Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Just Back - Cotswolds, Wales, Ireland

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Just Back - Cotswolds, Wales, Ireland - Info 5 Part

Thanks fodorites for planning help . . . We have broken down our trip into 5 parts for accommodations and sites followed by thoughts on air - driving - general impression under a different thread. ENGLAND AND THE COTSWOLDS (with rental car) ANGEL HOUSE (Guildford). Found this hotel using web site Small Luxury Hotels - slh.com. My wife loved the hotel and 'Oliver Cromwell' room, particularly the comfort of the bed. She would recommend it. From my point of view, it may have been luxurious for Cromwell, but time marches on. Expect a few frays around the edges, middle and center. Good geographical location for our purposes, but a significant issue for those with cars is 'no parking on High Street' during the day. Long trek to public parking. HAYLOFT (Cotswolds between Wynchcombe and Bourton on the Water - self catering) Excellent location albeit isolated for exploring the Cotswolds. Discovered this converten barn on the internet and pleased with it after the first day. One learns that slate floors and rock walls take a bit of heating up before heat is actually retained in the building. Shiver-me-timbers, the first night was spent huddled together with every coat and blanket we could muster up. Visited many places. A+ list is Warwick Castle. 2nd tier, but on the must list is Hampton Court and Windsor Castle, Wynchcombe, George Washingtons ancestoral home (it wasn't open, but as with many 'not open' sites we managed to get in), Stonehenge (unless it is 4C with gale force wind and raining). Found tons and tons of photo ops - wifes passion - particularly like Lower Slaughter, Wynchcombe and general area. No notable eateries to recommend.

Wales with rental car - stayed in Guesthouses. First and Third included dinner, all B&B HEYWOOD LODGE, Southern Wales, Tenby near Pembrooke. Nice but nothing special, consistent experience with their website material. BORTHWNOG HALL HOTEL, Central West Coast near Barmouth. Highly recommend. Very personable owners that could not do enough for you. Excellent food and service - even when we had unreasonable request like, "we decided to stay for dinner, can you accommodate us?" (At 6:00 p.m. no less). These people pay attention to detail and have every conceivable base covered. TDDYN LLAN COUNTRY HOUSE, North Central Wales near LLandrillo. A significant disappointment. A run of mill room, but the attraction was supposed to be the highly regarded (promoted?) restaurant. If you like food presentation it is an A+, however one generally expects the food to be actually edible and service to approach being recognized. If you like gritty, sandy spinach and mushrooms, undercooked and misrepresented species of fish accommpanied by burnt roles . . . etc. etc. give this place a try. Of course don't expect staff to find you in the lounge, seat you, take your order or serve you in a timely fashion. And certainly don't expect the owner to accept the veracity of your comments. Why we did this two nights in a row (fairness perhaps?) is a testament for our capacity to endure pain. To be fair, perhaps the problem was the crowd. How can one expect the staff to take care of two tables? Our objective in Wales was castles, castles and more castles. Mission accomplished. Edward III was prodigous, the collective group was worthwhile. None stood out.

On to Ireland - Dublin first (no car). TRINITY LODGE - The only place to stay in Dublin, upgraded to top class room; very roomy and well maintained with super duper location. All things that we wanted to do were within an easy walk - shopping, restaurants and sites (except Kilmainham Gaol, easy bus ride). Most folks start with the book of Kells and Dublin Castle as 'must see'. We found Christ Church and St. Patricks Catherdrals more interesting. Ironic that both were restored with money from liquour magnates - very Irish. Come on a Rugby weekend (Scotland vs Ireland). We flew over with a plane full of kilt clad Scots, and tended to 'stir the pot' among Scots and Irish. Great fun for all. RESTAURANT - Pacinos for Italian food. Owner provides personal attention and becomes a friend quickly. Food is superb.

"burnt roles". Do you mean a performance of Guy Fawkes or a re-enactment of scenes from Foxe's Book of Martyrs?

