8.8/10 Excellent! (224 reviews)
This was, without question, the worst hotel experience we have had using Hotels.com in the last 10 years. For reference, this has been well over 50 hotels.
The Killaloe Hotel is billed as a sophisticated 4-star establishment and charges accordingly. I briefly note that there was no coffee in the room (only tea), and the coffee for breakfast was so bad it was undrinkable. However, you can pay €4 for a cappuccino (something I have never been charged for at a 4-star hotel, and admittedly was decent). All in all, the breakfast was average.
Far, far worse was the room and service. Our room was dirty and dated: cobwebs on the walls and ceiling, smudges all over the one little window, mold in the bathroom, bath scum in the tub, candy and stains on the carpet, layers of dust on the headboard, so thick that I could write "DUST" in big capital letters. When we turned the light on in the bathroom, we got moving shadows from a suddenly alive insect colony inside the light.
Here is where things become appalling. We mentioned all this the morning after our first night. When we came in late for our second evening, all was unchanged except the DUST note written in dust!
In fairness, at the end of our stay, we shared a stack of photos, including a video of the insect hive, to the management and staff and stressed there is no way to defend this as representing a 4-star hotel. I think (and I hope) that were truly embarrassed. In any case, they gave us half off, which seemed reasonable.
Reviewed on Jun 29, 2026