B&B, Guesthouse & Hotel Rates Take a Nosedive in 2010

Michele Erdvig · Host

B&B, Guesthouse & Hotel Rates Take a Nosedive in 2010

collenbee08 · Member

Thanks Michele, this is an interesting bit of information.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Collen,

Happy to add my update. I am always looking for bargains.

Michele

Michele Erdvig · Host

Just read this Irish Times article about lower Irish hotel prices: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0302/1224265432561.html

Michele

Zstep · Veteran Member

I have been doing quite a bit of research into B&B costs for mid to late June. I haven't really looked at hotels as I prefer the B&B experience for a trip like this.

We haven't finalized anything yet but using current currency conversion rates ($1.35=1 Euro) and a basis of either 2 adults and 2 children or 3 adults and 2 children, the averages per night so far have been:

               2A, 2C       3A, 2C
Trim         $128           $154
Birr          $135           $189
Adare      $88             $156 (no breakfast)
Killorgin   $147           $200 (Saturday rate)
Killarney $177           $230 (Saturday rate)
Cork        $140           $195
Kilkenny   $165          $235
Dublin      $135          $180
Dublin      $101          $140 (self catering 3 nights)

Those are average rates and I have found some rates lower than what I put above. I suspect those rates may go down a bit as rooms go unfilled but for those of you who don't like last minute decisions (especially with 2 kids in tow like me) it is some decent baseline info.

Monty · Senior Member

What are you finding PPS in those areas per adult?

Zstep · Veteran Member

I was asking for large/family rooms where possible to reduce cost but not too many places can accomodate 5 in a room so most of those prices I listed are based on 2 rooms.

The children got discounted rates that varied from 20% to 50% of the adult price depending on the B&B.

I'll put together a list and post it in a bit- I have about 20 quotes!

Zstep · Veteran Member

Michele, I hope I'm not infringing on your turf by posting this? Please remove if I am doing so...

Ok, here goes. One thing to note, some places are better for adults only since they didn't give good discounts for kids (Mulvarra House springs to mind). The dates I was looking for were from June 16-25

*Trim- Highfield Guest House- Single 55 Euro, Double 35 Euro pps (I believe), Family 28 Euro Adult, 15 Euro Child pps
*Trim- Trim Castle Hotel- Sold out June 16-20
*Trim- Tigh Cathain- Double 35E pps, Family 120E
*Trim- Beechwood Lodge- Double 39E pps, Family 115E

*Birr (Shannon Harbour) - Harbour Masters House Single 40 Euro, Sharing 35 Euro 5% reduction for cash (sharing rate may be lower- Their website says 45 Euro for a single and she quoted me 40 E)
*Birr-Aaron House- Single 60E, Double 37.5E pps, 3 or more 35E pps. Cash preferred

*Adare- Adare Village Inn- Single 50E, Double 30E pps no breakfast

(This was a Saturday stay possibility- not sure if its different than rest of week)
*Caherdaniel- Derrynane Bay House- Sharing 40E pps, Family 120E

(All Killarney are Saturday rates)
*Killarney- FairviewGuesthouse- 45E pps, children 22.5E
*Killarney- Larkinlay Lodge- Sold out week of June 19
*Killarney- Crystal Springs- Double 43E pps, Triple 35E pps, Family 128E
*Killarney- Coffey's Rivers Edge Guesthouse- Sold out June 19

(All Killorgin are Saturday rates)
*Killorgin (Milltown)- Kilburn House- 45E single, Double 35E pps, Family 100E
*Killorgin- Grove Lodge- Single 45E, Family 120E (also has self catering options I didn't get prices on- looked a very nice place though)

*Cork- Auburn House- 37.5 Euro pps
*Cork- Avondale B&B- 40 Euro pps prefer cash
*Cork- Glencairn B&B- Single 40E, Double 35E pps, Triple 30E pps, Family- negot (e-mail response came across as extremely friendly and helpful) prefer cash
*Cork- Fernroyd House- Single 55E, Double 40E pps, Family 100E
*Cork- Gabriel House- Single 50E, Double 40E pps, Family 115E

