Editor Pick
Lots of Street Noise, but Great Location and Great Price
- November 13, 2008
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Green Dragon from Gainvesville, Florida
We were closing in on the city, and crossed a river - thinking it was the Liffey, we thought we had to turn around, as our B&B was on the southside, near Trinity College. But no, it was a smaller canal, and we still had a while to go. Finally we found the street we needed to be on, and where we needed to go - Dame Street. Alas, we couldn't turn right there, it was a one-way street. Only buses and taxis were allowed in. Since we didn't have the equipment to morph into one of these magical vehicles, we found our way around the area, down several more one-way streets. We came out right next to a pub, and Lo and behold! It was O'Neill's! Knowing there were a couple pubs named O'Neill's, I asked the guy standing in front if this was O'Neill's Victorian Pub, and it was. Yay!
We had to circle around again to get parking, but we did. Our room was up several part-flights of stairs, (46 stairs total - we counted!) but the room itself was very large, had a TV (yay!) and three single beds. The bathroom was decent sized, and the traffic noise wasn't too bad. The buildings across the street seemed to be either abandoned or at least vacant, so no one would be spying on us. We had to keep the windows open as it was once again hot and stuffy. Have the Irish never heard of fans?
We went down to the pub for dinner, and found out the trick to turning up the volume on the TV (which was mounted high on the wall in the corner). There are volume controls under the mounting, so we had to push it back to get at them, while perched on a chair. The ceilings in this place were very high as it WAS a Victorian household at one time.
Back to the B&B for the nights' sleep. It took me a very long time to sleep over the traffic, as it never really stopped, though it did slow. Big trucks came through all through the night, though, and they were loud enough to startle me awake through my earplugs. This wasn't a problem later nights, but that first night killed me. If you rent here, ask for a room facing the courtyard!
K and I didn't get any great sleep, though T slept fine (she's the one that likes sleeping with city noises). Breakfast was OK, though the service was a little curt. The white pudding was a strange hybrid of sausage and pudding - I only had one bite.
The last day we were there, we got into breakfast, and Hughey (one of the owners, evidently) asked how things were. We arranged to meet with him that evening to settle up, as we would be leaving much too early for humans the next day (4:30am for our 7:30am flight).
From journal For Love of Celts - Two Weeks in Southern Ireland
O'Neill's Townhouse Accommodation
- July 5, 2000
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Sean Harnett from Galway, Ireland
For the price, this is a great place to stay. The rooms are big and airy, with wooden floors, comfortable beds, and a minimum of clutter. Our room was en-suite, with a nice, hot powerful shower, and big comfortable towels. If there is a downside, it is that no breakfast is served to guests. But that's okay: Pearse Street is a ten-minute walk from the centre of Dublin, with its plethora of cafes and restaurants.
From journal Doing Dublin