Places to stay in Monaghan
Monaghan is a stopping point as much as a destination. It sits on the N2 about two hours from Dublin and an hour from Belfast, so a lot of people book a night here because it breaks a journey rather than because they set out for it. That said, the town has more beds than a place of under eight thousand people usually does, and the standard is decent.
Hotels in the town
Hillgrove Hotel is the biggest, on the Old Armagh Road a few minutes out from the centre. Spa, pool, and a strong reputation with families, which is worth knowing in both directions. If you want a quiet weekend, check what is on before you book, because it takes a lot of weddings and children’s events.
Westenra Arms is right in the middle of town on the Diamond. It is the practical choice if you want to walk to everything and not drive anywhere. Being on the main square, front rooms can hear the street on a Saturday night.
Four Seasons Hotel and Leisure Club is at Coolshannagh, about a kilometre north on the Armagh side. Family run since 1970, with a leisure club and a golf course next door. Handy if you are driving on to Armagh or Belfast in the morning.
Just outside town
Castle Leslie Estate at Glaslough is about ten kilometres north east, and it is the reason a lot of people come to this part of Monaghan at all. Castle rooms, lodge rooms, an equestrian centre and a lot of ground to walk. It is a different price bracket from anything in the town and it books out well ahead in summer.
Glaslough itself is worth the drive whether or not you stay there. It has won the national Tidy Towns title and it looks it. Trips.ie’s Glaslough page covers the village, the heritage trail and what else is available to stay in around the estate.
B&Bs and self catering
The B&B trade around Monaghan has thinned out over the last twenty years, the way it has across the border counties, and several of the names that used to appear on lists like this one have closed. Rather than send you to places that may no longer be trading, the honest advice is to check what is currently taking bookings rather than trusting any static list, including this one.
What has grown instead is self catering. There are cottages and converted farm buildings scattered through the drumlins around the town, most of them let by the week in summer and by the weekend the rest of the year. If you are coming with a group or for a family occasion, that is usually better value than taking several hotel rooms.
If you are staying more than a night
Monaghan works well as a base for the wider area. Armagh is half an hour, Enniskillen and the Fermanagh lakes are about an hour, and the Sliabh Beagh hills on the Tyrone border are twenty minutes away. Rossmore Forest Park is close enough to the town that you can walk to it if you are staying centrally, which not many towns this size can offer.
If the town is booked out, which happens on wedding weekends and around big matches, widen the search to the county rather than giving up. Carrickmacross, Castleblayney and Clones are all inside half an hour.
If you are looking for somewhere to live rather than somewhere to stay, that is a different question and it has its own page.
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