I spent 2 nights in this hotel recently with my daughter, now aged 4. What a wonderful, relaxing experience it was - I would not hesitate to recommend this hotel to anyone, whatever the purpose of their trip.

First impressions on arrival; a lovely big building set off the road between the village of Oranmore and Galway city. Reception was bright and comfortably furnished, and there was a very peaceful atmosphere form the moment we walked in. It is often the case when entering a hotel of this quality that travellers with small children can feel very unwelcome and out of place; I have often felt under pressure to keep the little one absolutely silent at all times to avoid ruining the experience for other guests. That was not the case here at all, my daughter was given the same warm welcome as all of the other guests, staff members going out of their way to chatter with her and keep her entertained.

We were given a room on the ground floor and I was delighted with the space and comfort within. The bathroom was spotlessly clean and a good size too, with a powerful shower that blasted plenty of hot water out in the mornings. The beds were super-comfortable, with crisp white duvets and puffy pillows. With the curtains closed, the room was pitch dark and perfectly silent....if you need a good nights sleep, then this is the place for you! I was surprised to find there was a family with small children staying just next door - we hadnt heard a peep all night. The sound insulation must be very good in this hotel!

Breakfast was good, the choice was plentiful and the hot food was cooked to perfection. Nothing was too much trouble for the smiling staff, we felt very well looked after.

We used the swimming pool several times during our stay, my daughter being a bit of a water baby. The pool was smallish in size but mostly empty so not a problem for us. The changing rooms were quite chilly due to the ventilation - but this was necessary to keep the floors and walls dry, and ensured we got changed very quickly after our swim! There was a row of hairdriers for use by patrons, and even a set of hair straighteners for those with the time and the inclination, all kept hanging safely out of the reach of small hands.

All of this was great, of course, but the thing that added most to our stay and the thing that I cannot praise highly enough, was the friendliness of the staff. Not one person was spotted without a smile on their face, and as I said before nothing was too much trouble. The staff either really love what they do, or have been chosen very carefully, but it was so nice to be made to feel so welcome throughout our stay. From the man on the desk at the pool who remembered my daughters name, to the unseen chef in the restaurant who somehow knew on the second morning of our stay that my daughter was the guest with the strange aversion to parsley, and remembered to leave it off her plate, everyone in this hotel did their bit to make our stay as enjoyable as possible.

Stay here, its a really fantastic hotel with wonderful staff.