Places We Stayed

The Ballynahinch Castle












The View from our Room







Name: Ballynahinch Castle
Town: Recess
Type: Castle
Website: Ballynahinch Castle Website
Comments: 4 Star Hotel overlooking a beautiful winding river. It has both a restaurant and a pub called the fishermans pub. You can rent/borrow (not sure) from a selection of fly fishing rods should you want to fish in the area. Our room had a perfect view of the river. According to the guest book, Brad Pitt and George Clooney stayed there shortly before us but then again that might just be a bit of blarney. We ate in the pub, which had some great food. Ironically one of the best parts of the meal was the fresh vegetables of snow peas and carrots. These were the tastiest and freshest vegetables I have ever experienced. I didn't know vegetables could taste this good. Additionally they served small potatoes which were done to perfection, not too soft and not too hard with amazing flavor.








The Gregans Castle Hotel












Sitting Room








Name: Gregans Castle Ballyvaughan
Town: Ballyvaughan, County Clare (near Doolin)
Type: Hotel
Sites: Cliffs of Moher, Oconners Pub (real Irish Music)
Website: Gregans Castle Ballyvaughan Website
Comments: Very pretty hotel with a wonderful view of mountains and fields. It's a place you MUST eat. The food is some of the best I've ever eaten in my life. I've been to many places that can present food well, but too many lack flavor. The chef here does a phenomenal job in both presentation and flavor. Service was well above par. When we asked the manager for information regarding local tourism information and pubs, he didn't hesitate for one second to get on the phone and inquire about several places for us.









The Shelbourne Lodge B&B













Grass Tennis Courts






Name: Shelbourne Lodge
Town: Kenmare
Type: Bed and Breakfast
Sites: Ring of Kerry
Website: Shelbourne Lodge Website
Comments: Very quaint accommodations. The people were by far the friendliest and most accommodating. We ate dinner in town and when we returned I asked for some coffee. Well I received so much more then just coffee. We were sitting in the garden relaxing when they brought us a tray with a coffee pot and some wonderful cake. It was some kind of coffee almond cake with a creamy filling. We felt like we were royalty. It was far beyond our expectations. The breakfast was also one of the better breakfasts we had, so fresh. The service was ultra friendly, a wonderful experience. Kenmare is a cute little town, just a short waling distance, and easy to walk around and see a lot in a very short time.









The Tudor Lodge B& B and our car out front






Name: Tutor Lodge
Town: Glendalough (1+ hrs from Dublin)
Type: Bed and Breakfast
Sites: St. Kevins Monastery, tallest waterfall in Ireland
Website: Tudor Lodge Website
Comments: This was the lowest cost of our stays. The house is lovely, the room is pleasant and comfortable. We did have an issue with the hot water in the sink, which required a special way to turn and lift the handle to get it to work (apparently it needs a new washer or something). Another minor issue we had was the light over the desk. Every time it got a little hot (about 2 minutes) it went off. Apparently the electrician is on call, but being a small town you are at their mercy. Neither was a big issue, especially since the accommodations were the most reasonably priced and included a Full Irish Breakfast. The people were accommodating and courteous, but not quite as much as some of the other places we experienced.


Name: Westin
Town: Dublin
Type: Hotel
Sites: Guinness Brewery, Jameson Distillery (museum only)
Website: Westin - Dublin Website
Comments: Elegant accommodations set in the heart of Dublin, a "lovely" hotel. Due to it's convenient location, it was easy to walk around Dublin and not be far from the hotel.


Name: Sheraton Fota Island and Spa
Town: Fota Island (near Cork)
Type: Hotel
Sites: Last port for the Titanic
Website: Sheraton Fota Island Website
Comments: Only about a year young. Upscale accomodations with a nice LCD TV and speakers in the bathroom. However, when we could not find a volume control for the speakers we called the desk and they were perplexed that there were even speakers in there (hmmmm). The Westin (also a Starwood property) in Dublin had these same speakers with a volume control, but not this one. The next day we found they disconnected the speakers.