Hi, We are going to Ireland this summer for our ist time (SOOO excited). Wewill be spendingone night either at Bunraty Lodge or Park House after we landat Shannon. Can anyone tellme which they would recommend? Thanks,
Megan

We stayed at Bunratty Lodge last September and found it quite nice. It's in a quiet area, the rooms are comfortable, and the breakfast is good. Some like to stay closer to the castle, but we prefer being a bit away from the constant traffic. We will definitely stay there next time we're in the area. We've not stayed at Park House, so can't comment there.

Thanks for the response. I should've mentioned that location is not as important as the "feel" of the place. My wife wants something with and Irish feel toit and nice hosts or employees to add to the experience. Thanks

We stayed at Park House in October 04. This is a huge place, spic & span clean, and Mairead makes the best scones! The Low Road is packed with B&B's, and this one is towards the Castle end of the road.

We stayed at the Bunratty Lodge in May of 2004 as our last night stop before an early flight out of Shannon the next morning.

Although the B&B was very nice, and clean, and neat - it seemed a bit sterile and to my view will not provide the "Irish" feel that you are looking for. It was the least "Irish" feeling of the places we stayed in our two week visit. Don't get me wrong, it was *very* nice, but not very *Irish* ....

dwzemens AT comcast DOT net

I'm curious as to what you mean by an "Irish feel"?

Interesting as the hosts there at Bunratty ARE in fact Irish and also speak Gaelic.

Honestly, I was not trying to cause a ruckus at all. As mentioned in my previous post, the home was beautiful, the hostess was accomodating (including a very early morning breakfast for our departure flight).

However, the facility seemed a bit sterile to us and *we* did not get the same *warm & fuzzy* feeling that we got at each of the other B&B's we stayed in during our 2003 Ireland trip. To me it felt more like a small *hotel* than a B&B. Of course, it is advertised as a "lodge" and not a "B&B", so I take that into consideration. It also seemed a bit more "formal" than the other places we stayed - which is not a bad thing, but it felt less "homey" as a result.

We all see things differently - I was just trying to offer my honest thoughts about how the Bunratty Lodge *felt* to me.

I agree that everyone sees things differently. What one person really likes another hates. I suppose that rather than asking for an "Irish feel" -- which could mean anything -- it would be better to request "warm & fuzzy" hosts that make a fuss over you. Not everyone would want that either. To each their own.

BTW, I do recommend Bunratty Lodge & Headley Court as well as The Courtyard.

I will let others recommend the "warm & fuzzy" hosts and I will just recommend nice places to stay.

IrishEyes,

Your response seems a bit sassy...I confirmed that the Bunratty Lodge was a "nice" place to stay. I am sorry that my use of the "warm & fuzzy" terminology seemed to bother you.

In any event, the original poster will find the Bunratty Lodge a nice place to stay.

Jog my memory, please. What is the name of the hotel across the street from the castle, with the large restaurant area and Irish music? It's not the establishment on Low Road adjacent to the castle, but across that larger, busier road, and about 300 - 400 yards distant.

(Terrible to get old...)

Thanks,

Jim

Jim, That is Bunratty Castle Hotel.

dwzemens, One of the definitions of sassy is "Lively and spirited; jaunty." So thank you for the compliment.

I do know "warm fuzzy" hosts but they are not aways to be encountered at the best places to stay in each area. Each host is different, as is each B&B. Your comments did not bother me in the least. I was just trying to determine what was originally meant by "Irish feel".

As you can see everything is defined by the poster not necessarily the reader. I guess we must all become better at reading between the lines.

Bunratty Lodge was my least favorite B&B. But I don't have any specific complaints. In fact, Bunratty itself was my least favorite 'town'. Way too touristy for me but it is convenient to the airport.

carolsc, What were your favorite B&Bs and why?

I would like to know what one means when they call a place 'touristy'
Just because a place is in a natural habitat and many people stop off for a rest and a drink it suddenly becomes a touristy place. So to all you 'tourists' if you see two or three buses stopped keep going because its a 'touristy' place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway paulros for your visit to Bunratty have a look at www.shannonheritage.com
Then pop across the road to the Blarney Woollen Mills for a spot of shopping (www.blarney.ie) and after all that back with you to Durty Nellies for that well deserved pint of the good stuff.
Enjoy.

If the original poster is looking for a thatched roof cottage with roses growing up the walls, and a kettle simmering over a peat fire, she/he is going to have to look far and wide. Ireland is quite modernized and every B&B we've stayed in in our 3 trips to Ireland has been modern and well-run. All our hosts have been friendly and accommodating, some more than others perhaps, but B&B is a business, let's not forget. If you're looking for the "Irish feel" seen in the old movie "The Quiet Man," forget it. If it ever existed it's gone (or well-hidden) now.

carolsc, nobody goes to Bunratty anymore. It's too touristy and too crowded.

We liked Bunratty Lodge, but there are lots of nice B&B's in the area. Kathleen's pub in the Bunratty Castle Hotel is a great place for drinks and dinner, but the Hotel is too expensive for my pockets.

When you go to Ireland, be on the lookout for DCC. It can cost you an extra 3% on your money. If you don't know what that is, do a search on DCC, or dynamic currency conversion on this site.

Budman, LOL. No one goes to Ireland anymore because it's too touristy and crowded!! Maybe they will leave it all to just a few of us. Same with France, Italy and London.

crckwc, Spot on! People want to be invited into the kitchen and served tea and scones by the woman of the house while the children step dance around the table, the dog herds sheep and granny knits Aran sweaters while telling stories before the fire. Then "himself" will take you for a jaunt in the donkey cart to the local pub where you can drink Guinness all evening, sing rebel songs and learn to play the bodhran. Now that is "warm and fuzzy". Oh, excuse me, I may be a bit "sassy" tonight. Guess I need another Guinness.

CU, Getting back to reality, I had an interesting conversation with a B&B owner in Ireland about "touristy". Many of her customers ask to be directed to Irish restaurants where they will be guaranteed to find no other tourists. They only want to encounter real Irish people. Well good luck because as soon as those people enter the restaurant they have polluted it because they are "tourists". How silly can you be? Who can say who will be in a restaurant? And in modern Ireland the wait staff is probably from Estonia, Lithuania, Africa or the Philippines.

Kiss the leprechauns goodbye. Ireland exists in the 21st century.

Warm and fuzzy to us was a B&B in Bantry run by Sheila Harrington. We (my husband and self, 20ish year old son) arrived to tea and biscuits and a lively older woman full of stories of the area. It was not a pupose-built establishment but a home whose upstairs had been converted, so our bathroom may have been a closet at one time. Our room was small and cozy, and when we came in late in the evening, she had put hot water bottles in our beds to warm them. (The name of the B&B escapes me at the moment.)

IrishEyes -
Not an easy answer...
In general, my favorite B&B was Emlagh Lodge (Dingle) because of the location on the water, views from the two windows, walkable but not right in town.
My favorite hostess was Noreen at Viginia's due to her friendliness and willingness to go the extra mile. And excellent breakfasts. I am not generally a 'breakfast person' preferring toast and grapefruit for the most part, but they were very good. (Not that we ever had a 'bad' breakfast at any of the B&Bs.)