gsidell

I will be spending 2 weeks in Ireland this summer and would like suggestions for nice B & B's near Shannon, Castlebar, Dublin, and in Northern Ireland.

wojazz3

There are two areas around Shannon to stay, Bunratty and just a bit further is Ennis.

Bunratty is a bit of a B&B village with lots of choices, Bunratty Lodge, Headly Court and Ashgrove House. I stayed at the Park House which I thought had closed, but she still appears on townandcountry.ie so perhaps she is still open. I liked Park House (http://homepage.eircom.net/~parkhouse/) very much and it's one of the closest B&Bs to the folk park and village. I've stayed at Bunratty Lodge (http://www.bunrattylodge.com/)also and it is very nice, at the end of the "Low Road". This would not really be walking distance to the village.

Bunratty has the folk park and Bunratty Castle among a few other things. The folk park is a "village" which "recreates urban and rural in 19th century Victorian Ireland". Some love it and the castle is nice. I find the village to be rather ho-hum. Durty Nellie's Pub is a famous attraction outside the village and for a while there was this suggestion that Mac's in the village was where the locals actually hang out. That reputation has become so well known that I think Mac's is becoming more of a tourist haven.

Ennis is an actually a working town but perhaps without the loads of B&Bs that Bunratty offers. I Stayed at the Lakeside Lodge (http://www.lakeside.ie/) just outside of town and it's a lovely place on a working farm overlooking Killone Lake and Abbey. I liked it very much and I prefer Ennis to Buratty. Ennis has a vibrant tradition Irish music scene. Although there is certainly tourism in Ennis, it is more than just tourism.

No suggestions for Castlebar although I would probably suggest staying in Westport instead, also a great music scene and sort of my "Kenmare of the north". Nice village, good dining opportunities and very easy to get around. I stayed in a place well outside of Westport that I liked very much called Tighbeag (http://www.anu.ie/tighbeag/index.html)

I've never stayed at a B&B in Dublin as they are few and far between and usually pretty expensive. My best experiennce was at Pembroke Townhouse in Ballsbridge (http://www.pembroketownhouse.ie/) which is about a 15 minute walk to the city center. Jury's is also in the price range and there is a Jury's Christchurch right in the center if things. They are a modern, basic hotel chain.

Northern Ireland is a 6 county area so a bit hard to narrow down. My favorite was Crockatinney Guest House (http://crockatinney.ndo.co.uk/) which is near Ballycastle and the views are lovely. It's really quite a nice place to stay.

Bill

CowboyCraic

I will cast a second vote for Crockatinney. Great hosts, an excellent area for walk abouts, delicious breakfasts, history at your doorstep with Kinbahn Castle Ruins and the Famine Graveyard and the views across the sea (on a clear day) to Scotland.

In Ennis, my home away from home is NewPark House, http://www.newparkhouse.com/, which is a 300+ year-old Manor House on the Edge of Ennis.

As for Dublin, I would suggest Abberley House, http://www.abberleyhouse.ie/. It is close to city centre & Temple Bar. It is extremely reasonable for Dublin in its rates.

I hope this helps. Enjoy your adventure!

Slan Agus Beannacht,

Bit Devine
Cowboy Craic

itsmlf

we always stay at Kilmoon House in Ennis....its on Kildysart Road. The nicest people you could ever meet

mpkp

Crockatinney looked great on the WEB but they only have full size beds -- no queens or kings if that matters to you.

I found a place called Shola cottage in Portrush that looks nice -- however it is new and I have not found any reviews on it. Will let you know -- we are going the end of May.

jefe

I've stayed at Ashgrove House http://www.ashgrovehouse.com in Bunratty (and will do again in May). Typical B&B, good breakfast, nice hosts.

Since NI isn't tiny, and you didn't specify where, I can toss in a good word for Whitepark House in Ballintoy (on the Antrim coast near the Giants Causeway). According to their website, looks like they are performing some upgrades. The house is really unique and a wonderful place to stay. Bob is a great host. http://www.whiteparkhouse.com

12perfectdays

I too will be staying at Ashgrove in Bunratty next week for the 1st time.
(we are gonna play tourists that night and go to the Castle Banquet) I had read favorable things about Ashgrove and then loved their website (the FAQ page is a hoot)- will letcha'll know

http://www.ashgrovehouse.com/

Dawn

Shadow

Hey Dawn....you're trip is coming soon...wahoo!! We leave on the 18th!!

I have been to the Bunratty Castle Dinner twice. The first time we spent the evening having a great time with.....a family from.....Limerick!!
The second time the lady from the B&B said they had just gone like the week before....they go every year!!

I refuse to let the "tourist snobs" tell me what to do anymore...you know, the folks that insist everything is "touristy". Ah, duh, I'm a...tourist.

