Name: Shearwater Hotel
Address: Marina Point, Ballinasloe, County Galway, IE

6/10

Pleasant

07 Jul 2026

Susan

Overall the room needs a bit refreshing. The buffet breakfast was very minimal.

Friends_and_family Friends

6/10

Pleasant

05 Jul 2026

Colette

Everything was ok but not great or a 4 star feeling. Food is ok, service is ok, spa is ok.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jun 2026

Margaret

Lovely hotel and lovely staff. Food excellent

Friends

6/10

Pleasant

27 Apr 2026

Peter

We stayed here for one night with friends and overall had a very enjoyable stay. The hotel itself is lovely, the rooms were comfortable, and the staff were friendly and welcoming throughout. The facilities were also excellent.

Unfortunately, our experience at dinner let things down slightly. One of the meals (a double smash burger) was completely inedible and was returned, yet it still appeared on the final bill and was charged in full. This was raised at the time and should have been removed.

We were also told during a conversation about tipping that staff do not receive tips and that there is no point in leaving one. If this is the case, it’s quite disappointing and not something guests would expect.

Overall, a nice hotel and an enjoyable stay, but these issues did take away from what would otherwise have been a great experience.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

26 Apr 2026

Carol

Lovely breakfast in a really nice fining room. Had a drink in the bar which had a lovely atmosphere with friendly staff

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Apr 2026

Jessica

Beautiful and comfortable room - amazing bar area.

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

08 Mar 2026

Elizabeth

I came from dublin late and didnt get any sleep , loud noise in the room , i think it was the air conditioning .i told the receptionist and she didnt even apologise or offer a complimentary tea or coffee .

Self

10/10

Exceptional

02 Mar 2026

Frank

Nice large rooms with good restaurant. Breakfast was OK but a bit expensive at 12.50 euros

Self

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jan 2026

Lorraine

V

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

02 Dec 2025

Cathy

Gorgeous room. Warm room (not always the case with hotels) and lovely breakfast

Business Self

10/10

Exceptional

30 Nov 2025

Catherine

Staff very friendly and polite Lovl big foyer Food and service was good Room was spacious

Business

10/10

Exceptional

19 Nov 2025

Ann

Had stayed many years ago and had forgotten what a lovely hotel.
Spacious bright room and bathroom and convenient carparking in basement carpark with access to reception.
Courteous staff.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

30 Oct 2025

Olivia

Room was clean and tidy. Bit loud corridor but not hotel’s fault

10/10

Exceptional

28 Oct 2025

George

Very nice hotel. Staff was great, food was excellent, and the room was clean. Recommended. Would definitely stay there again.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

13 Oct 2025

Rachel

Fantastic hotel, great facilities, very reasonable price and lovely friendly staff

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

29 Sep 2025

Michael

Excellent facilities

Self

8/10

Excellent

21 Sep 2025

Noel

Good location close to ballinasloe centre

10/10

Exceptional

23 Aug 2025

Paul

No flora landscaping limited but was in a town

6/10

Pleasant

22 Aug 2025

Kathryn

The hotel was clean, but basic . Breakfast was bland , and just seemed sloppy . Staff while nice when you engaged with them all seemed quite new and not pro active when checking in on what the hotel had to offer , what time breakfast was , where the restaurant was etc. when checking out the member of staff took keys and that was it. While nothing bad can be said about hotel , a lot could be improved

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

22 Aug 2025

Roberta

Excellent 2 night stay … staff lovely great room and excellent food in the bar … not our first time in the Shearwater and we will definitely return … highly recommended..
Roberta

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

11 Aug 2025

RESHAM

Staff is always friendly love staying here everything is close by and they have good facilities

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jun 2025

Nigel

The space, the staff excellent 👌

Leisure

8/10

Excellent

28 Apr 2025

Nancy

Comfortable rooms and beds. Only covering is a too hot comforter. I need a top sheet. I didn’t ask. Everything else great. Luxury even. Close walk to stores pubs and cafes.

