Step House Hotel

Few villages the size of Borris are blessed with so good a hotel. The step house is family owned and run with an eye on elegance and quality. The annual dinner of a small sports club brought me there. Lovely function room, attentive staff, good quality drink and gorgeous food immaculately prepared and served. Delicious soup and breads, hake in a bed of tomatoes, perfect veg and to-die-for mash potatoes. An absolutely delicious dessert. Wines were very reasonable and good. They just know how to do simple elegant quality. Wonderful.

A lovely hotel in a beautiful village ! The hotel is beautiful on the outside! The lobby is gorgeous ! Marble and chandeliers, a beautiful staircase ! We booked the penthouse , and it was so spacious and beautifully decorated ! The balconey had a fantastic view. Some of the carpet and furnishings are worn , and could do with being updated . The bathroom was beautiful ! I had a fab bath , and shower! I think the sauna is and bit of a waste and would really benefit from a hot tub maybe on the balconey if it could be done . Food was fantastic , especially lovely for vegetarians! Kind and friendly staff ! Would love to return and see the other rooms !

We recently held our wedding in The Stephouse Hotel, and I cannot begin to express how highly I would recommend this hotel. From our initial contact with Rebecca and our menu tasting with Benny, we received outstanding service and excellent communication throughout the planning process. The food was gorgeous, and all our guests commented on how good it was, along with the service and venue itself. The owners and staff really cared about how well our day went and that shone through with their engagement with us beforehand,on the day and even the day after. I do have to specifically call out Rebecca and Benny who went above and beyond to ensure the day was stress free and the rest of the team. Would definitely recommend the stephouse to anyone no matter the event!

We went for lunch there after a wedding. My brother in law paid for our meal. Our teenagers decided afterwards that they wanted a dessert so I ordered them one each , a strawberry salad and a white chocolate mousse. I went to pay for the desserts and was charged €46. That is €23 for one dessert. When I questioned the barman his reply was “ Courses for horses, it is a Sunday.” I found this quite rude but as it was the day after a wedding I did not want to make a scene by looking for a manager. I am convinced he made a huge mistake but there was no way he would admit it. I am sorry I didn’t ask for his manager now

I am still trying to work out why this supposed to be a boutique hotel as I have seen, ironically, more individual touch in design in decent chain places. In fact, the room I got I would characterise more as social climber boudoir circa 2009-10 than period. I suppose this moniker means people will pay more, but I don't think it is worth the money they charge. One of the chairs in the room had a brown stain on it, which I hope was make up and not something else. The water supply was unreliable with the shower either going repeatedly from totally hot to cold and back again, with a period of no water in between. If design detail is important, then I'd have added a towel rail near the shower as well as near the bath so that guests don't have to make the floor so wet just to get dry. I'd also give guests some shower gel and not multiple vials of shampoo and conditioner. How many heads would two guests in a room have? The food in the bar was ok, but not really worth the elevated price. Whereas most of the hotel staff were helpful and cheerful, I found some of the waiting staff to be quite cold and perhaps even snooty. Breakfast was fine but I am not sure why they play music, and quite mournful tunes at that, to drown out conversation. It does not add to the atmosphere at all.

We have stayed at the Step House on many occasions, most recently early July 2024. Sadly we will not return. The bedrooms badly need an upgrade, Fabric seats on chairs are stained, bedside tables chipped and mattresses are poor quality. The bedclothes need to be replaced. The stone steps to the breakfast area are filthy. The hotel has a very attractive back garden but the pathways are filthy and would benefit from being swept and power washed. On the plus side the staff team is excellent .