The Johnstown Estate

We stayed in the Johnson estate June 2025. The room we requested which was a deluxe double was not the room we got and there was footprints on the wall. We got moved to another room which wasn't much better. Door wasn't locking properly on the room the janitor had to come to fix it twice The food i have to say was good . Normally an hotel would send an email to see how your experience was but we never heard from them .

Really lovely overnight visit. Took in the health suite, pool, ice bath, drinks and dinner and we only checked in at 6pm! Food was great, bar service a little mixed but, that said, one server in particular, Oisin, really stood out. He was friendly, professional, attentive and had a wonderful old-school work ethic that made all the difference to our experience. Would return and recommend this hotel.

Soooo, went to the Johnstown Estate to celebrate one of us getting a new job and also to have a little time to ourselves child free. On arrival we were met with smiling faces at the beautiful reception, but once we walked through those glass doors things took a dive for the worst. Got to our room which was fine however very cold. We thought perhaps the heating is on a timer so went downstairs to have a drink. Got to the Coach house and stood at the “please wait to be seated” sign whilst staff members hurried past us, avoiding eye contact. After some time we got fed up and went inside and seated ourselves. Again, we felt the area very cold but ordered some drinks. Went to the bar each time to order our drinks, nobody came to ask us if we wanted food or check in on us what so ever. After a couple of drinks we had had enough of the poor atmosphere and terrible service. We then thought maybe we would go and have a little dip in the pool only to get there and realise that there was children swimming lessons being held in the pool at the time. We were really surprised by this, we never once saw it mentioned on there catfish website or social media stories that the place seems to be open to the general public for things like this. So we went back to the hotel room only to realise it was still baltic, I called reception and politely explained that the room was very cold and the heating didn’t seem to be on. They explained someone would come up and take a look. Shortly afterwards a member of staff from maintenance arrived and explained that there was a fault in the wall and he would be outside working on it and he may have to come in and out a few times and asked could he let himself in?! At this point it was 45mins from our dinner reservations so we thought perhaps we could switch rooms to something warmer and get ready to head down for our dinner. However after ringing reception the maintenance member came back in and said the heating was working and give it 10/15 minutes to heat up. So we proceeded to have our showers which were also terrible, the combination of a bad shower head, fluctuation water temperatures and a freezing cold bathroom really made the experience unpleasant! We went down to the Fire and Salt restaurant which again was absolutely freezing 🥶 and had a mediocre dining experience. I was really cold so we went back to the room only to find it hadn’t heated up much at all. At that point we had had enough, I slept in my clothes and we promptly checked out at 8am the following morning. Absolutely a “Catfish” hotel, 4 star rating and random fabulous stories on instagram but the reality was significantly different and very much so disappointing. I also have a friend who was considering getting married at the venue, she asked if I could let her know what I thought and grab some brochures. Safe to say I’ll be recommending she search further a field for her wedding venue.

Relaxing

None

Great deal for stay at the lodge, dinner and Breakfast. Food and Service amazing. Paid extra for Spa and despite being a busy Sat it did not disappoint. We recieved relaxing treatments from the wonderfully knowlegeable Alem and Karolina who attention to detail was second to none. Felt so relaxed after our visit. Looking forward to my next visit soon.

Booked an accessible room which was not at all accessible. Would say one of the worst accessible bathroom I have experienced in Ireland. There did not appear to have an accessible bathroom in foyer area. Received 3 requested to complete review of experience and completed 2 of these. There was option to have call back which I requested on both reviews but have not got call back 6 days later.

My husband and I had dinner in the bar in the hotel last Saturday. Great choice on the menu and excellent service. We were very well looked after by Jillian and Nixon all evening. Great music after dinner in warm and friendly surroundings.

Fabulous stay for a group of us.. dinner was superb.. and breakfast lovely and plenty choice. Rooms were very comfortable and clean... top class hotel.

Just returned after second trip to Johnston House Hotel; the first trip involved a "stay over plus spa day" for approx. 20 staff members, the most recent was a romantic retreat. On both occasions the hotel staff excelled, from the initial greeting at reception, to the restaurant, cocktail & general bar staff, to the spa staff. All were great in the roles, professional but also very friendly & helpful. The bedrooms were presented perfectly, the food was great and the spa treatments were all top quality. I will return, and I've no hesitation recommending the location for either a business team building getaway or a couples retreat.