Partner

4/10

Poor

19 Jan 2025

Shane

Load noise in the room kept waking me up during the night. Room very cold.

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jan 2025

Hannah

Enjoyable stay

Great stay. Lovely hotel. Very friendly staff.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jan 2025

James

Excellent hotel 10/10

Excellent hotel. Very good service. Massive room and very comfortable beds. Very friendly receptionists. The TV in the room was massive. Short walk to the local amenities. Our room had a spacious patio. The lobby area where you sit down was like a little library very quirky with all the books and very luxurious comfy sofas. I walked past the bar area and it looked pretty trendy and plenty of people in it. Very big hotel over all. Highly recommended for anyone to stay here and very reasonably priced

Business

6/10

Pleasant

04 Jan 2025

Verified traveler

Very comfortable and spacious room but noisy.

Room was very comfortable. Lovely leisure centre.
There was a concert downstairs though so room was very noisy. It was due to finish at 10.30pm according to reception but didn’t finish until 11.15pm. Would think twice about staying again if there was a function on.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

22 Nov 2024

Verified traveler

Excellent hotel, friendly and professional staff

Business

8/10

Excellent

20 Nov 2024

Thomas

Surprised at the size of the hotel for its location. The sound of water rushing to fill a tank in the middle of the night was unexpected!

Business_and_leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Oct 2024

Linda

Beautiful hotel. Great pool and hot tub area. Staff very friendly. Met some very nice people

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

05 Oct 2024

Irene

Not as clean as it should be.

10/10

Exceptional

23 Aug 2024

Ann

Lovely hotel.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jun 2024

Joseph

Room was a little run down. Very helpful and friendly staff.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

17 May 2024

Harold

I think they are going through some renovations. We booked two rooms and they were different. I think one had a/c and one didn't.

8/10

Excellent

14 May 2024

Silvia

Good hotel for weekend stay.

Hotel is surprisingly big and very nice. Especially entrance reception area. Room wee bit used but clean. Pool busy need more attention for cleaning. Just one sauna was working that night.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Dec 2023

bobbie

Big rooom. Clean and cute. The bar looked adorable. Super nice staff (lady from nyc) would totally come again. It was so nice to stay in a jcie hotel after some sketch air bnbs. Just book this hotel if you are on the fence. Not too far of a drive from the cliffs, stopped at some castles on the way and stooped by a cute little town for sunset and dinner after the cliffs

10/10

Exceptional

26 Nov 2023

Caitriona

The hotel was gorgeous and realky enjoyed it ,staff though on friday evening were slow with dessert orders and also staff were a little rude at reception when we asked for coffee as we didnt see any available staff in the bar .
Overall though we had a pleasant stay and we would recommend it to anyone

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

06 Nov 2023

Thomas

Good stay. Place to stay when touring Midland.

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2023

Margaret

Beautiful hotel and friendly staff..

Leisure Friends

4/10

Poor

02 Oct 2023

Sharon

Disappointing

Was very disappointed as had noted to hotel that this couple ( my daughter & boyfriend)had just got engaged if they could make their stay special and there was no acknowledgment at all. Not even a congratulations. Will not be booking this hotel again

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Jul 2023

maureen

All was very good

8/10

Excellent

26 Apr 2023

Martin

Nice Hotel

Nice hotel.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Apr 2023

Barbara

Lovely hotel

We had a great overnight stay in the Shearwater Hotel. Hotel is spotless and the staff are very friendly. Rooms are spacious, clean and very comfortable.
Its a pity about hotel's location, its not in a very 'picturesque' spot.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

24 Mar 2023

Kate

We had a lovely stay in the Shearwater Hotel. We did find that the staff were quite standoffish and there was a feeling of being a bit of a nuisance to them, maybe they don’t get paid enough, who knows. The facilities were brilliant though (I was shocked at how good the gym was, especially for a hotel gym!), but we specifically booked a hotel with a sauna (because we LOVE a sauna) but it was out of service which was really disappointing. They did have a steam room which made it a bit better though! We just prefer saunas.