On to Northern Ireland - rental car and 3 successive self-catering accommodations. HILLCREST COTTAGE - Carrickfergus near Belfast. Great view from farm cottage overlooking bay and Belfast. Warm and homey with nice owners and a pair of dogs that really, really like to go for a ride - anyone for muddy paw prints on the car seats? NUMBER 7 CLIFF TERRACE - near Castlerock on North Coast. A beachy, beach in-line apartment known by the locals as the '12 Apostles'. A great find. Perfect for a beach area, rustic but comfortable close to the Benone Strand (beach). COURTYARD APARTMENTS - Belle Isle near Enniskellen on Lake Erne. A real find, our favorite area of Ireland. From Donnegal Bay to Ballyshannon to Sligo to Carrick-on-Shannon to Cookstown; Belle Isle is a perfect spot to explore. The Courtyard Apts appear to be a well kept secret of Scots and English and we know why, it is great for a couple or a huge group. Very well kept and in a beautiful setting. As for activities, Belfast Hmmmmm, not much interest in the city but try Carrickfergus Castle and the Ulster Folk Museum as 'must see'. Up the Antrim Coast and East from Belfast is the best coastal drive in Ireland. A water oriented holiday here would be super. Don't miss Benone beach, Giant Causeway and Mussendum Temple. All are 'must see'. Using Belle Isle as the base just out of Enisskellen, must see, must do, and must haves abound. A perfect place to shop for Parian (Celtic) china from Beleek or Donnegal. Any trip to Ireland that misses Donnegal (Irish Republic and Fermanagh (Northern Ireland) is an incomplete trip. RESTAURANT AND PUB HICKEYS in Enniskellen for a real old fashioned Irish pub, THE WHITEHORSE in Ballyshannon for lunch/dinner/entertainment, and GLANCY'S WATERFRONT in Carrick-on-Shannon for lunch/dinner. Say hello to Jim and Pat Glancy for us.

The West and South - rental car with a mix of Guesthouses and B&B's. (Some may find this controversial - but my roll (hey, hey) is to provide information fast, fast, fast.) WESTPORT HOTEL in Westport. A business hotel but located perfectly with good food and service. JOYCE'S WATERLOO HOUSE in Clifden - This B&B came highly recommended by a fodorite, but was not for us. The owners are very personable, but a bit to touchy feely for our taste (others may love their approach). The non-superior rooms are toe-stubbing-tightly-packed with too much furniture. Ask for a superior room. GREENMOUNT HOUSE in Dingle, a first rate B&B within walking (or down hill rolling) distance to town center. Superior rooms are quite large. DROMOLAND CASTLE near Newmarket-on-Fergus. A five star hotel that deserves six. Rooms, service and food (exquisite) are world class. The activity offerings are even better. Interestingly, the cost to book on the internet is twice the price of the walk up rate. OAKWOOD ARMS HOTEL in Shannon. If you are spending a night before getaway day this is a super choice. The restaurant provides great food and a positive experience for the last night in Ireland. Westport is a super town. Put it on your visit list. Heading South, although many folks are partial to Connemara we found it a bit lacking. The Roundstone monastery in Roundstone has some great shopping bargains - particularly musical instruments manufactured on site - but other than that Commemara is on our skip list. Instead head to Cong. Cong Abbey and grounds are made for photographers and leisurely exploration. If you have a bit of extra cash, have lunch at Ashford Castle. If partying is your cup of tea, Galway City can make the tea sweet. Heading to the Dingle Penninsula don't miss the Burren (quite unique), but the Cliffs of Moher are overrated by tenfold. We found other areas with more seaside interest elsewhere. The Slea Head Drive in and Coner Pass in Dingle are nice, but again overrated. The Ring of Kerry had some great views, but overall a lot of driving for too little. Instead don't miss the lake drive around Killarney - you will get 80% of the Ring of Kerry. Even though Killarney is 'touristy', Muchross House and Ross Castle on the lake are 'must see'. The photo ops in this area are unsurpassed. Back in the Shannon/Limerick area, if one is from Phoenix one must see it's twin city of Ennis. At Dysert O'dea the high cross is the best in Ireland, a must see. Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet is nice, but a bit overrated. Do do the Folk Park if you did not do the one in Ulster or the one near Cookstown. No visit to Ireland would be complete without visiting the Rock of Cashel in Cashel and Blarney Castle near Cork. Both are must see. Again, thanks for all the help and suggestions with planning this trip. Hopefully you will find some useful information in this thread.

TTT - Thought I would send this back to the top as the sister thread generated so much 'interest'.

did you stay a week each at the self catering in Ireland, or were you able to stay a shorter time?

We found that most self-catering accommodations offer weekly or 'short break' (2 or 3 day) options. Our self-catering stays were as follows; Hayloft - 7 days Hillcrest Cottage - 3 days Number 7 Cliff Terrace - 2 days Courtyard Apartments - 3 days Two notes: we traveled in off-season and therefore short break accommodations were probably easier to find than in high season. The start and end dates must be planned as week stays typically are Saturday to Friday. Short stay accommodations should consider this protocol in planning. An overlap - say Friday, Saturday and Sunday would interfere with two booking weeks and therefore is less desireable to the owners. Have fun.

BTW, it's Donegal, not Donnegal.