Vagabond Tours of Ireland does a wonderful job of picking perfect hotels for the tours. They find hotels that are locally owned (no big chains will do!) to support Irish Tourism. One other thing the company does that I didn't realize is that they plant a tree for each guest. That means, at this writing, I've contributed 3 trees native to Ireland to the countryside!
I didn't take pictures of each place we stayed, but the following will give you an idea of how the hotels are. We stayed 1 night in each hotel except for Dingle. It was nice being in the same room for 2 nights.
This was an older hotel, but the views were amazing. Right away, we saw the beautiful countryside from our window, along with a few sheep.
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| There is a cafe and maybe a restaurant right next to the hotel. It didn't appear to be open while we were there. |
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| The property has been owned by the family for generations |
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| View from our window |
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| A wider view from our room |
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| The cemetery from our window |
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| The bathroom was very retro. Very cute and clean |
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| This beauty came to the fence for a photo op |
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| The hotel is within walking distance of the Forest Park |
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| The Coachmans Hotel is right above the pub. |
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| The room was spacious and comfortable |
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| The Moorings was another lodging above a pub where we stayed. |
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| You can see the hotel from the pier |
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| Since Star Wars was filmed closeby, we took advantage for a photo |
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| Just outside of town, the Skellig Dingle Hotel was only a 10 minute walk into town |
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| View from our room |
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| I was a bit obsessed with the Dingle symbol. This one was in the carpet in the hallway |
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| View from the restaurant |
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| We received a very nice welcome from the staff. There were 2 bottles of Irish Creme and a couple of truffles. |
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| I didn't take a picture of the room (which was very comfortable), but the hallways were very inviting |
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| Water stations were available so we could fill up our bottles |
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| Our last night was spent in a castle |
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| Abbeyglen was built in 1832; in 1854, it became an orphanage for girls who were trained for service jobs. |
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| Beautiful views |
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| We had about a 10-minute walk to town. It was okay going down, but walking up the hill to the hotel was a little tough. |
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| Clifden Castle can be seen on the hill. John D'Arcy built Abbeyglen and Clifden Castle |
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| These chairs are right when you walk in the door |
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| A very comfy fireplace room |
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| While the hotel itself was very cool, this was my least favorite hotel. I think we were put in a part of the hotel that hadn't been renovated yet. Only 1 of the windows would open and it was a warm day/night. The sink in the bathroom was tiny...I ended up getting a lot of water on me and the floor while washing my face before bed. Also, the bathroom had a urine smell to it. |
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| Very nice view from our window |
Food
Our Vagaguide reserved tables for us at each hotel except for Dingle and Clifden. I suppose in Kenmare we could have eaten somewhere else, but it was very convenient to eat in the pub under our rooms in The Coachmans, plus there was live entertainment. I was a little intimidated at the Gougane Barra restaurant; it was a bit expensive, but everything was locally sourced. We were provided with a free dessert, but when my sister (who didn't want a whole dessert) took a taste of mine, we were scolded with "no sharing" (although we weren't "sharing"; she was just taking 1 little taste). That kind of left a bad taste in my mouth, but it didn't linger.
The food in The Coachman's Pub was excellent, but again, a little pricey. Most of my dinners were €25 at least, not counting a drink (or two). So, a little more than I wanted to spend.
At The Moorings in Portmagee, we were seated in a corner of the restaurant, and it was warm and a little stifling. The Seafood Linguini made up for it. I would highly recommend it.
Our first night in Dingle, we went to the Dingle Pub. The owner is known to come out and dance from time to time. The pub was packed when we got there, and I was told that a server would let us know when a table was ready. We waited and saw a couple come in and be seated right away. We thought maybe it was a local (who should have first dibs on a table). When I asked a server about a table, we were seated right away with an apology...we had been forgotten. It was typical pub food, but I would skip this place. There were too many Americans.
On our second night, we went to James Long. We didn't have a reservation but were told that if we could finish up in 1 1/2 hours, we could have a table. I think we were out in 45 minutes. This is someplace I would recommend. The fish & chips were amazing, and the Guinness was a good pour.
We had another expensive meal at the Armada and Spanish Point. I guess the thought is that if we can afford to go on a tour in Ireland, we can afford an expensive dinner. I don't remember what I ordered, but I know it was one of the least expensive items on the menu. I'm sure it was good, just not super memorable!
In Clifden, we opted to eat in town. We were offered a prosecco welcome followed by dinner with 15% off, but I thought it was going to be another pretty expensive one. We walked to the church for Mass (since it was a Saturday night and we wouldn't have the opportunity to attend on Sunday) and then walked down into town. We ate at Ravi's. It just so happened that the host was from Boston but had been in Ireland so long that he sounded Irish. He was very nice, allowing us to move tables from the back of the restaurant to the front so we could sit with a couple from our group.
We had an Irish breakfast every morning. Most of the time, instead of eating lunch, we would grab a local pastry or just coffee for lunch. One day, we stopped at the SuperValu grocery store and grabbed a sandwich for a picnic lunch on a pier.
Overall, the lodging and the food was incredible. Vagabond definitely is doing things right!
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