Ireland – Places to Stay

“My definition of a good hotel is a place I’d stay at.” 
-Robert DeNiro

When I’m planning a trip like this, I love to book a wide variety of accommodations. One of our goals was to really embrace the land, the people, the culture – to get the full Irish experience, and so we stayed everywhere, from hotels to cottages, from castles to rooms above pubs. Here is a list, and some short reviews, of all the places we laid our heads – the good, the great, and the not so much!

Hotels

This is a beautifully decorated 4-star hotel with a good restaurant, lounge area, and gardens. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I think we ate there at least twice. The rooms are comfortable and peaceful, and the staff was incredibly helpful. The hotel is near St. Stephen’s Green, the bus line, other pubs and restaurants, and shopping on Grafton Street. Parking is a little inconvenient, but with the location of the hotel, we didn’t need our car the whole time we stayed there.

• Lancaster Lodge in Cork –
  I’m not putting a link for this one, because it was our least favorite place to stay on our trip and I don’t recommend it. You always take a chance booking things online, right? The hotel does offer free parking and has a restaurant that serves breakfast – for an additional fee. The cost seemed reasonable at first, but it had more of a motel feel than what we were expecting, and we did not consider it to be worth the price we paid. As of this writing, they are renovating all the guest rooms, so maybe it will be better in the future.

• Clayton Hotel – Dublin Airport – Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport | Book Direct and Save
  This a European chain, and we chose it for our last night because it is only a few minutes from the airport. It is a HUGE hotel, and offers a restaurant, bar, a full breakfast buffet, and a coffee shop for that last cappuccino. Not a lot of charm, but it was quite convenient.

Bed & Breakfasts

Oh my gosh! If you go to Ireland, you should absolutely stay in a B&B that’s above a pub in the middle of a village, and that’s what this is! Easily one of our favorite places to stay, they have won Ireland’s Best B&B award the last 2 years. The rooms are small, but clean and cute, the breakfast is delicious, and you can pop down to the pub anytime you like for a pint! It was also one of the least expensive places we stayed, so that was a nice bonus. Paid parking is available across the street, with a cheaper option a few blocks away up a hill, which was really the only negative. Killarney is very walkable, so you won’t need the car while you’re there.

Admittedly this is through Airbnb so not a true bed and breakfast, but the owners did leave us an apple pie, which I did have a slice of for breakfast so…😉 Checking Airbnb, or VRBO, or your website of choice, is a great way to find unique accommodations. This place is a 100+ year old cottage on the edge of a farm, just outside the village of Adare. It was adorable and quaint and felt like you had walked into your grandma’s house. We also had a chance to do some much needed laundry! The Gardener’s Cottage was also very budget-friendly, so that and Dan Linehan’s helped balance out the next category…

Castles

Ireland is home to several castles, some of which have been turned into hotels. If your budget will allow, (and believe me, I understand, that’s a big IF) you should absolutely stay at least one night in a castle! You will feel you have slipped into one of your childhood fantasies, or maybe a Hallmark movie! This is the one that worked best with our route, and it was stunning. The buildings, the gardens, the scenery, the service… all incredible and slightly unreal. If you have an extra day, the estate offers a wide variety of activities including fly fishing, trails for hiking and biking, outdoor saunas and more. You can even arrange for them to pack a picnic basket for you to enjoy if you want to spend the day exploring the grounds. Ballynahinch is not in a town, so if you are not eating at their restaurants you will need to drive a bit for dinner.

Which of these accommodation types is most appealing to you? Are you adventurous or a traditionalist? 😊 If you’ve been to Ireland, I’d love to hear about where you stayed! In the meantime, if you’d like to know more about our trip, check out my 10-day Itinerary post.
Slan go foill! (Goodbye for now!) 🍀