Connacht Hotel Galway: Review, Pricing & Amenities

Situated on Dublin Road roughly 2.5 km from Eyre Square, The Connacht Hotel offers a blend of leisure facilities, family programming and meeting spaces that sets it apart from many city-centre options. This guide reviews verified pricing, on-site amenities like the 20-metre indoor pool and Friendly Fellows Kids Club, and recent guest feedback to help you assess whether it fits your travel plans. All data was drawn from the official website, national media reviews and neutral booking platforms as of spring 2025.

Last checked: 2026-08-30

Property name: The Connacht Hotel · Address: Dublin Road, Galway, Ireland · Phone: 091 381 200 · Star rating: 4-star · Free parking: Yes · Pool: Yes (20-yard leisure pool)

How far is Connacht Hotel from city centre?

The Connacht Hotel sits on Dublin Road, roughly 2.5 km east of Eyre Square. The Irish Independent’s 2025 review notes this places it outside the immediate walking core but notes the trade-off: ample space for free on-site parking and a full leisure suite. For guests without a car, a regular bus route along Dublin Road reaches the city centre in about 10 minutes, and a taxi ride runs approximately €8–€12.

A walk to Shop Street takes around 30 minutes along a flat, well-lit road, which some guests on TripAdvisor describe as “long but manageable” with luggage. The hotel’s own site highlights free parking as a key advantage over central properties that charge €15–€20 per day. The bottom line: if you arrive by car, the location trades a few minutes of travel for significant parking savings and leisure space.

What are the main amenities at The Connacht Hotel?

Leisure centre and pool

The centrepiece is a 20-metre indoor swimming pool that the Irish Independent describes as “spacious, with high ceilings and lots of natural light”. The leisure complex also includes a sauna, steam room, gym with cardio machines and free weights, and a children’s pool. According to Kayak.com, the property offers four indoor pools in total, though the official site lists a single 20-metre main pool plus a dedicated children’s pool.

Travel blogger Justin Plus Lauren, writing in early 2026, called the pool “massive” and noted it is open year-round. The gym operates 24 hours, a feature that guest reviews on Trip.com and Expedia rate highly.

Restaurant and dining

The on-site restaurant, Reubens Restaurant, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Expedia sets full breakfast pricing at €13.50 per adult and €6 per child (served 07:00–10:30). The main bar, Bar Solo, offers a family-friendly menu, live weekend music and sports broadcasts on HD screens. The hotel also operates a coffee dock for lighter snacks throughout the day.

Wedding and event facilities

The official site highlights eight dedicated meeting rooms and conference spaces suitable for corporate gatherings, weddings and special occasions. Multiple third-party listings (Trip.com, Expedia) consistently describe a strong MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) focus. The hotel’s events team can be contacted at events@theconnacht.ie for wedding packages, though pricing was not published in the sources reviewed.

The pattern: amenities cluster around family leisure (pool, kids club, children’s menu) and corporate functions (meeting rooms, free Wi‑Fi, 24-hour gym), suggesting the hotel targets two distinct guest segments simultaneously.

What are the prices for a room at The Connacht Hotel?

Direct booking vs OTA rates

The hotel’s official booking engine lists standard room-only rates “from €140” per night, with bed & breakfast from approximately €156. The double/twin room page separately advertises B&B “from €151”, indicating seasonal fluctuation. On Kayak.ie, recent standard rooms start at about €91, classic rooms around €107 and doubles from about €103 — excluding taxes and fees.

Kayak’s pricing trends show an average weeknight of roughly €209 and an average weekend night of about €266. October is identified as low season, while September is peak season. In the last two weeks of available data, the cheapest booking via Kayak was €154 and the most expensive around €270.

The Irish Independent reported autumn B&B rates from €99 per person in a double, with family bunk rooms from €149 midweek and a ‘Connacht Cruiser’ package from €700 for two nights. Early booking and direct reservations sometimes save €10 per room, though this offer was not confirmed on the official site at time of writing.

Best value options

Self-catering apartments with fully equipped kitchens are available for longer stays, offering a lower per-night cost than standard hotel rooms when cooking meals. The hotel’s free parking and free Wi‑Fi remove two common surcharges that add €20–€30 to mid-range city hotels.

The trade-off: direct booking gives you access to any exclusive offers (and clearer cancellation terms), while OTAs sometimes show lower base rates but may exclude breakfast or carry different deposit rules.

How many rooms are in the Connacht Hotel?

Room types and modern design

Third-party platforms put the room count between 349 and 358 guestrooms (Trip.com and Expedia both cite figures in this range). The official site confirms a mix of standard hotel rooms and self-catering apartments. All rooms feature flat‑screen TVs with satellite channels, high‑speed Wi‑Fi, tea and coffee‑making facilities and Respa beds with premium linens.

Guest reviews on TripAdvisor and Trip.com consistently mention “clean, bright rooms” with “modern decor”, though a small number of reviews from 2024 note that some bathrooms could benefit from refreshment. The hotel is not explicit about recent refurbishment timelines on its public pages.

Why this matters: with over 350 rooms spread across a large site, the hotel can accommodate conference groups and wedding parties simultaneously — but guests seeking a boutique or intimate atmosphere may prefer smaller alternatives.

Pros and cons

Best for segments

The Connacht Hotel pricing band

Source: Kayak.ie, official booking engine, Irish Independent (2025). Prices are per room, not per person, unless specified.

Location and getting there

The Connacht Hotel is located on Dublin Road (R338), approximately 2.5 km from Eyre Square. The official site provides directions: take the N6 from the city centre, follow signs for Dublin Road, and the hotel is clearly signposted on the right after the roundabout. Free on-site parking covers both indoor and outdoor spaces; Justin Plus Lauren counted “tons of spaces” and noted the lot is well lit.

For public transport, a bus stop for routes serving the city centre, the business park and the train station is within 200 metres of the entrance. Taxis from the hotel to Eyre Square cost roughly €8–€12. Guests arriving by train can catch a 15-minute bus from Ceannt Station or a short taxi ride.

The bottom line: if you drive, this hotel solves the parking problem that many city-centre properties do not. Without a car, you will either walk 30 minutes or budget for short taxi trips.

Alternatives in the area

For context, here are a few other Galway hotels that serve a similar mixed leisure–business audience:

Note: Alternative data is drawn from public booking platforms and may differ from the property’s current offering. Always verify directly.

Our pick: The Connacht Hotel for families and drivers

For families arriving by car, The Connacht Hotel offers a combination hard to beat in Galway: free parking, a large year-round pool, supervised kids club, and family bunk rooms at midweek rates from €149 B&B. The trade-off — a 30-minute walk to the city centre — is offset by the space and amenities that central hotels simply cannot fit on smaller sites.

Couples and solo travellers without a car will find the location less convenient, but the very competitive pricing (as low as €91 per night on some dates) and the leisure centre may still tip the balance for a short break.

Business travellers benefit from the eight meeting rooms, 24-hour gym and free Wi‑Fi, making this a viable base for a work trip that also wants to bring family along.

Related reading: Galway Accommodation Guide · Hotel Metropole Cork Review

Frequently asked questions

Sources cited

• The Connacht Hotel – Official Site
• GalwayGHotel partner page
• TripAdvisor – The Connacht Hotel
• Expedia – The Connacht Hotel
• Kayak.ie – The Connacht Hotel
• Trip.com – The Connacht Hotel
• Irish Independent – Hotel Review
• Justin Plus Lauren – Blog Review
• Three.ie 3PlusBreaks – The Connacht Hotel