Public pools & Water park in Kilkenny

“Amazing place to visit. The castle is beautiful and over looks the river below. The fields are filled with school children and have a positive vibe. Great place to take a walk and view the castle.”

“Such a beautiful and interesting place! The OPW have done a magnificent job restoring and maintaining this castle. Makes it easy to imagine life for the people who lived there. Definitely worth a visit. We ran out of time to properly explore the gardens, which are free to enter with no ticket - leave some time for that, in addition to the castle interior.”

“Wanted to wait a year into the membership before writing a proper review. The place deserves it. I've left two gyms in Kilkenny before because I was uncomfortable with the sanitary consistency of the facilities. The Ormonde is brilliant in this regard. Everything feels maintained and aseptic. I'm very easily unimpressed, and it's gratifying to be somewhere I feel comfortable all the time. It liberates me to forget all my little obsessive compulsions. The place itself is just an amazingly comforting environment. To be so central to the flow of human traffic in town, only then to go down the stairway and become suspended in a private little world. Like an oasis for my personal progress. It's nice to go in and forget about Tuesday. Forget about the fact it is raining. Forget about dwindling obligations. Just swipe the key and focus on self-care and self-fulfillment for two hours or so. It's a great feeling to come in from the winter elements, only to have the dressing room floors heated under foot. Start the session off as one means to go on. I'm never cold there. Staff are just as warm. Leaving you be to your work, but always on call at an inquiry. Only as eager as you'd like them to be... Realized one day that they just all knew my name, even without informal introductions. I suspect that's the case for all members. They are instinctively amiable. One would have to adopt unreasonable expectations to truly test the limit of how accommodating they can be. My mother and I have very different fitness ambitions, yet both of us feel enabled to fulfill those goals by the facilities. A testimony to what I'm sure is an incredibly difficult balance to achieve for any gym. There are quiet periods and busy days, busy periods and quiet days. My fellow misanthropes can find - by trial and error and inference - hours in the day where there is little competition for machines and racks. Those who want to exercise as part of a vibrant community will find more social times later in the afternoons. The playlist of gym music is phenomenally eclectic. Either the confluence of a committee of diverse tastes, or the product of one incredibly interesting individual (I suspect Elaine and/or Ger). Either way, it's jumping backwards and forwards in the decades, crossing genre. Bread & Circuses: Bangers for all. If you're not hearing something you like on the speakers during your session, then I'm sorry to be the one to tell you about your lack of taste. I only had one day in the spa. The kind of place that you could only disapprove of if one were unnaturally disaffected by serenity and ease. As far as they are selling anything, it's something resembling equanimity. A safe place within a safe place. The labyrinth within the oasis. It's a top class sauna, and it is even better since the upgrade. The conversations and company inside the sauna and steam room are a bit of a lucky dip, but that's hardly the fault of the leisure centre. Membership feels like a cross section of Kilkenny itself. As pluralist as the High Street: New Irish. Old Irish. Blow-ins. Transplants. Folks as local as black marble. Students. Retirees. Graduates. Tradespeople. Pros as swole as oak. 18 year old newbies. 60 year old beginners. Members knee deep in long term progress. Members yet to experience waking up to DOMS. Not sure who could possibly feel unwelcome there. Only missing seems to be single women my own age - although maybe they go when I'm not there. A forcibly nuanced review would point out negatives or subjective weaknesses. But I would only be making them up (and God knows: some white-collar in an office across the street will disregard all praise and only focus on fabricated negatives). 5 stars out of 5. 100 marks out of 100. First prize. No notes.”

“Excellent facility with friendly helpful staff. Pool is amazing and the kids splash pool is great fun.”

“Excellent all round especially the staff. Facilities plentiful and varied. Accommodation very high quality. One point to make is that the catering staff loose the household frying pan and obtain a good standard frying hot plate so as that when you are looking a fr”

“Brought the kids for a treat day out and they had the best time. Toilets were lovely and clean also.”

“Location is perfect for exploring Kilkenny and we had an amazing view of the Castle. The complimentary breakfast was good and staff had top notch recommendations for dinner with amazing live music. Can't wait to come back!”

“SUPER comfortable beds! Wow. Great bar & restaurant. Staff was really friendly. The only downside I experienced was when I ventured out and found some takeout, we returned to eat the food and we were not allowed to sit at some of the tables in the lobby.”

