Downings Bay Hotel

Nice hotel but not worth the prices. At €185 a night in April, this hotel is dearer than many in top destinations like Dublin, London, Madrid etc. But where it really falls down is in the charges for its J.C.’s bar food. A range of starters costing around €10 a go, fish and chips at €20 and a sirloin steak at €30. With a burger priced at €19 with a side of chips costing another €5, these prices are ridiculous. With our one night stay and meal, without a starter, and a bottle of house wine, costing us €310, we won’t be back.

We have called in to this hotel a few times in the morning after a walk on the beach. The warm welcome and attention we have received has been second to none. A special shout out to Angela from the kitchen who served us. She was warm and friendly and had us feel so relaxed and welcome even our wee dig Chaka Khan felt looked after. We left the hotel just wanting to go back and stay for the night. This is the kind of service that makes all the difference . Thank you so much Angela and all the reception staff of the Downings Bay Hotel

We had two family events recently in Downings and stayed here. The staff and management could not have done more for us- they really pulled out all the stops. If you want to experience ‘the Donegal Welcome’ this is the place to stay. And don’t forget the sea swim nearby!

We really enjoyed our three night stay over the August bank holiday. We had booked bed and breakfast in a superior room. The room was lovely and recently refurbished. Quite comfortable and spacious. I would suggest ensuring that you are not on the « disco » side of the hotel to ensure no late night noise. We ate in the restaurant on two nights. Good food and friendly service. Breakfast very good in the ballroom. A good cold buffet choice and then a cooked Irish breakfast to order. Lovely atmosphere. Parking available around the corner - not on hotel site but just beside hotel. Easy walking access to beach.

Usually dine in this hotel and acknowledge food is great. However, when attending the Downings festival, spent time in this hotel and observed the poorest customer service of my life. When asked to replenish toilet roll, the member of staff covering reception declined advising 'the queue is too long, we're not putting out anymore'. Whilst I myself was fine, a lady was in a cubicle with her disabled child, dealing with an incident. I approached customer services along with her daughter, with a view to explaining the situation and the staff member closed themselves in a room at the back of reception, avoiding interaction with patrons. Thinking on my feet, I asked a young waiter for some blue roll to clean up a spill and declined his offer to do it for us. One mother of a disabled child and many other ladies were very grateful for the blue roll. Absolutely appalled at the customer service this evening. I acknowledge a lot of visitors to the hotel may not have been dining or staying there, however they are friends and family of Downings and surrounding areas and most likely staying in local caravan parks many of whom are owned by the proprietors of this hotel and weekend after weekend they spend their money locally and in businesses connected with this hotel. This festival is sponsored by this hotel, basic support should not be in question.

What a fantastic stay from the moment we arrived to we left Staff r very friendly can not do enough for you Breakfast is served a very spacious room and very tasty Had an evening meal in the lounge which was very Tasty staff service was great Bedrooms r beautiful and beds very comfortable Village is also a wee gem with beautiful beaches