*Kilkenny- Park Villa- 35-40 Euro pps
*Kilkenny- Newlands Country House- 40 Euro pps
*Kilkenny- Carriglea- No availability June 21
*Kilkenny- Pinecrest- Single 45E Double 35E pps Family 105E cash only
*Kilkenny (St. Mullins)- Mulvarra House- Single 50E, Double or more 38E pps

*Dublin- O'Neills Townhouse- 45 Euro pps no parking
*Dublin- Botanic Villa- Single 45 Euro, Family (1 Double, 2 Twin) 90 Euro prefers cash
*Dublin- Egan's House- Family 109 Euro Super Family 134 Euro (lots of variable rates here. Check the website)
*Dublin- Amberly House- Double 34.5E pps, Triple 26.3E pps, Family 99E
*Dublin- ABC Guesthouse- Single 50 Euro Family room 30 Euro pps (4 beds)
*Dublin- Botanic View B&B- Single 45 Euro, Shared 35 Euro pps 15 Euro children
*Dublin- Botanic View B&B (Self Catering, minimum 3 night stay)- Single 27.5E, Family 25E adult, 12.5E children

-- Edited by Zstep on Wednesday 3rd of March 2010 11:43:57 AM

Monty · Senior Member

Good information. Appreciate it!

Monty

CowboyCraic · Guru

I have stayed at Mulvarra House in St. Mullins. For adults, it is a great place to stay. The hosts are quite delightful. The breakfasts are a gourmet treat. The bedrooms, upstairs, have an excellent view of the River Barrow from each Balcony on the riverside. They even have a massuese available on request. Mulvarra is a relaxation destination.

I am not sure though that St. Mullins, as a whole, would be the place for a family with children, as there isn't much there to do. You have the River Barrow, the Abbey and Cemetery, a couple of B&Bs and the pub, at last visit. It is a beautiful, small hamlet, to be sure though.

I have often suggested to families traveling over that they check out irelandforkids.ie , as they have a plethora of great ideas and special offers.

Slan Beo,

Bit

Michele Erdvig · Host

Zstep,

No problem with your posting. We are all trying to gather as much info as possible.

One note about Highfield in Trim. I stayed there once and never will again. In this one instance you might consider Trim Castle Hotel instead.

Michele

Zstep · Veteran Member

Looks like Trim Castle hotel is booked from June 16th through the 2Oth unfortunately.

I'll look for some alternatives, Highfield was recommended to me. Do you mind sharing what you didn't like about it?

Michele Erdvig · Host

Zstep,

I didn't like anything about it. Can't think of one positive.

Michele

CowboyCraic · Guru

Other than the location and the free wi-fi, I cannot find a positive for Highfield Guest House either. I had booked in for three nights back in 07. After suffering through one night in a bed which was far too soft, linens which were far too stiff and a lot of street noise, I cancelled my other two nights and headed for Northern Ireland a few days early.

I see that you are looking at Dublin, as well as Trim. What is it that draws you to Trim? If it is a stop gap in between two areas, perhaps we could offer an alternative.

Keep in mind that June marks the start of the Festival season and weekend lodgings will fill up early. I know that both Kilkenny and Killarney have ongoing festivals throughout June and into July.

Also, Dublin is no place to have a vehicle, as parking is hard to find and expensive and the traffic is insane. If Dublin is at the end of your trip, you would be better off to turn in the rental as you come in to Dublin and rely on ground transportation to get around. If you find lodgings which offer parking, you will usually find that the parking is an extra daily fee.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Bit,

Don't bring back those memories! My back hurt for 2 weeks after Highfield's bed. Sleeping in the car would have been more comfortable.

Zstep,

Kilorglin is not all that far from Killarney. Why the need to relocate?

I much prefer Kinsale over Cork. But that is a personal preference.

Michele

Zstep · Veteran Member

Thanks for the advice everyone! Here is the basis for what I am thinking. My party will consist of either:

a) myself, my wife (both mid 30's), our 13 year old daughter and 6 year old son or b) the previous group plus my mother in law (late 50's).