“My wife and I stayed here Sat 11th March. Service was top notch and our room was available earlier than expected which was nice. Lunch in the bar was very good, our couples massage in the Orchard Spa next to the hotel was fantastic as was our use of the pool and jacuzzi. Reception was very welcoming and helpful with a taxi into town for us. My only complaint and it's a small one is the rooms could use a bit of modernization but other than that it had everything we needed and was clean and tidy. I'd recommend this hotel no problem”

“Great selection of items for DIY and gardening, staff very helpful.”

“THANK YOU EDDIE! Our crew aren't the fittest or the sportiest, we're clearly not the most agile and like to forget the rules but we had an absolute (splat) ball! I recommend for any group, big, small, runners, snipers! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”

“Great service and a great atmosphere and more importantly a great pint of Guinness.”

“Fabulous old world bar with excellent and friendly staff, very welcoming clientele , glad to engage and embrace strangers.”

“One of my favourite lakes in Waterford. A hidden gem.”

“My first visit to the Hub, all I can say is 'brilliant'. Thanks to Jim and staff.”

“Has it all.. history/views/luxury/activities and food. Staff are quite pleasant and are very efficient at what they do .”

“Had a lovely time at the orchard spa this weekend. I had the back, neck and shoulder massage, I can't remember the name of the girl but she did a great job, I felt so relaxed and she made sure to check in with me that the pressure was OK. I could have fallen asleep after it, I was so relaxed. Staff are lovely, so friendly and accommodating. Relaxation room was bright and cosy. Tea and coffee offered and a water station. One of our group had a facial and was glowing for the rest of day! He enjoyed talking to the staff about skin care and what products were being used during his treatment. Great value, would definitely recommend.”

“We have just had our bathroom remodelled by enviroclad Kilkenny, and would like to thank Michael and his team for their efficiency and attention to detail. We are delighted with the end result, and our bathroom was left spotless. We Would highly recommend this company.”

“Beautiful Lakelands, lots of Biodiversity. Really nice place for a walk, run or just a peaceful moment. Some picnic areas however they could be updated and refurbished. The little huts unfortunately attract unsavoury behaviour and so aren't very safe for children walking around. The lake walk in general is beautiful for kids to explore but no amenities so just keep I mind if visiting.”

“Very nice place to spend the day. It took us almost 2 hours to visit it. It can be done even quicker if you don't have enough time. I also recommend if you go there, to visit the park from center as well. Definitely worth it.”

“Birthday afternoon tea with friends was lovely. Setting was outstanding and ambience was wonderful. Staff incredibly helpful and accomodating and came to check on us at various intervals for more teas and coffees etc. Unfortunately I wasn't all that impressed with the actual afternoon tea itself, we had the festive menu. It had the finesse but I just felt it lacked a fair bit of flavour in some of the sweets and cakes and didn't really leave me feeling like I had tasted something incredible, which I would have expected from such a fabulous venue. One of the party had a yeast and dairy intolerance, a difficult two to combine, especially for an afternoon tea and although they were able to offer a prawn wrap and fresh fruit, or something from the lunch menu, this was also a real shame that they could not cater for her needs (when she had commented that she had been to other places that served something for her needs.) A shame, but that didn't dampen our afternoon.”

“Great fun for the whole family a must visit if you go to Kilkenny / Castlecomer. Zipline is awesome as are all the facilities would advise staying in the Avalon House Hotel next door”

“Very nice cafe and lovely gardens, perfect for a stroll and a soup!”

“Nice place run by friendly folk. There are some ponys on the field too, which is lovely. Bathrooms were always clean and tidy. Showers were warm and comfortable. They even got a fridge for food and stuff which you can use for free. It is about half an hour walk to the centre of Kilkenny, which is absolutely awesome because there are so many nice pubs - you really don't want to drive on your way back to the camping site ;-) enjoy some Kilkenny in Kilkenny :) We loved it! Only negative, but I don't think they can do anything about it: the drink water tastes of chlorine. But there plenty supermarkets in Kilkenny, so it isn't a problem at all.”

“Great area to go for a walk especially if you have kids. Right beside the river which a lot of people swim in during the summer. Very peaceful too st times, benches are available to sit and relax. It's about a 20 minute walk from the entrance to the meadows and there are a few nice stops along the way.”

“Wonderfull day swimming in the Barrow. Kids loved it.”