Lake of Shadows Hotel

Hotels
8.4 (171 reviews)
Grianan Park , Buncrana , IE

Free
Children allowed

Facilities

WiFi available
Free WiFi
Parking
Free Parking
Non-smoking rooms
24-hour front desk
Restaurant
Room service
Heating
Family rooms
See all facilities

Review Highlights

Pros:
Great location
Friendly staff
Clean rooms
Delicious food
Cons:
Gloomy rooms
Dated decor
Cleanliness issues

Categories

Cleanliness
7.99
Rooms were clean but some mentioned issues with dirty crockery and cutlery.
Service
8.96
Consistently friendly and helpful staff noted throughout reviews.
Location
9
Located centrally and convenient for exploring Buncrana.
Room Quality
7.95
Rooms generally nice but some felt gloomy and dated.
Amenities
8.48
Adequate breakfast and tea & coffee making facilities provided.
Value for Money
7.94
Value reflects overall experience but slightly dinged due to cleanliness issues.
Food and Beverage
8.49
Food variety and quality were praised, though breakfast selection was deemed adequate.
Overall Experience
8.36
Mostly positive experiences, with some stated issues offset by friendly service.
* This sentiment is summarized by AI based on user reviews.
Updated at: 2025-12-06 11:44

Property Description

Convenient Location
Located just a 5-minute walk from both Buncrana town centre and the beautiful beach of Lough Swilly, The Lake of Shadows Hotel offers the perfect blend of convenience and relaxation.

Cozy Accommodations
The warmly furnished rooms at The Lake of Shadows provide a comfortable retreat, each equipped with modern amenities including a flat-screen TV/DVD player and tea/coffee-making facilities. The en suite bathrooms add an extra touch of convenience to your stay.

Delicious Dining Options
Start your day with a full Irish breakfast cooked to order, and later enjoy hearty meals prepared with local, seasonal produce and daily specials at the on-site restaurant. For a more casual dining experience, lunch is served in the bar.

Ready to experience the charm of The Lake of Shadows Hotel? Book your stay now and indulge in a memorable getaway.

Important information:

A deposit may be required at the property.

Check-in and check-out hours:
Check-out: 11:30 AM

Location

Guest Reviews

8.4
Based on 171 reviews
Cleanliness: 7.99
Service: 8.96
Location: 9
Room Quality: 7.95
Amenities: 8.48
Value for Money: 7.94
Food and Beverage: 8.49
Overall Experience: 8.36
G
gary • solo_traveller • gb
10
Pros:

I get regular respite and we have stayed all over buncranna and by far this has been the nicest place most loveliest helpful staff,and the food was the best we've had yet,and its the best sleep iv had yet I really enjoyed our stay here

2026-09-19 • via Nuitee
L
Leslie • couple • ie
10
Just great
Pros:

Very good and well served and cooked the service was top class.

Cons:

Nothing

2026-09-10 • via Nuitee
C
Christina • couple • gb
10
Pros:

Staff were all lovely, great breakfast

2026-09-10 • via Nuitee
P
Paula • couple • gb
10
2026-09-06 • via Nuitee
M
Mcgroarty • solo_traveller • gb
10
2026-08-30 • via Nuitee
S
Stephen • couple • gb
7
2026-08-26 • via Nuitee
M
Mairead • couple • gb
10
Very central close to the beach and lovely walks. Breakfast was very good
Pros:

Friendly helpful staff

2026-08-25 • via Nuitee
A
Anna • couple • gb
9
Lovely spot with friendly staff
Pros:

Location and very friendly

Cons:

na

2026-08-24 • via Nuitee
F
Fiona • solo_traveller • ie
7
Location of the hotel and the staff were very good. Room and noise were disappointing.
Pros:

The property was in a good location - a short stroll to the waterfront and a short stroll to the town centre. The staff were lovely and friendly and the food was decent.

Cons:

We requested a quiet room as we had a 7 1/2 hour drive to get there and had an equally long drive the next day, this however was not what we got. We got a very small room right over the bar where very loud music and loud talking went on until pretty late. We were a bit dissatisfied with this as we didn’t get to sleep until very late and we had to face another long day afterwards.

2026-08-23 • via Nuitee
H
Helen • solo_traveller • ie
8
Pros:

Perfect location

2026-08-14 • via Nuitee
J
Jacqueline • couple • ie
9
Pros:

Location was great very central.. Lovely breakfast.

2026-08-12 • via Nuitee
W
Whittaker • solo_traveller • gb
10
Definitely worth booking.
Pros:

Beautiful clean and comfortable room. Staff were great, helpful and kind.
Food was superb, im sorry we chose to eat out the 2nd night as the food was better in the hotel. We're planning another visit to Buncrana to see my Daddy and this will be our choice of hotel.
Thank you staff, 😊 our stay was amazing, thank you !!

Cons:

Absolutely nothing.

2026-08-05 • via Nuitee
W
Whittaker • solo_traveller • gb
10
2026-08-05 • via Nuitee
M
Mcconnell • couple • gb
7
Pros:

Breakfast was very good. Staff very friendly. Hotel clean and tidy.

Cons:

No outside space to sit and relax

2026-08-03 • via Nuitee
T
Teresa • family_with_children • ie
9
I would most definitely return and recommend.
Pros:

Food was beautiful. Staff were so helpful.

2026-08-03 • via Nuitee
S
Shane • couple • gb
8
2026-07-23 • via Nuitee
J
Jodie • solo_traveller • gb
9
2026-07-19 • via Nuitee
G
giorgia • couple • it
8
Comfort a Ballycastle
Pros:

Vicinanza al centro. Camera accogliente e pulita

2026-07-09 • via Nuitee
C
Concepta • couple • us
7
Pros:

Convenience, great breakfast. Eat dinner at the hotel, very nice, good staff.

Cons:

It was a warm night and the windows and the windows in the room could only open to a small degree.

2026-06-30 • via Nuitee
M
Marianne • couple • ie
7
Comfortable and friendly old world hotel.
Pros:

The staff were very friendly and attentive.

Cons:

The vegan option breakfast was quite poor. For some reason a pepper, mushroom and onion greasy stirfry made up the majority of it, with a tomato and small portion of beans.
I asked for a hash brown which was vegan and was brought but would have preferred if that was included in the breakfast and the peppers and onions were not.
The addition of a vegan sausage would have been appreciated considering I emailed prior to my stay and mentioned my request for a vegan breakfast at check in.

2026-06-29 • via Nuitee