Grand Hotel malahide OR Clontarf Castle

Hi All, I'm hoping you guys can help, does anyone have any thoughts on either of these hotels? Been to a wedding there recently? What was it like? we're very torn between the two of them, I did a search through the threads here but there's nothing recent on either place that I could see, any advice / thougts people could offer would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Hi there, well both hotels have a great reputation and nice locations, depends on whether you prefer modern or old style. Clontarf castle had a face lift only a year ago and i have heard fantastic reviews on how fabulous it now looks, the Grand has the lovely sea view but its room wouldnt be as modern etc - I wouldnt say you'd go wrong with either, either will make a fab venue...good luck with decision!

Clontarf Castle is far nicer than The Grand in Malahide in my opinion. It looks fab since they done it up and the food is fab.... The food is not great in The Grand from my experiences.... Hope this helps....

Thanks! keep the thoughts coming, I love the look of clontarf but its more expensive, could afford more of a reception in malahie, ie. a nice arrival reception rather then just teas and coffees but I love the look of clontarf and heard good things about the food, both are quiet local to me so location is good with either one, but malahide is lovely....we're so torn...

I'm just married and had my reception at Clontarf Castle. It was a fantastic setting, staff were great. I definitely would recommend it. If you want any specific info let me know :-)

Hi Shuvvy, brilliant! Hope you had a fantastic day and a big congrats!!!! I really love the castle, one or 2 little concerns, how many guests did you have, was the indigo lounge big enough for the arrival reception? Was it weird having the bar outside the function room? Did you find the dance floor was too small? How was the food and service for the meal? Thanks in advance!

Hi there - i am having my wedding in the Castle but i did veiw both Hotels. I love the castle and the booking point for me was the modern room, the Size and the girl we met to view the hotel - her name was Kim and was wonderful. She made the process so exciting for us. The food is ment to be fab and we are hopefully doing a menu tasting in the next while. the grand is lovely too but there was something about the castle i loved. If you want any info shout!!!!

We had 120 guests in the banqueting hall - we had 11 round tables with a mix of 8 or 10 on each table. The room felt well filled out without being crowded. The indigo lounge was big enough - didn't have a problem with the size of it at all - it's a nice setting too. I actually liked having the bar outside the function room. I know a couple of people on this website rose that issue before. I didn't find that people congregated outside at the bar. TBH I think if the bar was in the room you could end up with people propping up the bar for the night. It was definitely a plus for me not to be looking at the bar at all night. And it's not a million miles away! I know what you mean about the dance floor - I thought it might be too small - but it was fine. It was full nearly all night but with the size it is it wasn't too obtrusive so the tables weren't pushed right back and people could still sit down. The food was great - in all honesty though I didn't really eat much - I had no appetite whatsoever that day! And I really couldn't fault the service - the guy that ran the wedding on the day (Arthur) was absolutely fantastic - couldn't have been more helpful - and it was the first wedding he had done. The wedding co-ordinator Kim doesn't work there anymore - but Adele the new co-ordinator is really great to deal with and I personally found her better than Kim. We upgraded our room to one of the suites - would definitely recommend doing that. We stayed there an extra night aswell - if you can afford it, do it - well worth it.

thanks a million for the reply, yeah have been dealing with adele and she seems lovely, I think I'm really leaning toward the castle alright, just have to take another look at the budget! Sounds like you had a great day! I think I like the bar outside, but I saw others giving out about it on here and I wondered would guests find it weird, but sounds like its ideal and its just outside the main doors so not exactly a trek for anyone!

just to give you a bit of variety - we're going with the grand hotel in malahide in spetember 2008. I could find minimal information on threads here about the Grand - which did concern me initially - so it was refreshing to see your query!! I havent had much dealings with the Grand yet (I'm very laid back ). To be honest for us its all about the location. I live nearby both Clontarf Castle and the Grand Hotel - so faced the same choice as yourself. I've been to 2 weddings in Clontarf Castle and we definitely enjoyed them. my fiances brother got married there. But we both preferred a few things about the Grand better - its location beside the beach, the space of private bar and reception in the hotel, the function room size and the biggie - the penthouse suite for pictures (if it rains) our honeymoon night . They're both great hotels - its just personal taste. PM me if you want more infomation about my choice. If youre based in northside dublin and want suppliers I can fill you in too!!