Heatons Guesthouse is a perfect example of don't judge a book by its cover. My husband and I were expecting Ireland to be a lot more like our trip to New Zealand once we got out of the main cities. That meant to us that these smaller hotels would be nice, but not quite as luxurious as a bigger hotel. Heaton Guesthouse flipped that idea totally.
At first I wasn't excited about coming here. It was our cheapest hotel by far, it was in a town I wasn't sure about, and the photos were meh. This place and town ended up being the highlight of the trip for me.
The hotel itself is sort of like a B&B that started changing into a hotel. There is a sort of common gathering space where you can enjoy some incredible cake, coffee, tea, wine, cocktail, read, etc. It has some wonderful views of the bay.
The rooms are upstairs. There is no elevator that I saw, so be ware and ask for help if needed. I may be wrong, but just something to keep in mind. At first glance you don't think the rooms will be much and you can't imagine this place being quiet when you go to open your door with your giant key.
Inside though the rooms are simple and inviting They provide enough space for you to feel comfortable and spread out, but not so much that it feels overwhelming. There was a shower and bath combo that had good hot water and pressure. The beds were quite comfortable. Some of the most comfortable of the entire trip. The room was also so quiet! We thought we would for sure hear people moving around in the hall, but once your door was closed you had your own space.
Rooms can face the bay or the garden, so try and get a bay view. Garden view is just as nice though.
By far though the reason to come here is the breakfast. Breakfast was included with the hotel. I've stayed at a few B&B like places similar to this before, so didn't expect much in the way of food. My husband ran into someone else from the states in the hall and they started chatting. The guy said that in all his years of travel around the world, this was the best breakfast he had ever had. In fact the reason he was in Dingle and had extended his stay in Dingle was for this breakfast. I quickly looked over the menu and was floored at what I saw. Everything from fresh crepes to eggs Benedict.
They weren't kidding about the breakfast. The first day I had the porridge with drambuie and crepes. The porridge came first. It was a little show. They poured heavy cream, then drambuie, then brown sugar on top. I was to eat it without stirring. It was heavenly. Thick, rich, creamy, and so much flavor. The crepes were to die for as well. So light with a sour and sweet cheese/berry filling. The next day I had french toast. It was some of the best french toast I've ever had. That little bit of gooey in the middle with the most deep flavor of vanilla I've ever had.
All of this for around 50 euro per person a night. The stay here at this lovely little spot with the best breakfast ever cost us less than half of our meh stay in Dublin. Crazy.
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