All in all, it was a lovely stay. I just wouldn’t run back personally.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Mar 2023

Monika

Lovely friendly staff, live music on Saturday night , very good Spa treatments , nice and clean rooms, enjoy weekend here.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Feb 2023

Eileen

Amazing

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

31 Dec 2022

Margaret

Beautiful Hotel

Beautiful hotel. Amazing stay from start to finish. Staff were wonderful, food gorgeous, everywhere was absolutely spotless. Would highly recommend.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

29 May 2022

Mary

Very spacious

Great stay. Very spacious hotel

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 May 2022

Lorraine

Pros:
* Check-in was quick
* Dinner in the restaurant was delicious.
* Our twin room was spacious
* There was a vending machine just down the corridor for snacks
* Free parking

Cons:
*Our twin room had a really creaky single bed. Everytime i moved, it woke me up.
* There was toilet paper in the loo when we checked into our room but on use we realised it takes 2 - 3 flushes to get rid of it which is not great.
* The drain in the bath needs to be checked as the water was really slow to drain after a shower.
*The breakfast was average, we went down at 9am expecting fresh cooked food but it didnt taste fresh, more like it had been sitting in the bain marie for too long going hard/chewy.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

03 May 2022

Mary

Lovely hotel. Loved the music area and it was so well run. Really missed the bar been closed after the music finished up.It would be nice to be able to get to get a cup of tea and a sandwich but covid has changed so much.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Mar 2022

Mick

It was comfortable, warm and friendly.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

11 Mar 2022

Rosaleen

Great trip

Very happy, very large room, huge bed, spotless clean, tea and coffee with mugs so much better than the standard little cups, complimentary shampoo conditioner etc, even ironing board, great breakfast, huge choice, would definitely visit again.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Mar 2022

Bernadette

Lovely stay

Shearwater is a very nice relaxed friendly hotel to stay in.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

19 Aug 2021

Verified traveler

Excellent staff and lovely property

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

06 Jun 2021

Luke

Awful stay

Not the best stay in shearwater, not covid related but things they could've done much better. Bed was broken and cracking all night as soon as anyone moved, accessible shower whilst not an issue itself was filthy with a sewerage smell almost masked by an abundance of bleach. No real veggie options for breakfast other than mushrooms and tomatoes…very poor and needs to seriously Up it’s game

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jun 2021

Michael

Great value great service Only issue I had a disability bathroom sink too low and shower limited

Business

10/10

Exceptional

07 Aug 2020

Marian

holidaying during corona virus

Our stay was very pleasant this is our fourth hotel stay in the current climate of the corona virus so far thIs has been the best hotel regarding informing the customer of the rules regulations still having a relaxed stay

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Feb 2020

Verified traveler

Fabulous experience
Great hotel
Great service
Friendly staff

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jan 2020

Verified traveler

Lovely hotel. Great pool. Great staff. Wonderful breakfast

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

02 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

No complaints about the property except the housekeeping staff seemed to have entered our room while we went for breakfast, opened the window on a particularly cold morning and then housekeeping staff knocked on our door and told us to check out as it was past checkout time. The reception staff didn’t have a problem with us being delayed checking out as I was sick but I found the housekeeping were extremely rude.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 Nov 2019

Ciara

Highly recommended

Lovely hotel. Great staff. Wonderful pool and gym. Great breakfast. Nice bar food. Great value overall. Would stay again. Only negative is the bedrooms are very dark.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

07 Oct 2019

paula

Lovely comfortable place to stay...

Family

8/10

Excellent

23 Sep 2019

Tamar

Room was very comfortable and clean. Service was very good. I was surprised to find the hotel business center had no available computer for use of hotel guests.

Business_and_leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

01 Sep 2019

Verified traveler

Everything was good but some of the food wasn’t up to four star standard

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

27 Aug 2019

Verified traveler

Beautiful hotel, lovely breakfast,myself and my 2 friends stayed here it was a Sunday night and there was great music and dancing
Maureen

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

25 Aug 2019

Joan

Stayed here for dancing excellent venue good floor

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

21 Aug 2019

Jen

Hotel had a great pool and leisure facilities. The food was very good as were the staff. The hotel room needed some TLC, esp the bathroom. The bathroom floor tiles were cracked and swollen and the bathroom door was sticking when it was half open. This was due to the shower door which allowed water to run out onto the floor. Not impressed.

