Kinnitty Castle Hotel in Offaly, Ireland
I'm heading off to the airport to hop on a plane to fly over to England! I'm excited to be visiting Scott's family as well as taking a side trip with him to Madrid, Spain. In lieu of our international trip, I want to share this unique trip we did to Ireland last April.
Ever wanted to know what it's like to stay in a castle? Yes a castle! Scott and I got to attend a wedding reception and stay overnight at Kinnitty Castle Hotel in Offaly, Ireland. The 13th century Gothic revival castle located at the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, has had quite the tumultuous history. The first castle was destroyed in 1209 and has since then been rebuilt a few times by various families and clans, and now operates as a luxury 37 bedroom hotel and has a Georgian style restaurant, Library bar and two private dining rooms. Read more on the full history here.
Some say that due to Kinnitty Castle's turbulent past, some ghost-like presences have been experienced at the castle. The most communicative of spirits is actually a monk (there once stood a Augustinian Abbey on the castle grounds), and other guests tell tales of encounters with different beings. I must say that while I was there during the day, there wasn't really a feeling of uneasiness, but when the sun did go down, I had refused to walk the hallways by myself. Our room in particular is situated at the very end of a hallway, on the third floor and you can only access it via a very narrow, creaky staircase; there is a feeling like if I was alone, it could welcome a presence so I didn't want to be in anywhere alone (even if it was in our own hotel room).
All the wedding guests were up until 4 or 5am, so I made myself stay awake so that I wouldn't have to roam the hallways by myself. We all partook in merriment at the Dungeon Bar downstairs, which has also been known to have the monk spirit sightings.
Our stay at Kinnitty Castle Hotel was very pleasant, nothing beats the history and character of the castle as well as getting to celebrate our friends' union at such a unique venue. The staff there is very nice and accommodating; each room, hallway and space has so much personality which attributes to the overall experience. See more on Kinnitty Castle Hotel here.
