Melissa5

Now I'm thinking we should stay in Cillcoman Lodge which is just outside of town, and in a quiet neighborhood (Rossbeg, Westport,I believe) and either get a taxi or drive into Westport town centre to visit the pubs/restaurants/shopping. It sounds like Westport will be just too lively in July for me to sleep in town centre. But we do want to enjoy the pubs with young adult daughters.

Aggiegirl: You stayed at Cillcoman Lodge. Did you have a nice quiet night's rest? Were the hosts friendly and helpful? I know it's not a fancy place but it looks comfortable and cozy on their web-site. Thanks!

Has anybody else stayed there?

I guess we aren't sleeping in the car with the luggage after all...

Timlin

I visit www.castlebar.ie and the forums there would be able to share information on a very local level. They are great folks who will give you a bad time in the Irish manner...give it back and they love you!

aggiegirl

Hi Melissa,

I did indeed enjoy Cillcoman Lodge and got a good night's sleep. I was there with my mom and we had a big room on the third floor. It was very quiet and the beds were fine (something that can't be said for some of the other places I stayed). It's just a couple of minutes drive from Westport town and super close to the Quay area. You could walk to the Quay area although I'd be worried about being seen by cars at night since there are no sidewalks at a certain point. The hosts were nice and helpful, breakfast good and the place super clean. I highly recommend it. Of course, it is a b&b and not the Four Seasons! I was there in June last year, so the peak crowds that you'll see weren't there yet, so I don't know what kind of parking situation you will find in Westport town central. We didn't have a problem, but for your dates it may very well be a bit more crowded. As for outings from Westport, we went to Achill Island and it was one of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken. We also visited Clifden from Westport as well as Kylemore Abbey and Roundstone, returning each night to the Cillcoman Lodge. If you like, I can dig up my trip report and post it for you. My trip also included Donegal, Derry, Ballintoy, the Antrim Coast sites, and Belfast and I have a great place for you to stay at in Ballintoy if you find that you want to stop overnight along the Antrim Coast. Ok, this is making me want to go back to Ireland right now!

Melissa5

aggiegirl, thanks very much for your reply, and I'd love to see your trip report...as a matter of fact, we're going to Westport and Belfast as well, so that's 2 places we have in common. Your description of your experience at Cillcoman is very helpful. I do understand that it isn't the Four Seasons, and that's fine, we aren't looking for the four Seasons, after all, we can find them anywhere! But a clean place with comfty beds is very important, and a quiet place to sleep. Friendly and helpful hosts are a big bonus. Thanks! You have also helped me understand their location from a practical viewpoint. I am thinking about booking rooms there.

Melissa5

Timlin, thanks, I will find out what it's like to be given a bad time in the Irish manner, maybe it will be good practice and great fun! Plus I might actually get some info out of it (as well as entertainment).

aggiegirl

Melissa,
I will post my trip report, most likely this evening (it's on my home computer).

aggiegirl

Melissa, this is what I wrote up last year after my trip.

Summer 2004
I’m back from 8 wonderful days in Ireland. How sad it was to leave that beautiful place! Here’s an account (long) of my trip. Thanks to all who provided me helpful information during my planning. This was my second trip to Ireland.

May 30, flew from Houston to Baltimore and on to Shannon on Aer Lingus. I had worried about our seat assignments since the airline is not known for always getting them right, but both directions we had our aisle seats. The flight was uneventful.

May 31, arrived at Shannon to rain. It took a while to get our rental car through Hertz. It seemed every other rental company was free of lines and Hertz had a huge line! We got a Toyota Avensis and as a big fan of Toyota, it was fun to drive a model not sold in the US.

We drove in the rain and popped into Ennis. We experienced our first act of Irish kindness when we parked our car. We didn’t know if we were allowed to park for free so we asked a lady. She told us it was disc parking and we then asked her where the atm/cash machines were, since the atms were out of order at the airport. We proceeded on and then she called us back and insisted on giving us money for the parking. I couldn’t believe it! She tried to give us several euros, it was so strange and novel for someone to offer something like this. We tried to decline but she insisted and I finally accepted about 80 cents, enough to cover parking long enough for us to quickly get cash and wonder about. The weather was miserable and we were tired so we didn’t stay long. Must spend more time in Ennis next time.

