak has never disappointed at Barberstown Castle (whether it's the Barton Rooms Restaurant or The Garden Bar)
The Garden Bar dining area Persuan decor is fabulous and 8 have to say I prefer it to that of The Barton Rooms Restaurant.
My husband and I stayed in Barberstown Castle for 3 nights in August 2024. The cost of our stay was 780euro B&B
On checking in the lady on reception authenticated our card and on doing so she blocked 1230 euro on our bank account without informing us. We discovered this on checking our banking app an hour later. The reason that we were given was that our stay was 780euro and 500 euro was secured for any food or drink we might have during our stay. We were very cross and will not be returning. The 1230eur was not unblocked on our acc .until the day after we came home. No trust. Alice Hally



Food in the Garden room was good but the space lacked atmosphere. The room had tables at one end and sofas at the other, so it was neither a dining space or cosy seating area ( see photo).
I had been looking forward to relaxing by a cosy fire but reception directed us to the garden bar which only had high stools . Eventually I asked the barman if there was another bar and he told us about the Green room which had a bar and lovely sofas with a wood fire for residents. We would never have found it as it was down a corridor lined with bedrooms. However on the Sunday night when we tried to use the same space we were told it was closed.
Breakfast on the Sunday morning was chaotic with no one showing people to their table. My husband ended up setting a table for us both and eventually we managed to grab the attention of a staff member to get some tea. There was a hot buffet which kept running out of food at different times. By the time the kitchen had restocked the eggs the bacon would be gone and vice versa. People were having to go up at different times to get different parts of the hot food. There was no menu on the table and no staff member mentioned anything else on offer except a fry.
Monday mornings breakfast experience was much better with someone to take us to a table and take our order and there was a great menu with lots of options.
The bedroom was very spacious but it looked like no one considered the aesthetics as furniture was just randomly placed without thought.
On check out I told the lady on reception and the owner came to speak to us and said some of the issues would be addressed in future. Hopefully that will be the case as at present it does not justify its inclusion in the blue book of hotels.



From the moment we stepped into the hotel the staff couldn’t be kinder. They showed us the pet policy info which was all common sense and were given our key to our room. The receptionist checked all our details and double checked our dinner reservations for both nights to ensure all was set for us and our pooch. Lots of staff came to greet our dog and gave her loads of cuddles. We entered the room and had a beautiful four post bed for the humans and a beautiful lavish dog bed. The room was fabulous.
We went for our meal both nights in the garden restaurant. The food was outstanding, and the staff were so lovely and kind to our dog. There was also a nice atmosphere among the team of staff throughout our stay which is lovely to see.
Overall we just had a wonderful weekend and we are looking forward to our next opportunity to visit!
Thanks for a wonderful stay to all the team 😊
"Ensure you give yourself plenty of time for booking a pet friendly bedroom, especially at the weekend as I got a sense they are popular room"Read full review
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