B&Bs

sunflower27

Not stayed in many myself... jsut wondering if many people do?

I have only stayed in a few and found it really uncomfortable. Felt like the owners are always around watching (and I can kind of understand given it is their home) but, nah, not keen.

One of the last ones I stayed in was an absolute nightmare - this is around 2001. Was going away with a friend for the night and money was tight. We booked a room through the Lonely Planet and it was going for 50punts for a twin room.

So the owner lets us in to the room (that was actually in an old apartment block behind the front facade of her house). Upon entering we see the bed isn't made (it is also a double not twin), there is a bin full of rubbish and a pair of boxers on the floor.

The owner then went and got a stack of sheets and threw them at me and also gave me 5punts at the same time to make the bed myself...

... things didn't improve and the following morning my friend gave out about the lack of power sockets (i.e. none), so no kettle, shower that didn't work etc etc.

We were told to get out and not to pay... we made a fiver out of it though

Anyone regularly choose to stay in B&Bs? I have stayed in a few decent ones, but would far prefer to pay extra for a hotel.

smash

sunflower27 wrote: »

Felt like the owners are always around watching

Perverts!

marty1985

There are some really good B&Bs in Ireland, but ones with an adjoining pub are extra good.

sensibleken

Hate B&Bs. If im going to wake up in a strangers house youre damned sure Im going to ride them first!

yeppydeppy

Pay for the hotel - there maybe one good b&b in the country somewhere but I've yet to find it.

Conall Cernach

In my experience there are plenty of decent B&Bs around the country but these tend to be almost like small hotels. I think the OP is talking about what people would call a Guest House where you stay in someone's house. Most of these are strange places to stay to say the least (shared bathrooms, random dogs and children roaming the place etc).

_feedback_

yeppydeppy wrote: »

Pay for the hotel - there maybe one good b&b in the country somewhere but I've yet to find it.

Castlewood house in Dingle.

Only ever stayed in two B&Bs and that was one. Great place.

Batsy

A bed 'n' breakfast is a score of 26 in darts, made up of a single 5, single 20 and single 1.

This goes back to the old coaching days when a bed for the night cost 2/6d.

fishy fishy

and did you not think to ask any questions when you saw the room was being used by someone else?? :rolleyes:

Nyan Cat

I've stayed in better hostels than that b n b the OP described. I've only ever stayed in one really crap b n b - in Blackpool. It was a room with beds. Peeling paint. Didn't look the cleanest.
However you're paying less than a hotel so you expect less (not that little though!) or that used to be the case. Nowadays hotels can be as reasonable if not more so than manyb n bs.

ronjo

I remember staying in one in Cork many many years ago when we went down to a Prince concert.
There was 3 of us in a room with 3 single beds so no problem. When the lady showed us our room her son was still in asleep in one of the beds.
She was mortified and went to kick him out but we just dumped our stuff and told him to stay there but be gone by the time we get back.

starbelgrade

Form Board Failte's website:

To be a B&B owner in Ireland you must meet the following criteria:

- You are only allowed to decorate the guest accommodation with furnishings from pre-1995. No modern fittings or features are allowed.

- All windows to have net curtains installed.

- TV's to be portable, but wall mounted on brackets. A maximum of 4 stations are allowed per TV.

- Owners to be at least 45 years old & female.

- Never be over-polite to guests. At all times you should maintain an air of mild disgruntlement.

- Showers in bathrooms to be low pressure only.

- Breakfast supplied to be either cereal or fried meat. No variation allowed. Croissants or other pastries will not be tolerated.

- Ensure that all guests are reminded in the morning that they came in very late & made a lot of noise.