Onward to Galway. We arrived at Marless House in Salthill. Mary is the most wonderful hostess! Her house is lovely and spic and span clean and orderly. We tried to take a little nap, but there was construction going on next door and the noise of hammering and drilling prevented a nap. We headed into city centre and wandered the streets and shops. We went to see Lynch’s castle, the big Cathedral, and the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas.

June 1. Woke up to improved weather and a wonderful breakfast. Mary’s dining room is very nice. Had some sausages, bread, and scrambled eggs. Yum!! I had sausage every single day! I’ve probably gained five pounds from the delicious breakfasts I ate every day. After eating, we said farewell to Mary and the Australians we had chatted with in the dining room. Our next stop was to be Cong and Ashford Castle. We toured the grounds and interior of the castle and it was great. I loved the building and the grounds! There was no charge to visit the grounds and no problem to wander around the inside. It’s so small on the inside compared to what you expect from the outside! When you pull up to these huge looking castles, it’s always a surprise to see how cosy they are inside, rather than big and grand. We walked from the castle to the old church ruins in Cong. Afterwards, we headed to Westport where we would be staying the next two nights at Cilcoman Lodge. Before getting to the b&b, we stopped in city centre to do a little shopping and get a bite to eat. I bought a beautiful wool sweater in town. Checking into the b&b, we had another Mary for a host and she was great as well. I have to say all of our hostesses were wonderful! They were all sweet and helpful. Our room was on the third floor, brand new and nice and clean. The breakfasts were delicious and filling yet again. After bringing in our luggage, we proceeded on to Achill Island. I saw a record number of sheep this trip, along with “loose chippings” signs. I think our first stop on the Atlantic Drive on the island was one of Grace O’Malley’s castles. It was very picturesque. Of course, everything in Ireland is picturesque!! We had a wonderful drive around the island, took in many scenic views, saw the old abandoned village ruins, etc. On the way back, I decided to try to find a castle ruin (not a tower house) I had caught a glimpse of on our way to the island. It looked really neat, right on the water. I took a guess at a turn and drove down this narrow, dirt, forested road. It went and went and no sign of a castle. My mom started getting uncomfortable and I decided to turn back. Only problem was, there was no place to turn around or do a three point turn! I had to drive a few minutes in reverse. One side of the road was the water/bay and the other was rocks and tree stumps and marshy like grounds. Finally, I was able to turn around and drive back to the main road. Does anybody know what castle I’m talking about??? There was no sign on the road I took. Probably there should have been a keep out sign so fools like me would stay out! I’m weak for castles and this one had intrigued me. Too bad I couldn’t find it! If I had been with another adventurist, I probably would have proceeded further along by foot. I’m grateful for the quality tires on my Toyota Avensis (car I had been given last year had nearly bald tires!).

We made it back safely to Westport and went into town for dinner. Had pizza at Morelli’s and then went to Matt Malloy’s to hear some music and try my first Guinness. I never drink beer, but I felt compelled to try a Guinness. Alas, I couldn’t drink more than a sip or two, it just wasn’t to my taste! The pub was busy, but not too crowded.

June 2. Today we were going to Kylemore Abbey and Clifden. Once again, the drive was beautiful. Loved the little town of Leenane. Kylemore Abbey was so pretty and peaceful. Really enjoyed the main house and the chapel and the gift shop. Was disappointed with the shuttle system to the garden. They start shuttling at 10 and then stop service for thirty minutes at 11. We never did see a shuttle show up while we were there and headed on. I’m guessing they don’t want people walking to the gardens so that the girls at the school have the paths to themselves and offer them more safety? That’s the only reason I could come up with for prohibiting walking to the gardens.

Onward to Clifden. Walked around, had lunch at a nice bakery restaurant. Did part of the Sky Road drive, but eventually turned around because I didn’t know exactly how long it went. Got to see from a distance the enchanting Clifden Castle. We then proceeded to Roundstone. Fascinating land enroute to Roundstone. Rocky, desolate landscape with no sign of life anywhere makes you feel rather strange. Not even a sheep to be seen!

