We were greeted by Joan. She did not give the typical friendly Irish reception. When we chose to…read morenot eat at the hotel's restaurant, she told us we would be disappointed, but not in a fun way. Our room had two nonworking lamps, which turned into three nonworking lamps. She brought us two different lamps that did work, but it would've been nice to have the third one. She said, "You like your lamps, do you?" Bathroom garbage had been left from previous guests. Street traffic and party revelers awakened me late into the wee hours of the morning. Not my favorite stay in Ireland.

Nobody there to help us bring bags in when we got there. We bought some cheese in Galway and were…read morenot allowed to eat it in the bar EVEN THOUGH THEY WERENT OFFERING FOOD ANYMORE THAT DAY. So, our group had to venture to a nearby pub to order some food. We brought back takeout for a couple of young parents in our group that stayed behind with their baby. THEY WERE THEN BANISHED TO THE SITTING ROOM TO EAT THEIR TAKEOUT. Again, nobody was allowed to bring a morsel of food into their bar that was NOT serving food. There was hardly anyone there!! Just not a warm first impression. We were exhausted and starving, and that was a dumb rule. The woman at the front desk was not particularly pleasant, and she was also the bartender. Our room was sub par, cigarette burns in the tub. No extra toilet paper in the room when we ran out. And the broken thermostat was blinking the whole stay, begging for a filter change...gross. The china was also dirty at breakfast. The only pluses I will give to this place: the sitting and dining rooms were decorated well and the OTHER staff (NOT the receptionist/bartender) were pleasant. Owner also seemed nice.

Very friendly host with a sharp sense of humor. Best breakfast we had in Ireland. Made to order…read more Super comfy beds..terrific restaurants nearby.

Though it was just 1 night, this was the BEST place we stayed during our 9 day Irish Holiday…read more PROS: -Clean BIG room and the BIGGEST bathrooms in all of Ireland -Best decorated interior areas: reception, hallways, lounge, breakfast room -Friendly staff/owners -Short walk to to restaurants, shopping area, and most importantly Bunratty Castle(especially if you do the all-you-can-drink-wine Medieval Banquet like we did!) -Only 70 euro/night midweek! :) -Nice hearty breakfast...I think my wife and I were the only ones staying that night, but they brought out the entire spread, the Irish know breakfast! - Near Shannon Airport CONS: -Not a lot to do in Bunratty except see Bunratty Castle. I wish the Courtyard was in every city, town, and village I visisted! Maybe they should create a franchise chain? :) PRO TIP: If you're a chubby American, like I am, you may want to request twin beds. Irish double beds are smaller than American full size beds.