still looking for bunratty accomodations...tour operator said that bunratty lodge would not take reservation for next june yet???? I also suggested maybe bunratty woods.

bunratty castle hotel booked

he suggested bunratty manor hotel, says is walking distance to bunratty castle.

also, where is the creamery pub? is it also near the caslte?

any comments

Bed and Breakfast-Ashgrove House- is in Bunratty Co. Clare.

They are open all year. Very good feed back on tripadvisor. We are staying there in January.

I would check with Bunratty Lodge direct for reservations.

The 'The Creamery' is situated on Bunratty Fair green in the heart of Bunratty right beside the castle. I've never been there.

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Chip -
I stayed at Bunratty Woods B&B my first night in Ireland. There are several B&B's on Low road which is the road that runs next to Bunratty castle and folk park and the winery - just a little further out. too far to walk but really near by. The B&B was fine - compared to others we stayed in it was "purpose built" not converted - the room was neat and clean, the people very nice. It had a "lodge" feel with wood paneling throughout. I'd try to book with them now anyhow - they are large enough that they do take small bus tours - we were the only room not a bus tour on our one night. There is a large shopping complex directly across the street from Bunratty castle that contains many stores - the creamery is in that complex. We also didn't eat there. NJSally

We have stayed in Ashgrove House (Frank & Sheila Tiernan) and at Park House (Mairead Bateman), both on the Low Road. Park House is huge with lots of pine, very spacious rooms. Ashgrove is smaller, but we found Frank and Sheila to be a hoot. Good luck!

Inishfree is a nice B&B about a half mile down the road from the Bunratty parking lot have stayed there three years in a row on our last night. Creamery and Kathaleen's Pub are across the street from the Castle. Very good food at both. The hotel is nice also but a little on the high side. Have fun

I would definitely contact Mary Browne directly to make a reservation at Bunratty Lodge. I'm sure she accepts reservations in advance. If you are working with a tour operator, does that mean you have vouchers? I'm not 100% sure (but close), but I think Mary does not accept vouchers.

The Creamery is indeed across the street for the castle as does a very respectable job with food. It's in the same area with the woolen mills and the hotel.

Like everyone said, there are loads of B&Bs along the Low Road in Bunratty and I really can't remember any bad reports on them. If Bunratty Lodge doesn't work out and you want to stay in the family, Headly Court is run by Mary's sister or sisetr in law or something like that.

Bill

Welcome to the Banner county. There will be no shortage of good accommodation in the Bunratty area as the links above have informed you about all the B&B houses in the area.
To view the county and what is on offer go and have a look at www.clareguidealive.com and to see what is in the 'store' across the road go to www.blarney.ie
While you are trying to decide where to stay be sure and call to Durty Nellies across from the castle for a drink.
If you are visiting the Castle leave time to walk through the Folk Park and farm on the same grounds. If it is good enough for Mrs Bush it sure is good enough for you and the Russian Presidents wife also took a tour of the place.

Chip, Mary Browne does take reservations in advance for 2006. Contact her directly at [email protected] She does not take vouchers. If you are using vouchers I recommend Headley Court run by Kathleen Browne (Mary's daughter-in-law). Both B&Bs are very nice.

Bunratty should be avoided. It is nothing but the castle and folk parks and a handful of mediocre to poor restaurants surrounded by a bunch of B&B's.

If you do feel the need to stay there, I'd recommend against Bunratty Lodge for 2 reasons. First it is rather sterile. I also found Mary Browne less than charming. Like a lot of B&B hosts, her veneer of codiality is very thin.

Second, it is too far from the castle and restaurants to walk. You would be better off staying closer. I didn't go in, but Bunratty Woods B&B looked good .

Wow,

Imhornet, sorry you had such a bad experience at Bunratty Lodge. Mary was very nice to us when we stayed there last October.

It is true that you have a short drive (I mean, perhaps 3 or 4 minutes) to the castle from Bunratty Lodge, but that is true for virtually every B&B on the low road.

And I will say that you are right that Bunratty is not exactly a destination unto itself. I imagine most folks stay there the last night before flying out the next morning because it is so close to Shannon.

Finally, Bunratty Woods Country House Hotel was fine when we stayed there this past August. I mistakenly thought it would be an easy walk to the castle--not that far, but the low road isn't great for walking.

"It is true that you have a short drive (I mean, perhaps 3 or 4 minutes) to the castle from Bunratty Lodge, but that is true for virtually every B&B on the low road."

Nonsense. Bunratty Woods is maybe a 10 minute walk. Bunratty woods was 25-30 minutes. The basic question is whether you want to go to one of the pubs by the castle for a few pints and have to drive back to the B&B or have short walk. After drinking, walking seems a far better option. I know that walking rather than driving is a difficult concept for many Americans to grasp, but sometime it is a better idea.

