Irish Adventure: Belfast, Dublin & the Northwest Counties Day 18
Irish Adventure: Belfast, Dublin & the Northwest Counties
IRISH ADVENTURE: BELFAST, DUBLIN & THE NORTHWEST COUNTIES
Hotel Evaluations
Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis, Ireland
https://www.templegatehotel.com/
"QUITE NICE AND WELCOMING"
LOCATION: Very centrally located. Within walking distance of main shopping and restaurants.
RECEPTION: Accommodating, very helpful front desk, provided us with a good fan to air the room and heat.
ROOM: Small Room, narrow space between beds and desk
BEDS: Gave us two beds, excellent feel, lots of pillows, nice duvets
BATHROOMS: Small, good shower and ample space in bathroom, toilet took long to fill.
WORK SPACE: Single desk space, plenty of electric plugs; provided us with two chairs to work
INTERNET: Good internet with excellent speed.
BREAKFAST: Specialty meals to order came out very quickly. Breakfast staff was so polite and friendly
ELEVATORS: Good but slow.
ISSUES: With warm rooms we asked for a fan. Helped to cool.
OVERALL: Very comfortable hotel with excellent staff
Beautiful flowers in entrance and patio outside
HINT: Very typical of Irish hotels but with special aspects.
Clifden Station House, Clifden, Ireland
https://www.clifdenstationhouse.com/
"BETWEEN MAIN STREET AND FIREHOUSE"
LOCATION: Near the circular Main Street, our room was right on the Main Street across the road from the fire station, lots of noise and light.
RECEPTION: Very nice and attentive, came to our door to check.
ROOM: Gave us an extra chair, fan to cool hot room, quite small, lots of street noise and light from fire station.
BEDS: No complaints, quite comfortable
BATHROOMS: Fan did not work, asked to to fix while there - did not.
Sink and bathtub drained very slowly or not at all.
WORK SPACE: Double desk space, additional chair from reception
INTERNET: Good speed
BREAKFAST: Buffet, good fruit
ELEVATORS: Used the stairs but several times elevator was slow
ISSUES: Between main streets and firehouse.
OVERALL: Average hotel, good service, nothing special
HINT: Check out the room before accepting – light and noise.
Mill Park Hotel, Donegal, Ireland
https://www.millparkhotel.com/
"BEAUTIFUL LOCATION – HALLWAY MAZES – POOR INTERNET"
LOCATION: Beautiful location, quite a walking distance from town-Donegal
RECEPTION: Fantastic, as were all employees for most part. Had problem with employee on morning of September 18. She was more interested in cell phone than in the smoking in halls.
ROOM: Large, comfortable, well appointed, windows provided ventilation.
BEDS: Super, comfortable, warm.
BATHROOMS: Quite large, some with large tubs, separate shower.
WORK SPACE: Quite limited. Desk is only for one.
INTERNET: Very bad speed. If you need to work, go to another hotel
BREAKFAST: Nice buffet, good variety, super staff always attentive.
ELEVATORS: Good elevators but we used stairs – faster.
ISSUES: Internet is quite poor, water temp fluctuates, outside spotlights shine into rooms, cigarette smoke in many hallways. Reporting to main desk had no response – they just went back to their cell phone. Smoke drifting into rooms from below.
OVERALL: Great location, architecture, parking, layout but very spread out – long hallways.
HINT: Before signing, be sure Virgin is not their internet carrier.
Maldron Hotel, Derry, N. Ireland
https://www.maldronhotelderry.com/
"CENTER OF CITY, BUT…"
LOCATION: In the center of Derry, close to all major areas.
RECEPTION: Superb and really worked with all.
ROOM: Willing to switch us to a more adaptable room. Problem was the new room had many failings.
BEDS: Nice and comfortable.
BATHROOMS: Broken tiles, tiles that popped when walked on, toilet seat was smaller than toilet. Threshold to carpet was filthy.