Dravokivich

Never had a problem with'em myself. Always found'em to be welcoming and comfortable. The one's ran by old ladies are the best. Their fry ups are bleeding amazing.

sunflower27

fishy fishy wrote: »

and did you not think to ask any questions when you saw the room was being used by someone else?? :rolleyes:

The room had been vacated - just not cleaned. Thought that was fairly apparent when I didn't mention a guy being in there. :rolleyes: oh, and :rolleyes:

Plazaman

I remember booking into a B&B in Cork about 6 years ago, it was near the University. Owner was nice and gave me a key and said my room was across the road in another house!!!! Room was clean and warm and I went back to the original house the next morning for one of the biggest breakfasts ever I seen in my life (seriously enough for 3 people). So that one was good.

I do remember another one which was a private house where there was a couple riding each other quite loudly for half the night. Don't know if it was the owners or guests. The breakfast room was deathly quiet that morning I tells ya.

x_Ellie_x

I hate B&B's too. I always feel really uncomfortable staying in them - like I'm intruding on the privacy of the owners. B&B's creep me out. I have stayed in a few B&B's both here and in the UK before. I only stay in them when I have too - ie: when I'm travelling with friends and they're low on money. The worst one I stayed in was one in Tramore, Waterford a few years ago. It was really more of a guest house. It was a 5 bedroom house and the family that ran it lived in 2 of the rooms and used the other 3 for guests. They had a half a dozen pets that were allowed to roam about the house which I didn't think was very clean and one of my friends had a strong fear of dogs so she wouldn't leave our room when we were in the house. And the owners had two young kids (both under school age... a toddler and a child of about 3 or 4 i think) that wandered around the house and gardens outside unsupervised for hours which worried me because I didn't think was very safe thing to do when the parents were letting complete strangers stay in their family home. How did the parents know that they weren't letting pedophiles into their home?

jester77

I've stayed in plenty and never encountered a bad one. Had one great one in Galway about 15 years ago, the old lad running it had a small bar at the back of the house with beer on tap. He sold us a few pints after we came home from the night out, not sure of the legality but it was a nice setup

ejmaztec

Our neighbour used to have a B&B, charged guests money for parking on her drive, and practically kicked them out the front door while they were still eating what passed for "breakfast", fuckin bitch!

mikemac1

Lots of good ones along College Rd in Galway. If you know the road it's full of them

And you can walk up and down the road trying to haggle

Never ever accept their quoted rate, you'll always get money off
Well except race week

What's with the tiny TV's away in the corner? Can barely see the fecking things
TV's are cheap, put in some decent wall hanging ones

Third_Echelon

Any time that I've stayed in a B&B in Ireland I've always had a positive experience I have to say. Saying that, they've always been in quite touristy places where you would expect a higher standard.

Stayed in a nice one in Dingle for a night. It was listed as a B&B, but it was a bar which had a load of rooms at the back of it. Basically a small hotel. It was a great spot. Also stayed in a lovely place in Donegal last summer in Dunfanaghy. The Whins. Really nice B&B. Lovely family that ran the place. Superb breakfast. They had a nice hosting style that wasn't overly invasive like some B&Bs can be.... Most of the rooms where separate to their living quarters so you weren't on top of the family or anything. I would have no problem booking a B&B at all...

biko

Stayed in plenty B&Bs during my travels and never had a bad experience really, mostly really nice people.
The landlady in one place in Antrim town had the whole house full of teddys and dolls, that was pretty freaky.
You get what you pay for - a bed, shower and breakfast.

Skid

Not a fan of B&B's. Like Rockwell ft. Michael Jackson said, I always feel like somebody's watching me. And judging me.

I much prefer a decent size hotel where they could not care less if you ever made it to bed.

lazygal

I've had good experiences in BandBs. Often stay in them when we're at a wedding and the hotel is booked out or overpriced. Its only ever for a one night stay and I find it nice not having to face the scrum at the hotel breakfast buffet the next morning. Always well priced too, compared to a lot of hotels. Wouldn't stay in one for a holiday but for a one night stopover they do the job.

sunflower27

ejmaztec wrote: »

Our neighbour used to have a B&B, charged guests money for parking on her drive, and practically kicked them out the front door while they were still eating what passed for "breakfast", fuckin bitch!

