Space in Sligo
For roominess, the Clarion Hotel Sligo is hard to beat, with enough space in its family rooms to sleep seven adults, not to mention kids, in comfort – plus the additional luxury of a sitting area and kitchenette with microwave and fridge, so you can save a little money and eat in.
Make the most of supervised kids’ clubs for 4-12-year-olds and let the teens do their thing in a games room with pool table and gaming machines.
There’s a cinema room showing movies at 6pm nightly, too. Sligo’s a great spot for surfing and stand-up paddle boarding, with plenty of surf schools nearby.
A family of two adults and six kids can, at time or writing, still nab a family room from €190 a night B&B over the October mid-term. clarionhotelsligo.com
Soar at the Gleneagle
Book a family suite at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney and you'll get yourself a double and three singles, with plenty of space to spare.
Parents can take time out to visit the facilities at the Angsana Spa at its sister property, The Brehon, next door, while kids can make the most of the pool, the special kids’ nightly entertainment – Captain Jack, a surprisingly sprite 425-year-old pirate – and other kids’ club activities at holidays and mid-term breaks. There’s a teen zone from 7pm with Wii and PlayStation consoles, as well as old reliables such as foosballs.
Outside, there's tennis, squash and pitch and putt. With the help of a fold-out bed, a family of six can stay in the one room, midweek, over the mid-term break from €129 a night including breakfast. gleneaglehotel.com
Coast to Westport
It's all change at the Westport Coast Hotel – until recently the Carlton Atlantic Coast – in Westport, Co Mayo, but that's all the more reason to go. Now part of the Westport Plaza stable – keep up – the newly refurbished hotel is going out of its way to target bigger families, not least by having rooms to accommodate them.
Its spacious family suites include a king-size bed and a single, plus, in the adjoining sitting room, a double sofa bed and pull out single bed, accommodating a family of six with ease.
The only thing the big family rooms don't have is a bay view, but that won't matter because you'll be so busy at super family friendly Westport House next door or hiking the Great Western Greenway round the back. Stay two nights B&B over the mid-term, including dinner, for a family with two kids over 12 and two kids under 12, for €285. westportcoasthotel.ie
Forever Amber in Wexford
Stay at the Amber Springs in Gorey, north Wexford, and you're only an hour away from the capital but a world apart. It's oxymoronic Executive Family Rooms sleep five and offer a larger than normal bathroom with jacuzzi bath (just keep the bubble bath away from the kids), plus a seating area.
For teens there’s the gym and swimming pool plus a games room with pool table and air hockey.
Younger ones can go go-karting on the track out back, enjoy the mini zoo or whoop Mum and Dad at minigolf.
It's a five minute drive from the Gravity outdoor pursuits centre at Courtown. A family of five can stay a weekend in November on a B&B basis, including one dinner for the two adults, for €485. ambersprings.ie
Double the space in Durrow
Stately old houses are often synonymous with pokey rooms. Not so Castle Durrow in Co Laois.
This elegant hotel has a variety of family options, including family suites with a king-sized and a single bed in one room and a set of bunks with a single, plus space for a cot, in another.
Unlike the large family rooms downstairs, which have a suitably antique-y feeling, with brushed wood floors and dark wooden furniture, the larger family suites upstairs are bright and airy, with cream walls and a more contemporary feel.
A rural property, here it's all about walking the grounds, kicking a ball or playing frisbee on the lawn or tennis on the court. For a family of two adults and four kids, stay one night B&B midweek, including dinner for the grown ups, for €310. castledurrow.com
At your ease in Enniscrone
The Diamond Coast Hotel in Enniscrone, Co Sligo, a four-star property, has whopping great family rooms with three double beds and enough space for a foldaway too, if you need one.
Situated right on the Mayo/Sligo border, the big attraction here is the beach which, if the weather obliges, has all sorts of kayaking, surfing and stand-up paddle board options.
For grown ups, there’s the sea weed baths and golf, and a course right next door. Family packages are available over the Halloween break including two nights B&B and one evening meal (for everybody) for a family of six for €279.
This includes access to kids' club entertainment for three- to 12-year-olds, open every evening from 5pm to 10pm, so grown ups can get a break too and, let's face it, with four kids under 12 you'll need it. diamondcoast.ie
Five star space in Kerry
The five-star Killarney Park Hotel, right in the centre of the town, has junior suites capable of accommodating a family of five – including three strapping teens – with ease.
The open plan rooms are almost 50m sq, with an archway dividing them and containing two king beds and a single plus a seating area with gas fire and flat screen TV. Rent bikes and explore the National Park, take a boat to one of the islands or make like a proper tourist and hire a jaunting car, it's great fun. A two-night stay over the October mid-term break for two adults and three kids, including breakfast and one dinner for the adults, costs €840. killarneyparkhotel.ie
Space in the city
For a city break, bag a superior family room at the Tower Hotel in Waterford. Renovated at the end of last year, the rooms are nice and bright and, at 36m sq can manage two queen beds and one single, with space for a cot or fold-out if you need one.
The family friendly property has nice touches such as a step-in the bathroom sink so little ones can brush their teeth with ease. There’s a handy clothes line in the bathroom for drying togs (there’s a pool) plus a fridge to keep baby foods chilled.
The People's Park is a five-minute walk away for playing or go more structured and take an Epic Tour of the city's Viking Triangle, which uses props, actors, singing and general fun and games to educate and entertain. A room sleeping six at the Tower starts at €165 a night, including breakfast. towerhotelwaterford.com
Big in Breaffy
There are two hotels at the Great National Breaffy House Resort in Co Mayo. One, the Breaffy House Hotel, has been there forever. The other, Breaffy Woods Hotel, was built in 2006 and is the one to aim for if you've a big brood – its family rooms boast one double and no less than four singles. The hotel is on 90 acres of parkland, just three kilometres from Castlebar, and guests at either hotel can use the facilities of each.
At the Woods there's a pool, an outdoor playground, astro pitch for footie, an indoor games room and a breakfast train which picks kids up from your room to meet up with other buddies in the kids' clubs, so Mum and Dad can lie on. If you fancy going off-campus, pack up your giant minivan and decamp to the Museum of Country Life just up the road. It's perfect for larger families, not just because of the contents but because it's free – admission tickets add up fast when there's half a dozen of you. A sample hotel rate for two adults and four children, staying two nights B&B and including dinner for all, in late October, is €278. breaffyhouseresort.com
Bounteous in Bantry
The Maritime Hotel in Bantry, Co Cork has great family suites comprising two double rooms and a separate living area with a fold-out sofa bed that also sleeps two.
Given enough notice, staff here can easily accommodate two adults and five children. Bantry House is right behind you for stretching your legs. There’s a leisure centre with pool if you’d prefer a splash-about, or you can take the short ferry ride to Whiddy Island, rent bikes and explore it, or just enjoy lunch in its only pub.
The Maritime, which has 110 bedrooms, is not much more than a toddler itself, at just seven years old, so it's no surprise to find it can accommodate a family of six for a very child friendly price of €175 a night, including breakfast. Book online two weeks in advance and you get a 10 per cent discount on top. themaritime.ie