June 3. We woke up to drizzly weather, had a great breakfast, and hit the road to Donegal. As we neared Sligo, the clouds were so low, the hills and mountains were all hidden. I was quite disappointed because I knew I was missing magnificent scenery. It was the same when we left Sligo, never saw any of the topography. Walked around probably for an hour in Sligo, checked out the beautiful abbey ruins, went into some shops, and then moved onward towards Donegal. Arrived in Donegal and checked into our b&b, Island View. The house really had a pretty location. The room was clean and simple and fine. By this time, the weather had really cleared up. We drove into town, had lunch at the delicious Krusty Kitchen, walked around until time for the waterbus departure. The waterbus was very pleasant, although I was disappointed when I found that their literature was misleading. On the pamphlet and the website, it’s listed that you’ll see the ruins of two castles. In fact, you see no such ruins, only the islands in which the ruins are located, hidden. Well, anyways, the main purpose of the taking the tour for me was to see the seals that live in the bay. I’ve never seen seals outside of a zoo. It was so neat to see them basking in the sun on a sandbar. At first you couldn’t even tell they were seals, they looked like driftwood from afar. When we got closer, we could really see them and some were out swimming in the water too. Neat! Donegal was really a nice little town and I enjoyed visiting Donegal Castle.
June 4. Time to pack up again and head to Derry. Wanted to park at the Foyleside shopping center garage and missed finding it on the first attempt. Swung around and found it and parked easily. First stop was City Hall. The guard was nice and led us into the council chamber and chatted with us for a bit. He was very hospitable. Climbed up on the walls in a couple of places and that was fun and provided good views. Walked around, visited St. Augustine’s Church and chatted with a charming caretaker and toured the beautiful St. Columb Church. Derry had a lot of friendly people who were more than happy to share their knowledge and information. I hope more people realize it’s quite ok and safe to visit Northern Ireland. I also walked down to the bogside and took pictures of several of the murals. I felt very safe there, there were plenty of people walking around. Final stop before moving on was Marks and Spencer, my favorite grocery store in the whole world. I’m obsessed with their "Extremely Chocolatey Mini Bites." If you haven’t had them before, you must next time! I adore them and pine for them when the supply I bring back runs out.
Next stop was Downhill Estate. En route, in the middle of nowhere, we saw some soldiers to the side of the road, in fatigues with machine guns. We wondered what in the world they were doing out in the middle of farm land. I forgot to ask our next b&b host about it. Maybe they were just doing an exercise, who knows.
Downhill, the temple, and the beach below were beautiful. The temple unfortunately was not open. I had expected it to be open, don’t know why it wasn’t. Next was the beautiful Dunluce Castle remains. It was freezing at this location, but I spent considerable time wandering around. Then onward to Giant’s Causeway. What a fabulous walk/hike along the cliff and down to the causeway! It was truly beautiful (I know I keep saying that) and good exercise to boot. We then headed to Ballintoy to check into our b&b Knock Soughey House. This place is located directly across the street from the entrance to the rope bridge. Can’t get more convenient than that! By this time, it was 5:15, the last entrance for the rope bridge. I decided to save it for the next day so I could savor it. Knock Soughey was an agreeable place, nice sized room and bathroom. The shower was a wee bit small, but not a problem. Jean, the proprietor, was kind enough to let me use her computer to check my email. Very nice! We drove to Ballycastle for dinner and had pizza in the city centre at Casa Pizza.
June 5. Got up early and headed to Glenariff forest park to walk the waterfall trail. It was beautiful. The hike was very enjoyable, quite a workout, the waterfalls were lovely and the views of the glens as well. We got back to the car park just in time for it started to really rain at this point. Much to my dismay, the rain kept coming down hard and a fog or clouds really set in. My plan had been to drive back to Ballycastle via the Torr Head drive, but at this point, we wouldn’t have been able to see anything because visibility was awful. Those clouds were amazing how they wiped out the sight of anything to the side of the road. Don’t see that happen around here in Houston very often! Since Torr Head was shot, we decided to drive to Ballymena (it seemed like all signs everywhere we went pointed to Ballymena). What a pleasant surprise to find a busy shopping district. We had an enjoyable couple of hours shopping. We had to head back to Ballintoy though, for me to get to the rope bridge with ample time to enjoy it. The weather was much improved by then and I dropped my mom off at the b&b and then I went to the bridge. I think the rope bridge was my favorite part of the trip! The walk to the bridge was grand, crossing the bridge was great fun, and hanging out on the little island was breathtaking. I got some fabulous pictures from over there. I wandered around the little island and then just sat down on a rock for a while enjoying the views. It was so lovely, I didn’t want to head back.