We're coming from Austin, TX. As tourists, we like to be on the move and there are some short attention spans in my clan so multiple days at any spot besides Dublin is unlikely this time around. A bonus is that my children are excellent travellers who have handled 13 hour flights and 3 days straight in a car road trips very well in the past as well as extended vacations.

We have one hard date which is Dublin on June 23 (Wife and daughter going to see Green Day perform at Marlay Park).

I have noticed that in and around June 15th seems to be the "cutoff" date or date that airlines seem to change their pricing into peak season so I thought if we did June 15-25, that would be a slightly more affordable option (my checks into current flight prices bear this out).

My approximate itinierary which is highly subject to change is (town listed is where we'll end, places listed are likely/possible destinations on the way):
June 15 Travel overnight
June 16 Trim- Newgrange, Trim Castle, Hill of Tara possible day 1 or day 2 activities depending on how everyone is feeling.
June 17 Birr- No particular "must" but Clonmacnoise is high on my list. This is the most likely destination that will change significantly.
June 18 Adare- Cliffs of Moher, Limerick (maybe)
June 19 Killorgin/Killarney- Dingle Peninsula. I was finding Killarney to be very expensive and room was limited for a Saturday night stay (not surprising) so thought Killorgin might be an ok alternative to end the day. Just an option.
June 20- Cork- Killarney Nat. Park, Gap of Dunloe, possibly Ross Castle
June 21- Kilkenny- Rock of Cashel, Kilkenny Castle. One branch of my family originated near the Tipperary/Cork border, I may go find that village.
June 22- Dublin- Wicklow Nat. Park
June 25- Return Home

So as you can see, there are a ton of possibilities on our approximate route but we definitely plan to play it by ear a bit. Shopping, kids stuff (although Junior loves Castles and ruins), rest days or just wanting to enjoy a specific area for an extra day all may be factored in and items listed above will drop off as need be.

Re: Dublin. I am trying to talk my wife into ditching the car on the 23rd but she is very leery about public transportation to the concert. Marlay Park is in the far south part of town but I believe DART runs special "concert buses" from the downtown area just of rthe show. We'll see, this has already become a serious point of contention between us.

CowboyCraic · Guru

Michele may move this to its own thread, just to let you know:

First and foremost, even for children who are good travelers, this is an ambitious plan. You need to think in terms of distances covered at 35mph, as that is most likely the maximum speed you will average whilst driving in Ireland. The roads are narrow an dtraffic issues such as livestock, pedestrians, farm equipment, bicyclists, etg make for slow going in some places. With five people, you will have a larger car and that makes for slower going, as well sometimes.

You have a total of seven days before you must be in Dublin. You would be better off, when traveling with children, to pick three areas and base out of a central location for two days in each. It would be easier on all concerned if there was less packing and unpacking even with short attention spans. When my eldest, who has ADD, was younger, I found it easier to give him a sense of place by staying in one place and exploring from there

In June, as a rule, most large towns have a two night stay minimum rule for lodging on weekends, which is what you are running into in Killarney. You will definitely need to prebook any stays which include weekend dates. Also, prebook your Dublin stay

To hit on some of your points of interest:

Killarney National Park is at least a half day on its own
The Gap of Dunloe, if you take the tour, is a full day.. the tour includes Ross Castle
The Dingle Peninsula is a full day
NewGrange is an early morning show-up which takes up the better part of a morning

I would suggest you check into flying into Shannon and out of Dublin, which will put you on the West Coast to start and would allow a less harried schedule. Leave your last two days for Dublin and the surrounding area. You can take advantage of June 24th to visit Newgrange and Tara on one of Mary Gibbons' tours, which would allow the driver to then relax and enjoy the scenery, as well.

As to your wife's issue with public transportation on the day of the concert, it is really the best way to go. They will, as you already know, have buses set aside solely for concert attendees. Attempting to park anywhere near the venue would be stressful, expensive and not a sure bet. As a veteran traveler, I never drive in Dublin. The transportation system is a gem. It gets you anywhere you might want to go in a timely fashion.

