We stayed at four different B&B type places on our trip. I’ll give a quick rundown on all of them.

Doolin – Moloney House B&B: Frank Moloney and his wife run the place. Frank built it 33 years ago and it’s very well-maintained. We arrived around 7pm after visiting the Cliffs of Moher and Frank gave us a quick tour and showed us to our rooms.

We ended up with a triple room because that is what I had originally booked when it was just going to be three of us. Frank had arranged for another room for our daughter and her boyfriend when we added him to the trip.

The B&B is walking distance to the famous Gus O’Connor’s Pub, where we went for dinner right after checking in. There’s not much else in Doolin as it’s more of a jumping off point for the Aran Islands or Cliffs of Moher. Parking is free on site.

Breakfast in the morning was really nice. We ordered the night before on a sheet left out in the lobby. There was a small continental buffet and then a good choice of Irish or American specialties to choose from.

I also got to chatting with Frank’s wife, who turned out to be from Chicago and had moved to Ireland a few years back after meeting Frank at the local pub in Doolin. She gave me some good tips on driving routes and timing for the trip to Dingle. I highly recommend this option in Doolin. It is only open seasonally.

Dingle – The Waterfront: For some reason, I did not get any good pictures of our room here, but this link is to a picture of the exact room we stayed in which was a double sea view room. We both had one of these, with the kids having a room on a higher floor with one window instead of two. Everything worked fine in the room and it was nice to have a view of the water. They have three parking spots out front which were full when we arrived so I parked in the lot across the street for 2 Euros which covered me until 8am the next morning. I moved the car to one of the hotel spots when I woke up early the next morning.

We arrived from Doolin in the pouring rain and the lady at the front desk (not the owner as this is part of a three property small chain of hotels) greeted us with a smile and showed us to our rooms. She had us order our breakfast for the next morning when we checked in which was a bit early as we hadn’t even had lunch yet.

This hotel was in a great location to get around to all of the local shops and restaurants in Dingle, even in rainy weather. We stayed until 11am the next morning so we could do a bit more browsing around the town. Breakfast was a bit early for the kids at 8:30am, but they managed. It was also very good.

Quick note about this hotel – our daughter accidentally left her gold necklace there as it slipped behind the table. We called the hotel from Killarney and Anne, the lady who had checked us in and made breakfast, promised me she would look for it. Well, she found it that day and mailed it back to us. Yes, I paid for the postage, but it was definitely worth it to get our daughter’s necklace back.

Killarney – Airbnb: I had originally booked a two bedroom, one bath Airbnb for two nights, but when our daughter’s boyfriend joined the trip, I found a 2/2 with a balcony available for around the same price. Thanks to the generous cancellation policy, I switched the reservation.

The directions for picking up the keys were interesting. I basically had to go to a pub at the hotel next door and ask the barman for the keys, but he had them. It was a weird building with seven floors, but actually only four stories due to the three-sided nature of the building with anywhere from 2-5 apartments on each floor. We were on the sixth floor, but it was the top floor on our side of the building, in a penthouse apartment with a wraparound balcony.

The place was very spacious, and even had a washer/dryer which was helpful due to someone who shall remain nameless falling on their tush on the beach in white sweatpants. There were a couple of minor issues, including that the satellite TV didn’t work (no big deal) and the shower was really hard to figure out as there was a shower on/off switch outside the bathrooms which I’ve never seen before.

The bedrooms were huge and the master had the bathroom en suite. The other bathroom was in the hallway and also had a bathtub. Both bedrooms had balcony access.

The location was great as it was a fairly short walk into the heart of Killarney where all the pubs and restaurants were located. The building was very secure as it required a key to get into the lobby and the apartment had a double lock as well. Parking was in a nearby lot for 3 Euros per day with a short, easy walk to the apartment.

Kilkenny – Bregagh House B&B: I had originally booked a nearby Marriott property in a castle, but when I needed a second room, it was not available. I decided to switch to something in town and in the end, I was happy with that choice as it made it easier to just drive to Kilkenny and not have to worry about driving again until we left the next day.

We arrived around 2pm from Rock of Cashel and were able to check in to our rooms. This time the kids got the triple room with the extra bed and we had the double room. I forgot to get a picture, but this is our exact room from the website:

The bathroom was tiny but functional. There was a lack of outlets, but we rearranged and unplugged stuff to make it work. We unfortunately left too early for breakfast (7:30am), and I was a bit disappointed that the owner didn’t even offer us some rolls and coffee or something before we left when I told him about this the day before.

This was probably our least favorite place as the bed was a bit uncomfortable. The owner did offer us a customized map of Kilkenny with a few places for lunch and dinner highlighted which was appreciated. Parking was onsite and free. It was a quick walk into the heart of Kilkenny, but also easy to drive to and from the B&B on our way into and out of town.

It made a nice change to stay in local places instead of chain hotels, although there is something to be said for consistency in Hyatts and Hiltons, etc. In many of the places around Ireland, you won’t find good uses for your hotel points so hopefully this guide is useful and gives you an idea what to expect.

Up Next: Tips and Warnings for Driving Around Ireland

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