Kells Bay House and Gardens

If you are looking for the secret garden vibe this is it. The grounds are spectacular and will take you for a beautiful stroll into the woods with incredible views of flowers and waterfalls that will keep you intrigued. If you get a chance read the history on the grounds. It's quite interesting. Private beach is included. The staff is warm and inviting. We did have dinner and the food was delicious at very reasonable price. It is all Thai food so keep that in mind if it's not on your pallet of things you enjoy. The room we had was lovely at a cursory glance, however it is incredibly dated and needs serious attention. It did have a wonderful country English vibe to the decor and I wouldn't change that. The mold in the room and bathroom was awful though and I'm pretty sure it is black mold. We stayed two nights and left with bites all over our legs and we aren't sure from what but definitely not mosquitoes or midgies. I feel this place could absolutely be the most incredible stay in all of Ireland with some love, upgrades and mold remediation.

We had a wonderful stay. The room was spacious and so comfortable with a wonderful view of the gardens and the sea.|The staff were so hospitable and helpful. The food excellent. |Our only struggle was locating them, but again here they excelled in helping us navigate our way.|On the value for money scale they were at the top. An excellent choice.

We only visited the garden but had an amazing day. The waterfall was the highlight and the kids loved the rope bridge. The little cafe at the beginning is a gem of a place with a great view down to the sea. We could have spent all day here.

Beautiful gardens that feature different trails, a rope bridge Skywalk, dinosaurs and a very jurassic park feel with the many different kinds of trees and plants. The restaurant was also incredible. The service for our party of 12 was awesome, very quick and the food was very delicious

I had visited the gardens here in 2013 and had fond memories of it. I returned last week with my friend and our children on the way home from camping. The gardens felt very neglected in areas particularly the ladies walled garden and the waterfall walk which were extremely overgrown. I would love to have seen more of an effort to return to a more native planting scheme also. Overall the children had fun looking for the dinosaur wood carvings but I don't think I would bother returning here again. Pity.

We didn’t stay here, we were here to visit the gardens. I was most disappointed. I felt they had been greatly neglected. You could see how beautiful it once was and could be again with lots of love and attention. A lot of the wooden structures were broken, covered by over grown foliage or rotten. Some of the paths needed to be cleared and plants cut back to encourage new life. Hopefully with more investment and TLC, it could be once again be spectacular.

The 'gardens' are a complete scam. We paid about 10 euro per person to walk through woods that are little different from the woods you can visit for free in the national parks. There were a few ferns added in and some really awful rough hewn logs made into dinosaur form, but nothing else to recommend it, including the 'skybridge.' Save your money and time and go elsewhere. Admittedly we didn't try the cafe or lunch, but having just been scammed we weren't about to give them a second opportunity to do the same.

I recently visited and want to share my experience, especially for others with mobility issues or disabilities. Before purchasing tickets (nearly €10 per person), I explicitly asked at the ticket counter whether there were many stairs or steep inclines, disclosing my disability. I was told quite directly that there weren’t any significant challenges. Unfortunately, this was not the case. There are many steps and steep inclines. I was not able to visit most of the gardens. After entering, it quickly became clear that the gardens are not easily accessible for people with mobility impairments. There are steep hills both to access the ticket desk and within the gardens themselves. Certain paths and areas also have very rough surfaces (loose stones or gravel), which are manageable only for some wheelchair users and can require substantial assistance to navigate. Despite being told otherwise, I was unable to spend more than 20 minutes in the gardens due to the overwhelming terrain. While the gardens do have some accessible areas and amenities, such as a disabled parking bay (which is not well signposted and is itself up a steep hill behind a gated area with no clear way to get in or signage) and an accessible toilet, these also come with their own problems. For example, there was a step to access the accessible toilet—not all wheelchair users or those with limited mobility will be able to manage this. The website says "selected areas" are accessible, but this does not reflect the experience for many disabled visitors. Additionally, there are no concession or discounted tickets available for guests with disabilities, which is standard practice at many other Irish attractions and especially surprising given the limited accessibility. In summary: If you have mobility challenges or need to avoid stairs and uneven terrain, I would not recommend visiting Kells Bay Gardens. The site is not accessible, and the information provided at the ticket desk was misleading if not out right wrong. If you decide to go and require accessibility, it may help to call ahead for guidance, but be prepared for serious challenges if stairs and steep slopes are an issue for you