June 6. Onward to Belfast! First stop, Belfast Castle. What a pleasure this castle was. Beautiful location, lovely garden, fun interior to explore. Then we headed into the city, first wanting to go to our b&b to check in and leave the car. Well, we had a small difficulty trying to find it. It was near the Queen’s University, but we never saw any signposting for it. We ended up on Sandy Row, and my mom was nervous because of all the loyalist murals of hooded figures with assault weapons. The murals we saw in the bogside were not creepy, these were. Nevertheless, it was fine and we drove back around city centre and asked somebody for directions and got pointed in the correct direction and found Windemere Guesthouse. This was a conveniently located place, but left much to be desired. The building was neat, but some things needed to be upgraded. The beds were awful!!! I mean awful, as if the mattresses were 30 years old. The bedspread was not totally clean and the shower was the tiniest thing I’ve ever seen and very worn and kind of grungy. We headed out to see the sights of Belfast. It was a Sunday and the stores didn’t open til one. We walked by City Hall and the Clock Tower, went into St. Ann’s and then went to Mass at St. Malachy. After church got out, it was almost one. My mom and I split up and I went to Marks and Spencer to get a scone and some chocolate chip cookies. I took my snacks to a bench in front of City Hall and enjoyed them. The weather was dry and very warm! I was too warm with the clothes I had packed. I ended up buying a couple of t-shirts. It was much warmer in Ireland this year than my trip about the same time last year.
I wanted to photograph some of the murals on Sandy Row, so I headed over and took several pictures. I walked several blocks and then headed back to regular turf. There was nobody around. It was like a ghost town on Sandy Row. I then went to the Botanic gardens and enjoyed a nice walk. The rose garden was very pretty. Queens was a lovely campus. Lucky students who go there!
Sunday evening, I decided to check out the salsa dance scene of Belfast. I had emailed somebody in advance and found out the only place to dance salsa in town. It was at Madison’s and I first had a drink in the street level bar and a chat with three guys who were at the bar. When it was time for the salsa disco to begin, I went downstairs. I went up to some guy and introduced myself and he took me over to his table of friends and I hung out with them for the rest of the evening, talking and dancing with them. Everybody was very nice and I felt right at home. In addition to meeting some locals, there were people from Poland, Argentina, and Venezuela.
June 7. Time to make the long trek from Belfast to Bunratty. It really wasn’t that bad. We made a detour to Castlepollard to see Tullynally Castle. It wasn’t open, but at least I got to see the outside and photograph it. We had lunch in Mullingar and then headed to Tullamore so I could see the intriguing Charleville Castle that I had wanted to see last year. We pulled up and there was a feel to the place like a bohemian or hippie colony. We joined a tour and got to see all over the castle. This was the best tour I’ve ever been on, not because of the commentary (very poorly informed guide, not one of the owners), but because hardly anything was off limits. The place really is a disaster, they are trying to renovate it, but at the pace they are going and the limited funds, it’s going to be a 100 years before it’s done. Regardless, the castle is awesome, my favorite that I’ve ever visited. The ceilings were huge. There were lots of stairs. I was in heaven. We got to go up to the roof and up the towers. I totally loved it. Some have said that it’s a spooky place, but I didn’t find it spooky at all, just needs lots and lots of money and man hours to restore to the splendor that it once was. What a place it must have been! And the big tree at the beginning of the forest drive was really cool.
We eventually made it to Bunratty by 5 and went shopping at the Woolen Mills. Had dinner at Durty Nelly’s (they burned my toasty) and then retired for the night to pack and get a good night’s sleep before flying home in the morning. We stayed at Ashgrove House. Sheila was really nice and she had the cute idea of putting country flags on the tables denoting the nationalities of the guests staying. Our room was nice sized with good beds though I do think some sprucing up is in order. For instance, there was mold growing on the shower curtain and there was a hole in the sheets on my mom’s bed. These things could easily be corrected.
June 8. Bid farewell to lovely Ireland. Hope to be back again next year. Quite sad to have left!