Shouldn't laugh, but I can just see her shoving them out the door and taking the plate off them as they grab for the last piece of bacon...:D

Stayed in a few b&bs over the years.

Worst one was in Kilkenny about 12 years ago. It was over a pub, it was in the golden pages and said "secure parking" and "all rooms en suite"
We arrived and the secure parking was a lane with a traffic cone. En suite was a sink. Place was manky but we'd paid in advance so stayed one night. Ugh.

The nicest was one in fermoy in cork, huge room with a four poster bed and the owner was lovely.

Wouldn't be my preference these days and the hotels are so cheap now anyway that b&bs can't really compete.

cloud493

I stayed in a hostel, got a bed for the night, and a very odd full english breakfast for a fiver. Not bad at all, specially as it was London.

krudler

hate them, stayed in two and that'll be the only two ever, would rather sleep in my car, its spending the night at a complete strangers house, prefer hotels, check in, leave me alone, bring me food in the morning thanks

DerekDGoldfish

I stayed in a B&B at a friends wedding as the hotel was booked out, the family running the hotel had a small kid (about 10) running around the house.

When I woke up the next morning I found out one of the other members of the wedding party had noticed the kids trampoline in the back garden when they got back from the wedding in the middle of the night and decided it would be a great idea to jump from his second story bedroom window to the trampoline in the back garden. He busted his lip open and had to be taken to A&E to get a rake of stiches.

Moral of the story if staying in a B&B dont use the Trampoline.

The_Thing

Are we allowed to mention and \ or link to specific B&B's - I have two I would recommend?

Linguo

I love B&B's because they're a bit mad!:D

We stay in them now and again and I love the crazy old fashioned decor in some of them and the nice displays of old toys and random bits and bobs, they're far more interesting than hotels!And the owners are usually big characters as well, love hotels but you usually get a good laugh out of staying in a B&B!

pow wow

Not a fan of them at all - hate having to make small-talk with over friendly owners at breakfast whilst listening to their showband records and being gazed at by generations of their family in awkward photos dotted around the dining room.

sunflower27

pow wow wrote: »

Not a fan of them at all - hate having to make small-talk with over friendly owners at breakfast whilst listening to their showband records and being gazed at by generations of their family in awkward photos dotted around the dining room.

Yes, and never linger too long looking at a particular photo - unless you actually want to hear the story behind it

Sky King

Hate the mane oul biddies that give you your orange juice in a shot glass.

Bank-run hotels ftw!

Lady Chatterton

It has been over ten years since I stayed in a B&B as my last experience was less than satisfactory:(

My husband and I were attending a friends wedding in Tullamore and unfortunately, all the rooms in the hotel were booked out so we started ringing B&Bs, finally my husband found a place and he booked it.

When we arrived at the B&B, the owner showed us to the room, I thought it looked more like someone's bedroom rather than an guest room. Alarms bells began to ring in my head when she told us that there was no key for the bedroom door but I didn't make a fuss as I was glad we had found a place to sleep for the night.

Anyway, we came back to the B&B after the wedding and settled into bed. Around 4am I was awoken by a man standing at the end of the beds - b@lls naked and giving out yards about his mother giving his room over to strangers :eek::eek::eek: Of course Mr. D slept through the entire commotion:mad: Talk about getting more than you bargained for After that experience I'll never stay in a B&B (at least in Tullamore) again....

have often stayed in them with no problems

i think now that a lot of hotel and b&b prices would be close enough that i'd just opt for a hotel

biko

The_Thing wrote: »

Are we allowed to mention and \ or link to specific B&B's - I have two I would recommend?

Nah, if you don't mind it'd be better to not link to any named places in this thread - good or bad.
You can name them in some local forum if someone asks for recommendation, ok?