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

13 Aug 2019

Katya

The property had very dated furnishings and was in need of refurbishment. The 'spa' which we looked forward to had two closed jacuzzis and swim hats were required (yet receptionist did not think to mention this). For the price we paid it was all a bit disappointing. Think more 2 stars rather than 3, yet it has a lot of potential if it was just given some TLC.

Leisure Family

2/10

Poor

12 Jun 2019

Mairead

Over night Stay.

This was one of the most disappointing (not the worse) stays I have ever had. Myself, My Partner and my daughter 15 yrs stayed here on Thursday 30th May on a bed and breakfast basis. My Partner had a meeting next morning early. So myself and my daughter stayed at the hotel to chill out and enjoy the 4 star rating. This is not a four star hotel room. The front of the drawer was falling off and there was a spring on our bed poking up through the fabric in the mattress, the room was your normal grade three star hotel room. The breakfast was basic Irish, with some cereals and toast. Nothing four star about it. The girl serving breakfast was very nice. But our biggest problem was that a male worker from the hotel came straight into our room while myself and my daughter were in our underwear without knocking next morning at around 12 noon. This upset us deeply and the hotel dealt with the complaint very badly. I would never go back to this hotel again.

8/10

Excellent

10 Jun 2019

Verified traveler

Table service in the bar wasn't great. I had to go to the bar for the menus. No one approached me to take my food order, trying to call servers over was tricky as no one seemed to want to make eye contact. Eventually they heard me and i got my order, after that they were over quite regularly and service was good.

Leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

02 Jun 2019

Verified traveler

Great service and staff . Food was top class and bar area was great . Room were nice and comfy. If you are staying in this area and like a 4 star/( Based on Northern American rating )class hotel I would definitely recommend this hotel .

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

18 May 2019

Verified traveler

Full feature hotel. Friendly staff. Well equipped. Nice breakfast.

Business_and_leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

17 May 2019

Linda

It is a very nice facility and met our needs during our stay in Ballinasloe.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

03 May 2019

Eileen

Very good

Very good

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Apr 2019

Triv

Great Value. Spa facilities were awesome. Friendly staff. Ample parking space

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

19 Apr 2019

Verified traveler

Beautiful hotel clean and friendly staff. No problems

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

13 Apr 2019

Ben

Lovely hotel, very spacious, small little things you would expect from a 4* hotel like a biscuit on the tray with the tea, enough towels, face cloths, and shampoo/ shower gel/vanity set/ just to make the room special, food was lovely as were staff.

Business_and_leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

05 Apr 2019

John

Excellent

Athletics in athlone. 12 miles away but worth it

Family

8/10

Excellent

11 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

Average hotel but great staff

The hotel itself was fine - a very welcoming reception and ever staff member we encountered was pleasant and friendly. However, service for both lunch and dinner was chaotic and it appeared that they were understaffed. We ate in the bar on both occasions as we were meeting friends with their kids in the evening. I ordered a dish off the daily menu to be told that it wasn’t available and in fact wasn’t even on the menu?! That was after I had asked 3 different staff members if I could place an order. My friend’s kids ordered the chicken wings but these were sold out. The chips were over cooked and greasy. My son ordered a kid’s dessert and I had to request same on a further two occasions as the order hadn’t been placed. I wasn’t charged for it when the bill came which was good of the waitress. Breakfast had a selection of hot and cold foods but again was rather average, unfortunately. I found the swimming pool to be a let down as the kid’s pool was closed on Saturday afternoon and the main pool is the same depth throughout. The changing rooms and locker facilities were very good however it would be much better if you didn’t have to access the swimming pool via the main reception area. There is ample car parking which was easily accessible and free. Overall it wasn’t an unpleasant stay or hotel but I will not be rushing back.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

10 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

We paid for a room with a view.We did not get one.Hotel was very busy.Maybe they had none left.Staff seemed rushed off their feet so we felt more in the way rather than being a guest on a relaxing break.Okay for an overnight stay.Not for a special occasion away though.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

21 Jan 2019

Verified traveler

Rooms could be updated.