We have charted our own tour with CIE tours for September and we're bringing our group to the Bunratty Castle diner....we love it...the singing is great and we enjoyed the food too....
and, the local's love the banquet!!

Can't wait for your trip report...your last one was great!!! I will do my best but I am not the writer you are!!

Have fun!!
ps... what airline are you going this time?
Shadow

Danforth

I will be spending four days in Tralee in July. Any suggestions on a nice B&B located in town?

jefe

Dawn - say hi to Frank and Shiela. Save me a few slices of brown bread. Feel free to have all the pudding you like, though. I won't be needing any.

I also thought the Bunratty banquet was touristy, gimmicky and all of that. But you know what, my wife and I had a great time. The guy on the far right in this picture was a hoot: http://www.shannonheritage.com/image...20Bunratty.jpg

We found some flyers that had pictures of him looking probably 20 years younger, so I'm guessing he's been there a while. Let me know if you spot him

It's looking like it's going to be Fodor's Spring in Ireland this year - have fun everyone!

12perfectdays

Shadow-
I have been following you all over and we keep missing each other! (Found the thread looking for me and responded there and also on my Beara thread too!)

We are taking Aer Lingus on Monday the 9th to Shannon (bummed that there are no saturday flights as I planned on 20 whole days and settled for 17 )

Our flight leaves at 4:30pm from LAX I believe. This time we will be getting there 4 hours early instead of 3 and barely making it onto the flight!

We'll be doing Bunratty one night and bus to Killarney 2 nights
3 nights Glengariff in Beara
2 nights at the Shores in Castlegregory
2 in Oughterard at the Waterfall Lodge
2 in Westport at the Boulevard (possibly 3!)
1 or 2 nights in Sligo
Drop car and train to Dublin where we will be doing day tours of Wicklow and N.I.

I hope to start a trip report when I get back- and I vow this time to not take so long with it!

So sad that we are just missing each other on our flights home (we leave Dublin on Friday the 27th) as I would have loved to meet your DH! We must plan our flights better in the future. Have a safe journey and I am sure I will see you here on the boards- look forward to your report too! Only 5 days, 19 hours and 52 minutes to go!!!

Dawn

12perfectdays

First- since I forgot to on my last post-
gsidell,
I appreciate your letting me "horn in" on your thread for a few posts- I have been looking everywhere for my shadow (LOL) and hope to catch her here!

Jefe-
Shiela seems wonderful and I can't wait to meet her. She has taken care of everything for me and seems to know all! The banquet is already lined up as well as the trad. farm, bus out of town, cab info. and all!

My only question is- just how far of a walk from the Castle Banquet to Ashgrove is it?
Shiela tells me to take a cab from Shannon to them, make cabbie wait, drop bags and hop back in Cab for ride back to castle to get there before 3pm to get into the castle and park as they close it to get ready for dinner. Do I really wanna be that harried after 12 hours on a plane?

Loved the picture and can't wait to do the hokey, touristy thing! I used to roll my eyes because DH likes it- going on tour busses, doing all the major traps but thru the years we have learned to compromise and a bit of both keeps us happy (especially since I pick all of our destinations!)

Will be sure to tell Frank and Shiela that "Jefe" said hi.

Dawn

jefe

Oops - it does seem that we've hijacked gsidell's thread a bit... but they seem absent after the initial post

I don't remember exactly how far it was to the castle, but I don't think it was that far --- I just double-checked their site, since I remember them mentioning distance. "Ashgrove House is less than a mile on the left. It's the 7th house on the left, or the 5th B&B on the left. A warm welcome awaits you!"

What I do remember is that the road is probably not that friendly to pedestrians, especially at night. It might be worth taking her advice - depends on how long it would take to get another taxi out there if you decide after that fact to not walk it. It also depends on how much you want to see the castle and folk park as opposed to just doing dinner. I found the castle pretty cool, but I dig castles and such. The folk park was mildly interesting and my first exposure to the wonderful smell of burning peat!!

12perfectdays

Yes, I saw that distance too but wasn't sure of the "Irish mile". I think she is just concerned about getting us to the castle before they stop letting people in.

Not as concerned about the folk park as I have found an interesting reference to one that opened up between Kenmare and Glengariff in Bonane that I would surely like to see. Well- my itinerary is open to whim-

as for a dark walk back- I am never without my trusty mini LCD clip flashlight- there have been many a time where I have felt like the pied piper as all will follow the light (LOL)pun intended

I too am a lover of castles, history and lore (DH thinks me a bit crazy when I wander and imagine bits of what it really must have been like in the past)- I cannot wait to explore Carrowkeel!

Thanks Jefe!
Dawn