T'were it me, I would probably work the trip thusly:

June 15: Depart Austin for Shannon
June 16: Arrive Shannon, pick up rental car - Head to Dingle (two Nights) - enroute visit Adare (You can also detour slightly and visit the Cliffs then take the Tarbert/killimer Ferry across the Shannon and continue on to Dingle)
   June 17 - Fungi the Dolphin boat trip for the Kids, explore the Peninsula
June 18 - Head to Killarney or Kenmare (Two Nights)
   June 19 - Gap of Dunloe Tour - capped off with an evening at Kate Kearney's Cottage
June 20 - Head to Kilkenny via Cahir & Cashel - Visit Cahir Castle and the Rock of Cashel (Two Nights)
   June 21 - visit your family area and village or take a daytrip following the well marked signposted routes. There are seven of them to choose from, you can find the descriptions here.
June 22 - Head to Dublin (3 Niights here) take the Wicklow route and visit Glendalough & Powerscourt, both should be in full bloom, enroute
   June 23 - Your wife & daughter can enjoy the concert whilst the rest enjoy the hop-on/off double decker bus tour
   June 24 - enjoy one of the Newgrange tours- another advantage to taking the tour is that you will more likely be able to go inside the chambers
June 25 - Depart Dublin for Austin

In Dublin, you might opt for one of these apartment rentals for the three nights. That way everyone can have a bit of room. They are an excellent value, especially for Dublin.

That is my two cents. I hope it helps.

Slan Beo,

Bit

Zstep · Veteran Member

I agree, it is a pretty ambitious schedule and I am certainly open to modifying it/reducing it in scope. I was packing it as full as possible to start with but was expecting that a number of activities would drop off.

Re: Gap of Dunloe, do you recommend a specific tour (I assume there is more than one)?

CowboyCraic · Guru

One of the things that you will come to realize about an Eire vacation is that it is best experienced at a slower pace. The best memories and moments come in those times when you slow down and chat with a local or take a road just because it looks promising.

To give you a better feel for driving in Ireland, it would be the equivalent of driving the backroads of Big Bend or driving diagonally across Texas using only the small rural roads, slow going at times but lots of pretty things to distract you.. biggrin

Here is the Gap of Dunloe tour to which I was referring in my previous post. With the Jarvey cart ride, boat rid and Castle tour, it i sdefinitely a full day. Round that out with an evening of music and good food at Kate's cottage and you are sure to see many a smile when thinking back on the day.

Here is more information on the Fungi Dolphin Trip, as well. That site will also provide you with some excellent information on other aspects of the Dingle peninsula.

Slan beo,

Bit

Michele Erdvig · Host

Zstep,

Great info from Bit. First-timers to Ireland often don't realize the logistics of how long it takes to get around or how long it takes for certain sightseeing venues. As Bit explained The Gap of Dunloe takes most of the day. So you will need to schedule a full day just for it.

Public transportation in Dublin will be best. When there are special concerts and events there is always lots of extra public transportation going just to that event. I think you wife will become a member of a large party instead of being just a commuter.

I won't be moving your post because I only have the option of moving the entire thread not individual posts within it.

Michele

Zstep · Veteran Member

I am definitely considering 2 day stops, don't worry! My method of travel planning (or madness) to a place I've never been is to start big and gradually narrow down to some level of sanity. I'm only part way through the process so far (having sadly chopped Galway, the Northwest, most of the Southeast and the Skelligs for example) and some more decisions are going to have to be made shortly based on what activities the family REALLY wants to do. I fully expect to whittle down what I posted the other day down by about half before all is said and done.

I also try to leave enough leeway in the schedule to allow for detours, shopping expeditions or minor changes of plan due to weather and usually have done enough research to have a couple of decent options available at each point of the journey.

Bit's links were excellent. I had already seen the Gap of Dunloe tour link but its nice to have something like that verified before you commit a valuable day to it. The day trips in Kilkenny looked really interesting too and will deserve further research. I'm also waiting for Michele's book to come out so that might change a plan or two as well...

Michele Erdvig · Host

Zstep,

I will make an announcement on the forum when my 2010 edition is ready!

Michele