galmont hotel and spa galway
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The Galmont Hotel and Spa Galway review

The Galmont Hotel and Spa is in the same group as the Limerick Strand we previously stayed in so we had some high expectations. It’s in a great location, only 5 minutes walk from the edge of the main centre of Galway, so great for eating out and exploring. As well as having a car park, this was one of the reasons I’d chosen it.

galmont hotel and spa galway

We found the hotel really easily (once we followed Google Maps instead of my stupid satnav in the car which wanted to send us 3 miles god knows where, when it was only 800 metres away). Parking was easy in the basement, and there’s just a validation before you leave the car park if you want to come in and out.

The staff at reception were really welcoming, and the place looked quite nice in the lobby and bar or restaurant areas. There did seem to be a real mix of people staying in the hotel, and all the cleaning staff said hello as we were walking past in the corridors. Check in was fast, and we had our key quickly.

lobby in the Galmont hotel
comfy seating at the galmont

With glass lifts, you get to nosy around what’s going on, although the hotel is hidden a bit away from the water and the other side (where our room was) looks over the entrance. It’s all purpose built with the entrance to the gym and another car park etc there. So not pretty, but we hoped it would be quite quiet (more on that later).

Our room at the Galmont

We were on the second floor of the Galmont hotel in a standard twin room. A decent size room, one window that opens, and good air conditioning, and I was happy on a hot day.  They provide 2 bottles of water, although the tea tray was a little disappointing with no biscuit, or hot chocolate options.  Having a mini fridge again to keep water cool was nice. Although the floor did have a water bottle filling tap and ice machine which is always handy too.

twin room in Galmont hotel galway
hotel room in Galmont hotel galway

Like similar hotels, there were plenty of plug sockets in the right places, hair dryer, iron/ironing board and safe. The complementary toiletries were Elemis which is nice. The wardrobe space was plenty (and N decided the set up was like a walk in wardrobe!).

There were plenty of mirrors, so good for checking clothes or putting on make up if you need to do either.

There was a limited guest directory for the main points, with QR codes to find out more information. For most people this probably works well – I found the attractions information helpful, but otherwise did need to google search to find some info on the hotel website. I’d personally prefer more information on paper (yes, I am that person who reads hotel guest directories in rooms).

The bathroom was a shower over the bath, so nothing fancy, but it did the job. A retractable line for drying washing is handy – N used it for his swimming stuff as he’d not used the dryer in the changing rooms.  The shower was powerful but so much that it had to point in the corner to avoid it spraying water everywhere outside. And I ended up showering in ankle depth water as the ‘plug’ bit didn’t seem to come up a decent amount. Bleurgh. It took ages to drain.

They needed to either move the loo roll holder, reverse it or put a better end on it, because it fell off the holder everytime you wanted to use it. So we gave up in the end.

view from hotel room at Galmont hotel

Hotel swimming pool

As we had a bit of time to spare, N persuaded me to go for a swim again. As with most hotels in Ireland, we needed to wear a hat. If I’d realised this hotel also had a pool after swimming in a borrowed hat at the hotel pool the day before, I’d have bought us hats there to use for the rest of the holiday. So 6 Euros later we both had hats to wear. It was a Euro for the lockers, but the reception girl said people just left their stuff in unlocked lockers as it was so quiet, so we just did that.

The pool’s 18 metres long and was empty when we arrived. There were a few people in and out to use the sauna and jacuzzi, and by the time we were ready to leave there were 2 others swimming. But it was lovely to enjoy swimming again.

The changing rooms were fine, and they had our favourite swimwear dryer, although N missed it in the men’s changing room. The gym was obviously quite popular as we saw a few people going in and out of there, and the same in the lifts heading down to the gym.

N went the following day swimming again, although I decided I’d had enough struggling into my costume. I was able to supervise him from the side. It was much busier than before but N had the lane to himself until a mother decided that instead of using the rest of the pool, she would hover in the middle of the lane. So selfish when there were others clearly using the lane and it was well marked how to use it. There were plenty of other places which were quiet for general splashing, and had seating and step areas for her son. He was out of the lane as he was in the step area, but she should have been more aware rather than blocking across the lane or swimming directly in front of someone, taking up all the space.

Breakfast at The Galmont hotel

The breakfast was plentiful and varied at the Galmont Hotel.  N opted straight for toast (bizarrely only toasted one side in the machine), and cooked breakfast. He was pleased with the lightly grilled tomato, but avoided the bacon as it didn’t looked cooked enough. We’re assuming hash browns aren’t a thing in this side of Ireland, as both Limerick Strand and this hotel served sauted potatoes instead. 

full cooked breakfast at the galmont hotel

I chose yoghurt, fruit and pastries. Then decided to treat myself to a waffle with maple syrup and berries. It was all delicious and kept me well full up until lunch time.

fruits and self serve breakfast
buffet breakfast
waffles and fruit for breakfast

It was interesting to see the tour groups eating in the hotel. One group seemed to be in some kind of costume, so I’m presuming they were folk type dancers or musicians.

Galmont hotel desserts

We don’t usually eat in hotel restaurants, mainly because of the price. And they tend to be more fussy food than I’d want to eat. The Galmont has a restaurant Mirandas, open Fridays and Saturday with live music in the evenings. And Cooper’s Bar and restaurant open every day and evening.

After eating out at a local pub on our second night, a couple of hours later N decided he was hungry and wanted dessert. We’d not eaten dessert during our holiday, as portions were generally large, and we were too full. But I said we could go to the bar and get desserts.

We were able to sit in the restaurant area of the bar. It was a long wait to get our food considering it was just a couple of desserts, but they were worth the wait. N had warm apple pie with ice cream and chantilly cream. I chose the smores brownie with peanut butter ice cream. It was delicious, and the ice cream was one of the best I’ve eaten.

apple dessert and cream
chocolate dessert at the galmont hotel galway

I was surprised at how much cheaper the desserts were than we’d pay in pubs back home considering Ireland’s generally quite expensive (and this was a hotel restaurant). Pubs near us are generally £7.50-8.50 for desserts now, but these were 7-8 euros, so worked out for 2 as around £6.50 each. Definitely worth the treat.

Location and travel

Like many hotels in Irish cities, there’s a parking charge. It’s a reduced rate of £12 a night when we stayed for 24 hours. You pay on exit after getting your ticket validated at reception. This was a bit of a queue for us leaving to head out on our second afternoon. Confusing too returning because we ended up with a second ticket, so I’m hoping I don’t get charged for the two. But there were plenty of spaces compared with previous hotels, so it’s easy if driving. 

The hotel is also in a great location. It overlooks the Lough on one side, and nearby are the coach and train stations. It’s walkable to the city centre – just 5 minutes walk to a road full of pubs and restaurants, or head only a short walk further to hit Eyre Square or the Latin Quarter for other eateries and the main shopping areas.

We really enjoyed our stay at the Galmont. Everyone was friendly who worked there, the corridors are quiet at night – you can’t hear people walking past.  The first night we did hear loud music playing although couldn’t work out where from. If there was music in the hotel bar as stated, we didn’t hear it from our room.

We’d definitely stay again if visiting Galway in future.

Check out other places we stayed and visited in Ireland.

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