Melissa5

aggiegirl, thanks very much for posting your trip report for me! I have skimmed it and have found great info, very helpful for me. Cillcoman sounds like the answer to my dilemma, a place quiet enough for sleeping, and close enough to the areas we want to visit, even though it's not actually right in WEstport town centre, it will be quiter for seeping, which is important to me being a light sleeper. Lotsa good info in your trip and as soon as I get more typing paper tomorrow I'm going to print it out!

Thanks.

Melissa5

Sorry, typos, agh! Right above, I meant "quieter for sleeping"! Obviously it's time for sleeping right now.

Melissa5

Which is the best choice: Cillcoman, a quiet b&b in a quiet neighborhood about a 1/2 mile from the Westport Quay; or the Wyatt hotel, right in Westport, walking distance to Matt Malloy's and other Westport evening fun?

I've narrowed the choices down to these 2. Seeking both quiet sleep and convenient access to the evening fun of Westport for my young adult daughters and for hubby and I. (I do have trouble sleeping in noisy hotels so this is a big concern of mine.) We'll be in WEstport on a weekend in JUly. I did want to allow my daughters the freedom of walking right out of the hotel or b&b and finding themselves in an interesting lively town...but I don't want to give up my sleep to do so.

Any opinions on these 2 choices? (We will have a car if this makes a difference.) Daughters are both over 18 years.

During the day-time we will be taking day-trips to places like Killary Harbor and Achill island.

Thanks for all your help!

IrishEyes

Weekends tend to be times when people get married in Ireland. All weddings tend to be noisy, late events. You should contact the hotel to see if they have a wedding being catered on your dates or even if there is a wedding locally. If it is a big wedding sometimes many hotels get booked up with guests. A wedding could be in another hotel but guests could be staggering in at 4 am. I am not saying that this will happen, just that it is possible.

Summer weekends are also times when Irish people travel around with their families. Many times when they are on holiday they keep later hours and allow the kids to run riot.

I think it is much more likely to have a quiet night at a B&B that has 4 or 5 rooms than a hotel that has 50 rooms. Less rooms = less potential problems.

It depends on what matters most, quiet or town access.

Melissa5

IrishEyes, thanks for your reflections on my question. Your answer helps me to sum up what many others have said as well. Basically, if I stay in Westport near town centre on a weekend in July, especially in a big hotel, I will have to accept a greater risk of being kept awake.

So I am going to accept that being outside of town, but not too far out, will have to be the best compromise between having the best of both worlds...lively fun evenings and sleep at night!

My young adult daughters won't have quite the easy access to Westport, but it's not like we're staying way out in the middle of nowhere miles from any town. We'll work it out. So a place like Cillcoman which is about 1/2 mile outside of Westport Quay sounds right.

Thanks everybody! Not only have you helped me answer this question, but there is a lot of great information on Westport here.

Melissa5

aggiegirl, I really enjoyed reading your trip report, thanks for taking the time to post it here for me! Many of the places you visited are on my hope-to-see list, and it's nice that you went into some detail. Right now my plan is 3 nights near Westport in a b&b, with day-trips to places like Killary harbor, Achill island, Kylemore Abbey, whatever we can fit in; 2 nights in or near Belfast; 3 nights in or near dublin.

If I spend 3 nights in both County Mayo (Westport base) and Dublin, then Northern Ireland (Belfast base) only gets 2 nights.

If I have only 2 nights in NOrthern Ireland, then we will definitely not have time for the Antrim coast or the Giant's causeway. So NOrthern Ireland could use 3 nights, using Belfast area as a base.

But if I only spent 2 nights in our Westport b&b, instead of 3, then we would have to choose between places like Killary Harbor and Achill island and Clare island and Kylemore abbey, missing most of them.

And if I only spend 2 nights instead of 3 in Dublin, then we might not have time for nearby sights like Trim Castle for example, and we wouldn't be able to see all of the historic places in dublin I had hoped to fit in (places like Killmainham Gaol, National Museum of Archaeology, Dublin Writer's museum, book of kells, etc.)

aggiegirl, I don't think you got to Dublin on this trip, but perhaps you were there on a previous trip. HOW would you divide up 8 nights between County Mayo; Northern Ireland (including Belfast); and Dublin/Trim Castle area? Anybody want to offer a comment on this? Then we fly home from Dublin.

Thanks for all your help with Westport!