ROOM: Windows that provided ventilation, carpet had bad brown stains, light fixtures had not been cleaned. Dead bugs in center of light fixture.
WORK SPACE: Good work surface for two computer; electrical was super, with USB.
INTERNET: Excellent speed
BREAKFAST: Mediocre at best. With three tour groups they could not keep up. Took 10 minutes to replenish bread. Supervisor was having a bad day, told guest to get out of the way.
ELEVATORS: Two elevators with good speed.
ISSUES: Quality of the room, breakfast was one of the worst we have had in Ireland.
OVERALL: City center but …
HINT: Check out room and bath completely before unpacking.
Maldron Hotel, Belfast City, N. Ireland
https://www.maldronhotelbelfastcity.com/
"NICE HOTEL WITH CONCERNS"
LOCATION: Center of Belfast
RECEPTION: Super nice, went out of their way to help us out. Manager worked hard.
ROOM: New rooms are quite small, even for Europe. No real storage for items and luggage. Hotel was totally redone this year. Electrical system is super. USB ports.
Could not open the window – broken. Heat-Cool controls were not consistent and had to be set by the front desk. Our room was 64 F when we got up or came home.
BEDS: Very pleasant and well done.
BATHROOMS: Only one person at a time. Very modern. Shower is quite good.
WORK SPACE: Table was moved way to the side, chairs to work were nice but took space. To use electrical outlets one has to have long extension cord and adapter.
INTERNET: Super good speedy.
BREAKFAST: First day, due to many travel groups the staff could not keep up. Took us 20 minutes just to get bread. Hot food was slow to come out. Staff were not too welcoming and could not answer questions.
ELEVATORS: 3 elevators with good speed. When tours are coming and going it is a problem.
ISSUES: Our room had several issues with heating and cooling that they could not fix. Front desk and service worked hard but too difficult.
OVERALL: Center of the city with lots of action, restaurants, bus station, and other benefits. Getting in and out on the streets was extremely congested and difficult.
HINT: Before unpacking, check heating and cooling as well as the window.
Hotel 7, Dublin, Ireland
https://www.hotel7dublin.com/
"A VERY POOR EXPERIENCE"
LOCATION: A bit dicey part of town. Within walking distance of Asian restaurants. Close to Garden of Remembrance
RECEPTION: Very negative about getting us another chair. No possibility of a second luggage rack. Only gave one key, had to ask for another
Rafaela was exceptionally nice and went to a lot of time and trouble to get new and better pillows for us. All of reception should be like her.
Luggage and maintenance were not helpful at all. Could not help us with room issues.
Housekeeping did not clean our room on 2nd day. Put card on door at 8 AM and when we returned at 2:30 PM it and others around us had not been cleaned.
ROOM: Small compact room. Way in the back of the hotel. Handicapped Access room. Overlooks garbage cans and backstreet low-income houses
Kids yelling and screaming until 7:00 – then absolute quiet. No electrical outlet close to a mirror to use the hair dryer. Total of 3 outlets in the whole room.
BEDS: Beds were fine. Pillows were very hard, large, and foam that held the heat.
BATHROOMS: We had the handicap accessible bath – lots of floor room. One small shelf to put things, no drawers or cabinets
No soap only shower jell. No place to put soap in shower. Water splashed all over the floor, as shower is open for wheelchair access
WORK SPACE: Only one chair. Desk is very narrow, less than a foot, and difficult to put a computer and accessories
INTERNET: Good speed
BREAKFAST: Minimal buffet but breakfasts to order
ELEVATORS: Only one for the largest portion of the hotel
ISSUES: Monitor reception in late afternoon. All should be welcoming as Rafaela.
OVERALL: If I had a choice, I would not stay at this hotel. Placing a customer in a handicap room. Never had a stay as poor as this in our visit to 128 countries. African tent camps were so much better all around.
HINT Just bad situation all around.
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