Hotel review – ‘a classic all-rounder’ brings animatronic dinosaurs to Kilkenny

Animatronic dinosaurs, a properly warm swimming pool and staff that clearly enjoy their jobs are just some of the draws at this family-run stay

Head ranger Luke O'Connell at Jurassic Newpark

Pól Ó Conghaile

“Do you want to hold a piece of dinosaur?” Head ranger at Jurassic Newpark Luke O’Connell has a Triceratops fossil in his hand. The small bone is 66 million years old and bears evidence of a possible T-Rex’s bite. The kids and adults around him are spellbound.

We’re not on a dig in North America. Or a fictional island west of Costa Rica. We’re in the fields behind a four-star hotel in Kilkenny. And Luke’s super dino talks are just the start of it. Spread around several acres are a dozen life-size, animatronic dinosaurs — from a T-Rex to Velociraptors and a Brachiosaurus.