After discovering the truth behind Groupon's travel package scams, my wife and I decided to build our own trip: drive throughout the majestic and history-laden island of Ireland. After touching down in Dublin just after 4 AM (my apologies...0400!), we hit the capital city with the kind of blunt force one would receive stepping into the ring with Ivan Drago! After visits to Malahide Castle, The National Museum of Ireland (which was absolutely incredible so for anyone teetering on the fence regarding carving out some time for a look, DO NOT HESITATE! The museum is chock-full of historical treasures!), Trinity College (The legendary Book of Kells), Christ Church Cathedral and a trip down Temple Bar, we headed outside the perimeter of the city and nestled into our room at The Courtyard in Leixlip.
Since I put together our travel itinerary, allow me to explain why I chose this location as our initial point of lodging. The hotel serves as the original site where Arthur Guinness created his brewing empire; the entire hotel is renovated from the old brew house, which I admit is very cool. And as the website points out, the location is VERY picturesque, with an incredible open courtyard and a walking trail behind the hotel with follows the path of the nearby flowing river. There are a few spots where one can step out onto the "pier" and look out over the river flowing below. I've included some pictures to accompany this review.
So, why only two stars? First, the hotel is damn near impossible to find unless you're a local. A GPS gets lost in the middle of town and spins around like a compass sitting on a gravity field. There are NO signs to be found directing one along the correct path. What you have to do is travel further down the road and the hotel's entrance is located BEHIND a large car park. Again, NO signs stating this fact. Once one has traveled through the car park, they are presented with a gate, which requires a 4 digit pin. The ONLY way to get the access pin is from the hotel's receptionist, which would require the individual to know where the hotel resides. It's a nightmare simply finding the hotel and then actually getting access to their car park.
Next, the room amenities. There are NO shower doors and the floor is completely level with the room's carpeted area. So, water pools up everywhere, creating a severe slipping hazard and due to the lack of any semblance of door, sprays down every inch of the bathroom. I found it a very unsafe design, especially for older folks. And with the leveled floor, the carpets were routinely getting wet.
The radiator (room heater) controls also seemed to be fused into place so it was impossible to adjust the room's temperature. A setting had been made prior to our arrival so the room was already smoldering when my wife and I arrived. There didn't appear to be any remedy outside of opening the adjacent windows. It was so cold outside that it snowed so our choice for room temperature came down to A) Surface Temperature of the Sun or B) Absolute Zero of space. Majestic, indeed!
My REAL gripe sits with the hotel's connected restaurant and bar/club. The hotel stays open until 11 PM and the bar/club remains bouncing until 2 AM. The walls of the rooms must be paper thin because my wife and I heard E V E R Y T H I N G! The bass was vibrating the room furniture! We had an early leave time the next morning and after 1 AM, I threw in my towel and confronted the front desk staff on the noise level. They appeared confused, as if they found it odd that I was disturbed by the decibel range. One staff member even said to me "well, it is a bar..." The two staff members explained to me that all of the rooms situated on that side of the hotel would be experiencing the penetrating sounds of the bar. There was nothing they could do. That was not acceptable for me. I stood before them in my pajamas and wasn't leaving. Eventually, we were moved to another room on the other side of the hotel, which we found completely silent. How in the Hell anyone slept on the other side of the hotel near the bar is beyond me. It was much, MUCH too loud, especially for anyone looking for a relaxing, quiet getaway, tourist OR local.
This is a fun hotel, for sure but make sure to request a room AWAY from the restaurant and bar and make sure to get detailed directions from the hotel's staff before making your venture. Who knows where you'll end up! read more