Checked in by friendly receptionist. Room fair. Furniture was worn. No iron. Could do with extra soap, shower gel and shampoo. We only got 1 between 2 people. Dinner in bar was fair. Waitress didn't notice us trying to catch her attention to order dessert so had to leave without it as time was limited.

Family

8/10

Excellent

07 Dec 2018

Verified traveler

Hotel was comfortable. Disappointed that the Leisure facilities were out of use and this was not mentioned when booking the property.

10/10

Exceptional

13 Nov 2018

Maureen

Mateo, the reception desk employee we met on arrival, went out of his way to be kind and courteous.
All personnel were great!
Great location.

10/10

Exceptional

22 Oct 2018

Grace

Very enjoyable. The food was very good, the staff friendly and helpful and the entertainment excellent. I didn’t get to use the gym, pool or spa but hopefully next time.

10/10

Exceptional

15 Oct 2018

amo1969

Fabulous

Receptionist was very quick and efficient checking me in and was very helpful, clear and precise with any hotel information I needed to know. Excellent staff employed there.

4/10

Poor

29 Sep 2018

Kevin

Under construction and maintenance all night. No towels in the room

6/10

Pleasant

16 Sep 2018

linda

Staff very friendly... Room ok it was very hot and air conditioning didn't work they had a fan in the room but it didn't help was noisy. The food is fabulous. We had our daughter with us so we made use of the gym and pool. There where alot of locals whom obviously had memberships. We found most of the people rude and had a bad attitude about people staying in the hotel being able to use the facilities. It made us very uncomfortable. In the changing rooms I had to ask a lady to excuse me to get to my locker, she got annoyed and turned to her friend and said visitors shouldn't be in here. When I came out my partner said he had lads making comments over the hotel guests getting free use and towels he wouldn't move out of my partners way until he was ready is what he said to my partner. He was one of the three lads who where local gym members who was in the pool making awful comments about every woman who walked into the gym or pool it was awful.... It was in the evening when we used facilities the first day and the next day we went in early afternoon which was way better.

10/10

Exceptional

26 Aug 2018

Brian

Nice stay

4pm is check in but thankfully allowed to check in early. Nice room n spacious.

Friends

6/10

Pleasant

24 Aug 2018

Tom

Getting dated

It was ok. The hotel is showing signs of aging

Friends

2/10

Poor

07 Aug 2018

Verified traveler

Hotel needs a lot of maintenance. Our room air conditioning was broken had fan. Room was extremely hot. Curtains had holes. Bar seating was filthy needs cleaning. Doors are all scratched, lift had a hole in the wall. All timber work & painting not touched since built. Staff were very nice. So very disappointed, first time ever felt it necessary to complain.

4/10

Poor

25 Jul 2018

G

Air conditioning broken, nothing was done to fix it. Staff were rude. Food was very poor .

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jun 2018

amalia

Social dancing

No words can explain...how satisfying our stay in this hotel.. Everything was outstanding , the staff , the meals and accommodation were excellent.. Highly recommended..,

10/10

Exceptional

23 May 2018

Manuel

When i checked out that morning, going to London and coming back on May 17, I asked the receptionist if I can booked now for May 17- 20,she said you can do it when you come back
Now when we came back we were only allowed to stay 17-19
Which I think this could have caused too much stress and could have been prevented of no place to stay 19& 20”.
Plus the attitude of that receptionist that morning not nice , very cold!
Asking her to booked now but she insisted to do it when we return!
That’s all

10/10

Exceptional

15 May 2018

Gerard

Very surprised and pleased.

Only stayed for one night but thought the hotel was excellent.
We would definitely consider making another visit in the future

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 May 2018

Verified traveler

Quick stop