44leto

Some are great much better then a hotel, but some can be a bit confining.

I never really regarded the quality of a place as important, all I ever want is a clean room and bed. Whenever I am away for a W/E I usually just dump my stuff in the place and go and return to sleep there.

I have stayed in some crappy hostels and never again.

The_Thing

biko wrote: »

Nah, if you don't mind it'd be better to not link to any named places in this thread - good or bad.
You can name them in some local forum if someone asks for recommendation, ok?

OK, no problem.

Kevin Duffy

I've stayed in lots, all over Ireland and Britain, but never really found one I liked enough to think I'd go back. Hostels tend to offer far better value for money and a friendlier atmosphere, or I'll camp if that's an option.

The worst B&B I've ever stayed in was in Newcastle, Co. Down with my then GF. The beds had insects all over, dirty bedsheets and scruffy, worn, stained bedspreads, so horrible I brought sleeping bags up to the room. The shower was filthy, cold and had no pressure.

In the morning, we made excuses about hurrying off home and skipped the awful looking breakfast, then went around the corner to lovely café. Just as we started eating, the landlady from the B&B walked in, ordered her breakfast and looked disgusted at me. For a second I was morto 'cos of my lies, but then thought "Eh, even she doesn't eat breakfast in her own kip, I made the right call".

Yahew

elviscostello wrote: »

Castlewood house in Dingle.

Only ever stayed in two B&Bs and that was one. Great place.

That is great, but it is more or less a hotel.

pow wow wrote: »

Not a fan of them at all - hate having to make small-talk with over friendly owners at breakfast whilst listening to their showband records and being gazed at by generations of their family in awkward photos dotted around the dining room.

sunflower27 wrote: »

Yes, and never linger too long looking at a particular photo - unless you actually want to hear the story behind it

The best B&B's owners will say very little unless you start the conversation. I generally find the breakfasts to be top notch in these places, far better than equivalent hotels.

There are 3 types.

1) Hotels
2) Private houses where you pretty much never see the owners part of the house.
3) Private houses where you do have to see the owners part of the house.

For me, 3) is the only one to avoid. The rest are like hotels, often better situated, nearly always with good wifi or a good view, and freedom of movement. Only room service is lacking - although I have had breakfast in my room in a fantastic B&B in Cornwall, where the Bay Window over look the Sea. In fact the other couple with us came into that room too, that was great.

Azureus

I'm not a fan on B&Bs at all-stayed in a couple over the years and while some were perfectly adequate, I hated the feeling of intrusion that I got from the personal touches of the family of every one I've been to, family photos and the likes. I kinda prefer to come and go and do my own thing but you feel bad coming back late/making noise or else you have a curfew which is insanely restrictive when you're paying money imo.
Also, there is a massive sense of competition among b&b owners and they tend to come in strips in a lot of areas. Theres been a few times when the conversation over brekkie has been 'Oh, well Mrs X down the road there wouldnt give you this!' etc...I'm not interested.

Thing is, especially in Dublin, b&bs are the same price as hotels! A double room would average at €49 for the cheap ones-you'd get a hotel for the same if you looked hard enough. And by that I mean spent more than five minutes online.

fishy fishy

sunflower27 wrote: »

The room had been vacated - just not cleaned. Thought that was fairly apparent when I didn't mention a guy being in there. :rolleyes: oh, and :rolleyes:

you should have mentioned that then. Also, another hint - when she handed you the lines to change the bed yourself, - maybe you should have thought about leaving then?

Jesus Wept

B&B's are a strange breed in Ireland, they seem to charge as much as nearby hotel rooms despite that the huge gulf in convenience.

I want some of what they are smoking.

Robdude

I live next to a B&B.

I pitty anyone who pays to sleep there.

flanders1979

Hate sleeping on mattress that some drunk fcuker pissed or shat on. Better off spending the extra few quid for a decent hotel. Good value to be had nowadays.