My husband and I stayed at Cregg Castle the first night of our trip to Ireland. I cannot imagine a more relaxing location. It was a very quiet and cozy bed and breakfast.

The highlight was the music played by our hosts, Pat and AnnaMarie, by the fireplace in the family room. It felt like our own private concert and literally served as a lullaby after a long day of travel. Another highlight was the breakfast. I felt it was the best breakfast we had the whole trip. I especially enjoyed the sauteed mushrooms.

We really enjoyed walking the grounds (led by our hosts' dogs.) Their grounds include sheep, a cemetary, beautiful wildflowers and the intriguing rock walls you see throughout western Ireland.

To be fair, there were a couple of downsides to Cregg Castle. One, the hosts were not overly accomodating. They did not readily answer questions about themselves or the property. They preferred that you read about it in a book in their living room. I feel that one of the benefits of staying in a b and b is the personal interaction so I wish the hosts had been willing to talk to us more.

A second lowpoint was the decor. It was not as regal as I would have expected in a castle. The bedrooms are decorated very hodge-podge, yet they are clean and comfortable. Just nothing spectacular.

As for location, there were several Ireland attractions that could easily be done as daytrips from Cregg Castle. They include: Cliffs of Mohare, The Burren, Galway City. If you are trying to cover a lot of ground on your vacation to Ireland I would not recommend staying at Cregg Castle more than 2 nights.

My favorite place in the world to relax. After two days I was physically, mentally, emotionally replenished. The hosts, Pat and Marie, are easygoing and accomodating. They allow their castle to be your home. Their pets are hilarious. Walking the grounds can be an adventure: I met Dancing Cinderella, a once famous race horse, while nosing around the "back yard." The grounds are gorgeous. The breakfast food is plentiful and available till noon, much appreciated by my teenage daughter. Its not gourmet, its homey. Others spoke of the beautiful castle and grounds and the music. Some criticized the hosts and the home - perhaps they have cognitive impairments or confused their lodgings because Cregg Castle is nothing but delightful, clean, comfortable, and next trip it will be my destination rather than a brief stay.

My husband and I went to Cregg Castle for our 10th wedding anniversary in August of 2004. We were tremendously impressed with the experience. Cregg Castle offers a wonderful bit of Irish tranquility and hospitality. It also serves as an excellent base from which to explore Galway and the Aran Islands. The hosts are very kind and were very willing to share with us the family history of the castle and funny anecdotes by the fire. It is simply amazing at how Pat and Ann Marie have renovated the Castle over the past 10 years. The photo albums they shared show how run-down the castle was years ago and how they have painstakingly restored the building and grounds. We stayed two nights with them and were lucky to experience a great half-hour concert from Pat and Ann Marie every night as we relaxed by the fire. We enjoyed their music so much that we bought their CD for the trip home and have listened to it many times since. The highlight of our trip was being invited to go with Ann Marie one night to her local pub and listen to her play with some friends for several hours. There were about 4 other guests who came along and it was fun to get to know everyone while drinking some Guinness and listening to some very traditional Irish pub music. The pub was this small, out of the way place where the locals knew each other and joined in the singing. It was an experience that we'll never forget and truly made our trip memorable. What a real treat! We also enjoyed the Cregg Castle grounds and took a lovely walk in the woods with Magoo the dog. We felt like we were one of the family and we would definitely go back. If you want a true Irish experience, we highly recommend Cregg Castle.

I was underwhelmed by Cregg Castle. It really could have been so great, if only the owners put forth a little effort to welcome all their guests. We stayed two nights, with our three children and have to say that of all the places we stayed in Ireland during our two weeks, this was probably our least favorite. Definitely wouldnt bother coming here again. Not to say that it was terrible, but there was always the feeling that it could have been excellent, had the owners only tried. Maybe a little more care in the welcoming of guests, a brief tour of the grounds or house, an explanation of whether there would be live music that night... things of that nature. And speaking of music, on the one night they did play, while they were indeed talented and enjoyable to listen to, after about 12-15 minutes, they were done! I'm glad I didnt go upstairs to get my husband to come down to listen, or it would have been over before we returned! I was left with a feeling of dissatisfaction that the owners just really weren't all that interested in their business. As if they felt that there were enough tourists in the world that they didn't need to rely on repeat visitors. Ah well, a shame really.