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DoChara's Ireland Blog
Random Writings about Ireland and the Irish
Sunday
July 6 2008
Shop around - there are bargains out there
We are apparantly staring recession in the face. Food and fuel prices are soaring, jobless numbers are rising, nobody is buying property and visitor numbers are down. It's all doom and gloom, or is it? Not if you are one of those somewhat rarer visitors to Ireland this year - accommodation providers especially are offering some pretty tasty looking deals in their efforts to get your attention.
We've had a look around and picked out some of the best deals around in Summer 2008, and it shows that even if you are travelling on a tight budget you can afford to stay in 4 star hotels if you shop around - in a lot of cases it will cost you little if anything more than staying in a bed and breakfast!
Important Note: Many of these deals are not shown on the hotel website, you may have to call directly to get them. But it's worth doing. Some are only available at the last minute, but this year more than ever leaving your booking to the last minute is not much of a risk.
Hotels Around Ireland
The Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney is offering regular last minute deals, which this week means B&B for €55 per person, a very big reduction from the normal €98. They have had deals like this almost every week this summer, but you will need to wait until the last minute to book.
Staying in Kerry, the 4 star Felspoint Hotel in Tralee has 2 nights B&B with one dinner for €145, and you can add an extra night for just €30. This also includes free use of the gym and leisure suite.
In Galway, the House Hotel has a midweek (Sun-Thurs) special of €170 per person for two nights B&B, plus dinner on one night. This is a very good centrally located boutique hotel and normally costs about that for just one night without dinner, so this is a great deal.
The Dunraven Arms in Adare has a three night B&B deal which includes dinner on two nights for €250 midweek or €285 at weekends. B&B here normally costs anything from €150-200 per night, so again quite a bargain.
The Lyrath Estate in Kilkenny is offering a 2 night B&B with dinner on one night for €165 per person. If you really want to treat youself, the same deal with an range of treatments including facials, massage and access to their spa is €265 - for that one you must call them and quote "pamper me".
Just down the road in the centre of Kilkenny overlooking the castle, the Rivercourt Hotel has a terrific deal for golfers, with a 2 night B&B package, including dinner on one night, lunch on one day and a round of golf at Kilkenny Golf Club. Non-golfers can opt instead for a back, neck and shoulder massage. All this is just €179 per person in July, rising to €199 in August.
Golfers should also check the deals at the Knightsbrook Hotel in Trim (well located for visting Bru na Boinne and the Hill of Tara) which has it's own golf course and spa and offers a similar deal for €185 per person.
Right in the centre of Ireland in Athlone, the totally gorgeous 4 star Athlone Springs Hotel is offering 2 nights bed and breakfast with dinner on one night and a back, neck and shoulder massage thrown in for just €145 per person, which must be the deal to beat them all.
Accommodation in Dublin
Even in Dublin, renowned for its expensive accommodation, there are bargains, though not as many. Our top pick is the very centrally located and most comfortable Brooks Hotel which has a B&B special for midweeks stays of €89 per person. This is one we really recommend very highly.
Our accommodation search will always throw up the best value rooms available at the last minuteand is well worth searching for that last minute deal.
For example a search I just did for accommodation in Dublin to-night threw up more than two dozen places for between €35 and €70, plus several four star hotels for less than €100, which represents discounts of anything from 50-80%.
Castle Hotels - Treat Yourself!
Probably the two most luxurious castle hotels in Ireland, Ashford and Dromoland, are offering a special deal of €350 per night bed and breakfast fortwo people - but if you check out the online booking on their sites you can currently get the same deal for €150 per person on quite a few nights in July and August, which is a really pretty good price for anight you will definitely remember.
Country House Hotels
Cromleach Lodgein Co Sligo is a very good country house hotel with a great restaurant and has a killer deal this summer with B&B for just €65 per night,or €60 if you stay two or three nights - little more than a standard Bed and Breakfast but a world away in terms of luxury and facilities. Don't be put off by their not very enticing website!
You can stay at Echo Lodge (my favourite country house in Ireland) for the same price, a reduction of €30 on the normal room rate. Again there is a fab restaurant here.
That really is just a small selection of what is available, there are lots more, but it shows that there is certainly value out there. Go find it !
Comments on "Shop around - there are bargains out there"
Please note: To prevent spam all comments are moderated. Promotional or advertising comments will not be published. If you want to ask a question or start a discussion rather than post a comment, please so so in the forum. Thank you!
Posted by: Barbara J Gill
24 Jul 2008, 18:20
Hi. I have been blogging about a recent trip to Ireland.
http://shandarrah.com/Voices%20Within/ and include references to hotels as
well. Still working on it. We vacationed for 18 days and I loved every
minute of it. Barbara J Gill, Canada
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