Ireland: Accommodations Listings
Included in this section:
64. The Dingle Peninsula: A Gaelic Bike Ride
65. Northern Ireland and Belfast
64. Dingle Peninsula: A Gaelic Bike Ride
Sleeping in Dingle Town
(€1 = about $1.40, country code: 353, area code: 066)
Prices vary with the season, with winter cheap and August tops.
O'Neill's B&B is homey and friendly, with six decent rooms on a quiet street at the top of town (Db-€70–80, family deals, cash only, strictly non-smoking, parking, John Street, tel. 066/915-1639, oneills@godingle.com, Mary O'Neill).
Kelliher's Ballyegan House is a big, plain building with six fresh, comfortable rooms on the edge of town and great harbor views (Db-€75, Tb-€110, cash only, non-smoking, parking, Upper John Street, tel. 066/915-1702, Hannah and James Kelliher).
Greenmount House sits among chilly palm trees in the countryside at the top of town. A five-minute hike up from the town center, this guest house commands a fine view of the bay and mountains. John and Mary Curran run one of Ireland's best B&Bs, with two fine rooms (Db-€110), three superb rooms (Db-€140), and seven sprawling suites (Db-€170) in a modern building with lavish public areas and breakfast in a solarium (reserve in advance, most rooms at ground level, parking, top of John Street, tel. 066/915-1414, fax 066/915-1974, www.greenmount-house.com, info@greenmount-house.com).
Best Budget Options in Dingle Town
Grapevine Hostel is clean and friendly, quiet yet very centrally located, with a cozy fireplace lounge and a fine members' kitchen. Each four- to eight-bed dorm has its own bathroom. Dorms are generally coed, but there can be a girls-only room on request (28 beds, €16–18 per person, Db-€42, open all day, Dykegate Lane, tel. 066/915-1434, www.grapevinedingle.com, hostel@grapevinedingle.com, run by Siobhan — sheh-vahn).
Ballintaggart Hostel, a backpackers' complex, is housed in a stylish old manor house used by Protestants during the famine as a soup kitchen (for those hungry enough to renounce Catholicism). It comes complete with laundry (€8), a classy study, a family room with a fireplace, and a resident ghost (138 beds, €15 in 10-bed dorms, €20 beds in Qb, Db-€70, 4- to 6-person family room-€65–80, no breakfast but there's a kitchen, a mile east of town on Tralee Road, tel. 066/915-1454, fax 066/915-2207, www.dingleaccommodation.com, info@dingleaccommodation.com). Ask the Tralee bus to drop you here before arriving in Dingle. A taxi into Dingle costs €6.
65. Northern Ireland and Belfast
Sleeping in Belfast, Northern Ireland
(£1 = about $2, country code: 44)
Many of Belfast's best budget beds cluster in a comfortable, leafy neighborhood of row houses just south of Queen's University (and the Ulster Museum, which is closed through 2009). Two train stations (Botanic and Adelaide) are nearby, and buses (£1.30) zip down Malone Road every 20 minutes. Any bus on Malone Road goes to Donegall Square East. Taxis, cheap in Belfast, take you downtown for about £3 (your host can call one).
Malone Lodge Hotel, by far the classiest listing in this neighborhood, provides slick, business-class comfort and spacious rooms in a charming environment on a quiet street (Db-£85–150, superior Db-£120–175, weekend deals, restaurant, elevator, 60 Eglantine Avenue, tel. 028/9038-8000, fax 028/9038-8088, www.malonelodgehotel.com, info@malonelodgehotel.com).
Malone Guest House is a crisp, stand-alone Victorian house fronting the busy Malone Road. It's homey and well run by Geraldine and Byron Quinn, who rent 13 prim rooms (Sb-£35–45, Db-£60–65, Tb-£70, 80 Malone Road, at intersection with Adelaide Park and bus stop, tel. 028/9066-9565, fax 028/9037-5090, www.maloneguesthousebelfast.co.uk, maloneguesthousebelfast@yahoo.co.uk).
Jurys Inn, an American-style place that rents its 190 identical modern rooms for one simple price, is perfectly located two blocks from City Hall (up to 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 kids for £69–115, breakfast-£9 extra per person, 4 non-smoking floors, Fisherwick Place, tel. 028/9053-3500, fax 028/9053-3511, www.jurysdoyle.com, jurysinnbelfast@jurysdoyle.com).
Best Budget Option in Belfast
Belfast International City Hostel, providing the best value among Belfast's hostels, is big and creatively run, offering single and double rooms along with dorms. It's located near Botanic Station, in the heart of the lively university district and close to the center. Features include free lockers, left luggage, Internet access in lobby (£4/hr), videos, kitchen, self-serve laundry (£3.50), cheap breakfast-only cafeteria, elevator, 24-hour reception, and no curfew (beds in 6-bed dorm-£9, beds in quad-£11, S-£19, D-£26–28, Db-£37, 22–32 Donegall Road, tel. 028/9031-5435, fax 028/9043-9699, www.hini.org.uk, info@hini.org.uk). Paul, the manager of the hostel, is a veritable TI, with a passion for his work.
Updated for 2008. For lots more information, check out our best-selling Rick Steves' Ireland guidebook.