Incidentally, I never said that I had a bad experience a Bunratty Lodge. I don't know why people feel compeled to distort what you say if you don't agree with them. I said that it is not very homey and quite sterile - the echo of footsteps in the hall seemed to rattle through the house. As far as Mary Browne is concerned, she wears a good facade, but the cracks show in small ways. I've got nothing major against her or the place, but it just wasn't anything special and requires a long walk or driving drunk. Neither sounds like a good option.

lmhornet,

"As far as Mary Browne is concerned, she wears a good facade, but the cracks show in small ways."

Please elaborate. It is fine to give your opinion but you could damage someone's good reputation by such a comment without backing it up with specifics. I would like to hear your SPECIFIC complaints and/or comments. I would also like to hear from others about Bunratty Lodge and Mary Browne.

I have stayed at Bunratty Lodge several times and do not agree with your comments although you are entitled to them. I found Bunratty Lodge very clean with nice comfortable rooms, a good breakfast and a very nice host with no "facade cracks". She has always been quite pleasant to me.

People have a life outside of doing B&B. Have you ever thought that a host could be ill, have family problems, have just dealt with a very troublesome guest, didn't get much sleep because someone checked in at 2 am, had someone skip out without paying, or multiple other things? How would you do under such circumstances?

I think most B&B hosts do a fantastic job. Look behind your own facade to see how you might be observed by others. I think that analyzing someone like that is a bit unfair given that you have stayed at Bunratty Lodge once and Mary Browne has been in the business for over 25 years. She must be doing something right to be booked most of the time. And that is my opinion.

Just returned from a month of B&B's in Ireland, Scotland and England. Mary Browne's Bunratty Lodge ranks high on our list. Our room was nicely furnished, extremely clean, and the breakfast was very good. We liked the quiet location precisely because it is not on the Low Road where traffic is constant and where we saw walkers nearly run down by motorists. Ms. Browne is kind and extremely professional which we appreciated. For a one or two night stay, we don't expect to become "best friends" with our hostess. If one wants a touchy-feely kind of hostess, perhaps this place isn't right. However, for us, we'll return to her house next time. By the way, she no longer accepts credit cards if that is an issue.

I stayed at the Headley Court -- run by Kathleen Browne, Mary Browne's daughter-in-law. It's just at the end of the Low Road, a short drive to the Castle and Durty Nelly's. Can't say enough about the B&B, especially compared to some others I've stayed in.

Kathleen was very welcoming, and I especially liked the early breakfast hours as compared with others, since I'm an early riser. She has small children that she gets off to school in the morning, and the earlier hours work well with that schedule.

As an earlier writer said, I don't expect to become best buddies with my B&B host, but when it comes to a warm welcome and great accommodations I heartily recommend Headley Court.

We can recommend Rocklands B&B up the road from Bunratty. Very nice place. Daughter Mary of hostess Mary Slattery who works at the Castle gladly picked us up at the Fitzwilliam Hotel and later delivered us to Dury Nellies (and brought us back) for our final dinner in Ireland.
ozarksbill
[email protected]

Followup on Bunratty area lodging:
Rocklands B&B and others found at www.irishbeds.com/bnb/clare/112.html
ozarksbill

To All:
My sister and I stayed at Bunratty Woods our FIRST night in Ireland. I was afraid to drive too far on day 1. It was her husband who greeted us and checked us in. He was very nice and pleasant. I would say the DRIVE was 3-4 minutes. It was raining so we never attempted to walk it. It was Mary, thank God, who asked me our itinerary the next day and said I had set an impossible task for our day (Bunratty to Limerick to Tralee to Dingle to Killarney to Cashel) I had reservations in Cashel that I cancelled and we stopped in Killarney for our second night. I found the B&B to be clean, neat, full of farm antiques. Breakfast was great. Our only complaint was that the shower was anemic (weak) but that wasn't really a big deal. My sister felt Mary was a little cold, but I didn't feel she was and she was very helpful to me. Just goes to show you that even two sisters can see things differently. By the way, there's about 6 B&B's next door and across the street from each other. That means none of them were any closer to Bunratty (well maybe metres closer) Sally

NJSally,

I'm a bit confused. Did you stay at Bunratty Lodge or Bunratty Woods? They are two different places. The fact that you and your sister saw your host completely differently might say a lot for each person's personality instead of the personailty of the host. Perhaps lmhornet is a bit on the cranky side. S/he certainly didn't care to elaborate about the remark s/he made about Mary Browne. A shrink would probably have a field day with all this.

ok, now I guess I'm confused myself. I stayed at Bunratty Woods for sure. My sister did find the owner a little abrupt and I found her most helpful. But we are probably talking about different B&B's so I'll back out. Sally