Angela

Do keep in mind a place that was mentioned earlier in this thread - Ardmore House Hotel. If you have definitely decided to stay outsidee of the immediate town, then this place is perfect. Its literally 2 minutes walk from The Quays, so its very walkable and its quite upmarket so there would be no noise issue.

Hope I havent confused you more!

Angela

Melissa5

Angela, have you stayed at the Ardmore House hotel? I did consider it but it seems like there have been a couple of reports about it being not always friendly. Certainly being a 2-minute walk from the Quays would be ideal for us!

Thanks for all of your help, you have posted answers on a lot of my questions!

Angela

Melissa

I only had a meal here, so I cant really help on the accommodations. I just know that when I ate there I walked to it from The Quays and it was such a short walk. Also, the food is excellent!

Sorry I cant be of more help, and now I've went and made your decision even more difficult!!

Angela

aggiegirl

Melissa,
I have been to Dublin on a previous trip. I only stayed there two nights and did just a few basics like Trinty College, ChristChurch Cathedral, St. Patrick's etc. When do you get your car? Upon arrival?
I stayed in Belfast only one night and found that was plenty for me. It's certainly a nice town (definitely take your girls to the Crown Liquor Saloon), but I think the big attractions of Northern Ireland are on the Antrim Coast. I really love the Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a -rede rope bridge, and the Glens. I need to reference back to your last posted itinerary. As for your continuing Westport lodging dilemma, I do seriously recommend you pick a quiet place. Having endured a Dublin hotel in which all the partiers could be heard throughout the night and at the end of the night, I now know to give that a great deal of consideration. I'm a light sleeper myself!

Melissa5

Angela, thanks for your info, I feel quite competent and well-informed about Westport accomodations by now, thanks to you all! Really appreciate your advice. I think Ardmore is also way more expensive than Cillcoman, and some wise person (McShane?) said when she can't decide, she goes for the cheaper one!

Melissa5

aggiegirl, thanks for putting up with my repeated questons. It's been fun chatting with you about Cillcoman and your Ireland trip! I'm going to e-mail Cillcoman...tomorrow...hubby is going to unplug my computer if I stay up late again tonight!

(Please, my brain, don't change your mind by tomorrow. My decision feels so right tonight!)

Talking to my own brain now. Time for sleep. Aggiegirl, we are renting our car when we fly into shannon. Dublin will come at the end of our trip, so we will probably turn in the rental car and spend the last 2 or 3 nights in the quietest place I can find in/near dublin city centre without a car. Then we fly home from dublin.

Contemplating staying in Kilronan House, south of St. Stephen's Green. Really hoping it is quiet, and still walking distance to the main sites we want to visit in dublin city centre like book of kells, National Museum of Archaeology, Killmainham Gaol, etc. Hey, doesn't this sound like the same dilemma I had for Westport?!

Thank you very much and good night!

Melissa5

Cillcoman hasn't yet answered the e-mail I wrote (maybe on vacation.) Therefore it has give me way too much time to re-consider!

I asked for a family vote and my whole family voted to stay IN Westport town centre, even with the knowledge that it might be noisy at night. They all think it sounds great to be able to walk right out of our hotel/b&b and visit shops, restaurants, and Matt Malloys and other pubs.

I decided to let them have their way here, as we will sleep someplace quieter before and after Westport.

Considering these new criteria, I guess I would say the Olde Railway hotel, and the Wyatt on the Octagon are both excellent choices. Hard to say which is better. Also considered Knockranny Lodge, though I think it's not as convenient for walking back at night in the dark from Matt Malloy's pub to the Knockranny Lodge?

Does anybody know the location of the Olde Railway hotel, on the river? Is this a relatively quiet street at night? (I realize I'm not going to find total quiet at night in Westport. But I'm hoping for a bit of sleep at least, and am planning to bring earplugs and maybe even purchase a small white noise machine.) We would book the superior rooms, which are bigger. I expect a delightfully antique and creeky old historic inn.

I think the Wyatt is more modernized inside. The Wyatt seems like a nice hotel too, I'm not sure what is meant by "the Octagon", I think it's central though. Since the Wyatt is bigger they could have weddings in their conference center, which can be noisy too. But they sent me a nice e-mail too and said they can try to provide me with quiet rooms though of course it can't be guaranteed.

I have to admit I am excited too about staying in Westport town centre.