Monaghan Town Co. Monaghan, Ireland

Hotels in Monaghan

Three hotels in the town, and one large estate ten kilometres outside it. That is the entire list. For a town of under eight thousand people that is more beds than you would expect, and the choice is small enough that you can settle it in five minutes.

All three town hotels are independent. None of them belongs to a chain, which matters more than it sounds. It means the character of each is set by whoever runs it, and it means the differences between them are real rather than cosmetic.

The Hillgrove

The Hillgrove Hotel and Spa is on the Old Armagh Road, a few minutes out from the four squares, and it is comfortably the biggest hotel in the county town. It has a spa and a heated pool, and it is the one families book.

That reputation cuts both ways, and it is worth understanding before you book rather than after. The Hillgrove takes a lot of weddings, and a lot of communions, confirmations and children’s parties on top of them. On a Saturday it is a busy building. If you are here with children and you want the pool, that is exactly what you are looking for. If you are here to sleep before an early start, look at what is on that weekend first. It is also the most conference minded of the three, so midweek it is a different and quieter hotel.

The Westenra Arms

The Westenra Arms is on the Diamond, which is to say it is in the middle of the town. It is the one hotel in Monaghan where you can arrive without a car and not feel stranded. The four squares, the shops, the pubs and the bus station are all a few minutes on foot.

It is an old building on the square, restored earlier this century, with a bar and a restaurant and live music at weekends. That is most of its appeal and also its one drawback. The front rooms hear the street on a Saturday night. If you are a light sleeper, ask for something at the back when you book, and do not assume it will be offered.

The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons Hotel and Leisure Club is at Coolshannagh, about a kilometre north of the centre on the Armagh side. It has been family owned and run since it opened in 1970, which among Irish hotels is now rare enough to be worth saying. The leisure club is the reason most people pick it: pool, separate children’s pool, sauna and gym. There is golf within a short drive.

The other argument for it is position. Being on the north side, you never have to go through the town to get out of it. If you are driving on to Armagh, Belfast or the north in the morning, you are already pointing the right way. The walk into the centre takes about a quarter of an hour along a main road, so in practice most guests drive it.

Castle Leslie, which is a different thing

Castle Leslie Estate at Glaslough, about ten kilometres north east, is in another price bracket and serves another purpose. People come to this part of the county for it, rather than booking it because they happen to be in Monaghan. Castle rooms, lodge rooms, an equestrian centre and a great deal of ground. It books out well ahead in summer. The places to stay page covers it and the village around it in more detail.

Which one

When the town is full

All three fill at once, and they do it on the same weekends. Weddings are the main cause. Big championship matches are the other. If you cannot get a room in Monaghan, widen the search to the county rather than paying over the odds. Carrickmacross, Castleblayney and Clones are all inside half an hour, and Glaslough is closer than that.

For where to eat once you have a room, including which of the hotel restaurants serve non residents, see eating out. For roads, buses and parking, see getting here.

Details on this page last checked . If something here is out of date, it probably is our fault rather than yours.