This is a continuation of our post from yesterday concerning our review of the hotels in Ireland.  Today, we conclude our hotel review with the 3 hotels in Cork, Waterford, and Dublin.

Ireland Trip Report

1. Ireland Overview
2. Driving in Ireland
3. Castles, Castles, and more Castles
4. Kylemore and Connemara
5. The Cliffs of Insanity!
6. The Loop Around the Dingle Peninsula
7. Searching for the Best Guinness in Dublin
8. 6 Hotels in 7 Nights! Part 1
9. 6 Hotels in 7 Nights! Part 2
10. Ireland’s Fine Eats – Part 1
11. Ireland’s Fine Eats – Part 2

4.  Hayfield Manor in Cork – In Lonely Planet, the review of this hotel stated, “Roll out the red carpet because you’ve arrived!”  Needless to say, I had high expectations for this hotel that were dashed by incompetent staff.

The Hayfield Manor was the splurge hotel of our trip.  Mr. Selfish and I had always wanted to stay in a “manor” and had high expectations – expectations that matched the price, at $207 (and no breakfast, to boot).

This was apparently the lower-end for rooms at the Hayfield Manor, but the girl at the front desk made a mistake and showed us the wrong room.  We were showed a beautiful room with a very large bathroom.  Instead, our room was a much smaller room that was only just adequate compared to that other room.  While in the larger room, I noted that it had conditioner and that our room only had shampoo!

On the plus side, we did have wifi in our room.

I blame Lonely Planet and the incompetent front desk girl.  My conclusion is that Hayfield was overpriced for the room, which did not include breakfast, and was far from city center.  Plus, even though Cork is the second largest city in Ireland, there wasn’t really much to do there.  I would not recommend Hayfield or Cork as stops in Ireland.

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Mr. Selfish and I once again decided to cram everything we possibly could into our Ireland trip.  We therefore stayed in 6 hotels over the span of 7 nights. This post is part 1 of our hotel review, which includes the 3 hotels in Trim, Galway, and Dingle.

Ireland Trip Report

1. Ireland Overview
2. Driving in Ireland
3. Castles, Castles, and more Castles
4. Kylemore and Connemara
5. The Cliffs of Insanity!
6. The Loop Around the Dingle Peninsula
7. Searching for the Best Guinness in Dublin
8. 6 Hotels in 7 Nights! Part 1
9. 6 Hotels in 7 Nights! Part 2
10. Ireland’s Fine Eats – Part 1
11. Ireland’s Fine Eats – Part 2

1.  Castle Arch Hotel in Trim – We stayed in a simple but clean room that cost $87.19.  This rate included breakfast, of which I neglected to take photos since I was so jetlagged.  Suffice to say, it was the first time I had the black and white pudding, and they were delicious!

This hotel was definitely price-efficient, and its location in Trim was perfect since it was only about 45 minutes outside of Dublin.  However, the room did not include wifi, so we had to sit in the lobby and use the wifi in order to plan the next day.

We probably wouldn’t go back to Trim since there isn’t much to see except for the castle, but I would recommend it to those touring the southern half of Ireland by car and wanting a quick overnight stop.

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