Hastings Hotel Slieve Donard

We've always regarded Slieve Donard as a great hotel. We've previously used the publicly advertised ESB charger and often enjoyed a bite to eat while the car charged. Our latest experience has left us wondering whether the customer experience is running on a flat battery. We arrived at ten mins to midnight one evening solely to use the publicly advertised ESB EV charger. The charger worked perfectly. A few days later, another parking charge arrived. The hotel customer service likes to point out there are 22 signs on site and that the car park is private property. They aren’t so good at pointing out that they are hidden amongst foliage, not illuminated, don’t make specific reference to EV charging points. The EV charging bays contain no specific parking instructions, the parking signs aren't illuminated after dark, and nothing at the charger makes it obvious that ParkingEye's terms apply. If you're arriving close to midnight with a low battery, using information online and via a charger app, you're looking for the charger and not taking part in a treasure hunt for badly placed signs in the dark. We escalated a complaint to the General Manager who responded promptly. Unfortunately, each reply did not address our concerns. Multiple responses state the signs are there as if repeating that will improve visibility or customer experience. We revisited in daylight and yes, the signs are there but they are badly positioned, close to foliage, most are not illuminated and all are within designated black tarmac spaces. But can you see them in the dark? Do they contain the right information for EV users in designated green parking bays? Does the information provided online reflect the service provided? Not in our opinion. EV chargers attract visitors and customers. On this occasion we needed it late at night but at other times we charge the car, use the hotel's facilities and have previously encouraged others to do the same. Isn’t that what hospitality is all about? Perhaps that's the real question for Marine & Lawn. When someone arrives late at night with a low battery, what should they remember about their visit? The warmth of Irish hospitality or parking charges? A five-star hotel should leave guests talking about the welcome not the parking. Five-star hospitality isn't tested when everything goes right. It's tested when a customer says, “Something about this experience didn't feel right.” Five-star hospitality isn't measured by whether you can defend a sign, not even 22 of them. It's measured by whether you're willing to ask if the customer's experience could have been better. Our disappointment wasn't receiving a parking charge. It was discovering that, for a five-star hotel, defending a badly placed badly written signs, the process seemed more important than understanding the customer experience. They might have 22 signs now but they have definitely lost the five-star hospitality. Customer service at the Slieve Donard Hotel might be plugged in but the socket is definitely switched off. If you are an EV user like us, avoid or you will get a shock for sure!

Reception staff are excellent and very welcoming, food in the bar was very overpriced for what we had and to crown it a glass of very ordinary wine was £17 . Also breakfast next morning was definitely not what you expect from this hotel, who serves a bowl of defrosted strawberries on a buffet!!!!!!!! Just couldn’t believe it.

Definitely not a 5 star hotel compared to others I have stayed in. Breakfast nothing special, quite basic. Hotel room small very dark and dated. On arrival into room no TV remote to be found and a layer of dust over wardrobe shelves and ornamental Dec above bed had to highlight this at reception to get house keeping back to room. Staff in bar young and undertrained forgot about our order until we went up to the bar for it. Even outside gardens overgrown with weeds don't seem to put any effort into the details needed to earn the 5 star rating.