2 stars. Some context first, so you know where this is coming from: this is my third trip to…read moreIreland. We stay three weeks to a month each time, and we've stayed in a lot of hotels across this country. This was the worst hotel experience of all of them -- and I'm writing this so the next family spending their savings on a trip like this can make a better-informed choice.
We booked two rooms for four nights during the Arts Festival -- my wife and I in Room 121 on the ground floor (the far corner of the building closest to the Spanish Arch), our adult kids on the third floor.
Getting back from the festival around midnight, the moment we passed the second fire door in our corridor -- where the hallway slopes downhill -- the smell of mold and mildew hit. Room 121, at the lowest point of the building, was so bad it made both of us sick to our stomachs with headaches. The room looks lovely in photos. We could not sleep in it.
Here's the part that tells you everything: when I went to the front desk, the staff member knew exactly which room I was in before I said the number -- and handed me a diffuser. A diffuser. That's a workaround for a known problem, not a fix for a smell strong enough to make guests ill.
The hotel was full for the festival, so there was nowhere to move us. Our kids gave up their room and cancelled the rest of their stay -- at midnight -- so we'd have somewhere to sleep. Their vacation, cut short. In the replacement room, the TV wouldn't respond at all -- couldn't turn it off, couldn't change the channel -- I finally just unplugged it until maintenance came the next day. The Nespresso machine was dead too. And the shower was stocked with two conditioning shampoos while both body wash dispensers were mounted at the tub, unreachable from the shower. Small stuff, but it all points the same direction: nobody is checking the details. We checked out July 19 instead of the 22nd -- I spent my birthday packing bags instead of enjoying Galway -- and we're still waiting on the refund for the unused nights on both rooms.
We were told there's never been flooding here. Maybe the building itself hasn't -- but this area was underwater on national news in November 2023, and either way, what we smelled in that corridor needs remediation, not air freshener.
Now, the two stars -- and I want to be clear about why. The second star is entirely for the people. Every single staff member was friendly and kind, from the front desk to the gentleman cleaning rooms who helped my wife with her bags on the stairs as we checked out. They comped me a whiskey for the trouble. The rooms are otherwise nice -- clean, big, well done. The A/C actually works, which is a rare find in Ireland and something we Americans appreciate. And as the Irish would say, the water pressure is class -- best shower of our whole trip. But kindness isn't a substitute for maintenance, and "I'm so sorry to hear that" isn't a refund. Friendly doesn't fix mold. Solutions do.
Other things to know: the restaurant (The Yard) is gone, though the signs are still up outside. Lobby, bar, reception, and breakfast all share one combined space and desk, and breakfast is mostly grab-and-go burritos with a couple of eggs and rashers -- not the full Irish breakfast every other hotel we've stayed at here offers.
Better options nearby: the Salthill Hotel (not far, fantastic, where we moved to) and The Galmont -- we've stayed at both with zero issues, real breakfasts, and staff who treat you like a valued guest. If you do stay here, do not accept a ground-floor room past that second fire door.
