Four-star One MICHELIN Key Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare, across Galway Bay, Galway
Gregans Castle Hotel
A Georgian house of 1750 at the foot of Corkscrew Hill, looking over the Burren to Galway Bay, with twenty-one rooms and not one television.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- One Key, 2025 and 2026
- Rooms
- 21 bedrooms and suites
- Built
- 1750
- Run by
- The Haden family since 1976
The hotel
A manor house in the Burren.
Despite the name, Gregans is a Georgian manor house of 1750. The castle is the fifteenth-century tower house across the road. Guests have stayed here since the 1940s, and the Haden family bought it in 1976. J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Seamus Heaney are among the guests remembered here. Gregans is a founding member of the Burren Ecotourism Network and the Burren Food Trail.
Simon Haden took over from his parents in 2003 with his wife Freddie, and the couple furnished the rooms with antiques of their own choosing. The house sits on Corkscrew Hill above Ballyvaughan. From the windows you see the bare grey Burren on one side and Galway Bay on the other. The bedrooms have no televisions, by choice, and the garden supplies the kitchen. Two cats, Lady and Mika, live in the house.
- The Dining Room Head chef Jonathan Farrell cooks with produce from the hotel's organic garden alongside local beef, lamb and Atlantic fish.
- No screens The bedrooms have books, a Tivoli radio and Bamford toiletries, and no televisions.
- The Burren A founding member of the Burren Ecotourism Network and the Burren Food Trail, close to the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin and the ferries to the Aran Islands.
Dining
Dinner from the garden.
Restaurants as listed by the hotel. Shown for information.
- The Dining Room Modern, local and seasonal Jonathan Farrell; dinner daily except Monday
- The Corkscrew Bar Lunch, afternoon tea and drinks Dogs welcome
Recognition
Awards and listings.
- One MICHELIN Key 2025 and 2026
- Georgina Campbell Memorable Experience Award 2025
- Irish Examiner, Ireland's 100 Best Places to Stay No. 3
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 2 pm, check-out by noon, according to the MICHELIN Guide.
- Children Welcome. Children's beds depend on availability and childcare can be arranged. Guests from 18 are booked as adults.
- Dogs Accepted in designated rooms booked in advance by phone or email, up to two per room and no larger than a Labrador.
- Dinner The Dining Room is closed on Mondays.
Getting there
Flying to Galway.
Shannon is the nearest airport for airline flights and private jets, about 70 kilometres south by the M18 and the N67, a little over an hour by our estimate. Galway city is under an hour round the bay through Kinvara, also our estimate.
- London 1 h 05
- Paris 1 h 30
- Geneva 2 h 05
- Nice 2 h 25
- New York 6 h 50 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Gregans Castle have?
- One. The hotel held one Key in 2025 and kept it in the 2026 selection.
- Is Gregans Castle a real castle?
- No. It is a Georgian manor house of 1750. The fifteenth-century tower house that gave it its name stands across the road.
- Are there televisions in the rooms?
- No. None of the 21 bedrooms and suites has a television, by the owners' choice.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Galway?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Galway, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Galway
Other hotels worth the trip.
Staying at Gregans Castle Hotel?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Galway, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.