On most of our road trip round Ireland we stayed in Bed & Breakfasts. I’ve talked before about The Art of the B&B and there several reasons why I love a good B&B to stay in. They are usually more cosy and homely than hotels, the breakfasts are often their ‘piece de resistance’ and you can glean a lot of useful knowledge from a good B&B owner. So did these following 3 B&Bs hit the spot?
Atlantic Heights, Galway
A nice building, overlooking Galway Bay this B&B was a 10 minute drive form the center of Galway. The room itself was large, with a King Size very comfortable bed. A small seating area next to the large window was a lovely place for a cuppa overlooking the sea.
A small bathroom with no bath, but nice touches (it’s all about the small touches) like the hand wash on the sink and ear plugs! The desk area was basic, but with colourful mugs, wine glasses and fresh water, was all that was needed.
Breakfast was in the light and airy conservatory with a large array of choices. It was good to see more than just a full english Irish on offer – I had the locally smoked salmon with scrambled eggs.
A solid B&B to start us off, although the owner was a little on the, lets say, weird, side!
Dunlavin House, Dingle
A lovely house from the outside, again this B&B gave us a beautiful view, this time of the Dingle estuary. We had a little trouble checking in as we couldn’t find anyone! There was no bell to announce our arrival and we ended up having to go into the owners bit of the house after a waiting a while to rouse someone. The room was small, with a small double bed which was pretty rickety if I’m honest.
Just one seat near the window didn’t make us feel that comfortable as someone was always perching on the bed, and the desk and drink making area and TV was all crammed onto the desk.
Unfortunately the bathroom wasn’t much better, a tiny room, again without a bath and another shower gel ‘dispenser’ on the wall which looked really cheap. A bit dusty in places too.
Breakfast was decent in terms of the cooked items, but I felt that a lot of the ‘fresh fruit’ etc was infact tinned and not fresh at all.
This one I wouldn’t be rushing back to I’m afraid.
The Cloisters, Kinsale
The Cloisters was our only ‘room without a view’ which was initially disappointing but had the added benefit of being a 2 minute walk from the center of Kinsale.
It was by far and away the largest room we had, having a separate dressing area and bathroom down a few stairs. It would be ideal for a small family, but we made the most of the space! It was also the most tastefully decorated with some beautiful touches, such as the artwork on the walls, and patchwork quilts on the beds.
The bathroom continued on the positive theme, housing a large bath as well as individual toiletries, and little touches such as make up removing pads, ear plugs and even air freshener.
The breakfast room come sitting room was really homely, which went with the overall ambience of the B&B. The owners were the most friendly and helpful that we met on our trip.
The cold breakfast spread included a lovely fresh fruit and yoghurt section as well as their homemade breads and a large tea selection.
A hot breakfast menu included a wide range of options inducing the two that Lee and I chose – American Style pancakes for him ( 2nd helpings available – he ate 8!) and a bagel with locally smoked salmon (from 2 miles down the road) with capers. Fresh flowers on the table, and intricate pretty crockery were big pluses too.
If only you could have lifted up this building and plonked it overlooking the sea then the perfect B&B would be born. But it came pretty darn close anyhow. It’s no wonder its 5* rated on TripAdvisor!
Out of the three B&B’s we stayed at, I would return to two, but if you’re in Kinsale, I would urge you to seek out The Cloisters for your stay.
Have you been to any B&Bs recently – would you recommend them?
Roz :)