Very good option for either business or holiday. Room was clean and comfortable. Appreciated the central heating on a chilly May evening! Good breakfast selection - fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, eggs etc in addition to the usual traditional cooked breakfast. Hilary the owner is very friendly and obliging.
Very convenient location for the University and within walking distance of Cork City. Great vegetarian restaurant close by - Cafe Paradiso. Would stay here again, and have already recommended it to friends and colleagues.

Very disappointing. I realise that the property is for sale, but even so ... In my room, there was no chair, there were cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, the wallpaper was peeling, and water sprayed from the inlet pipe every time I flushed the loo. My bed was not made up 2 days out of the 6, the wastebasket not emptied, neither the loo paper nor my used coffee cup were replaced, and the TV only made to work on the second day. And on one day there was mould on the bread at breakfast. Thoroughly unsatisfactory!

I stayed at the Shandon Bells for three nights in May and I had a wonderful stay.
The house is located on Western Road only a short walk (about 10 minutes) from the city centre. Private parking is provided. There’s room for several cars in the drive.
I stayed in a double room at the back of the house. The room wasn’t large but nicely decorated and furnished. It was comfortable and clean and it had a very nice view over the river. There were tea and coffee making facilities and a TV. The bathroom was quite large. There was a tub in the bathroom and I enjoyed a long hot bath after travelling down to Cork from Dublin on my first night. I had no problems whatsoever having showers in the tub. The towels were nice and fluffy.
Breakfast was served between 8 and 9.30 am. It was good and plentiful.
The best thing about Shandon Bells was the wonderful hospitality I received. The owners were warm and welcoming. Hilary who runs the guesthouse took the time to chat whenever we met and offered great advice and suggestions on where to go and what to do.
I don’t know what made the members who wrote the last two reviews feel so dissatisfied with the accommodation and the service. It is true that the guesthouse is for sale but that doesn’t mean that nobody cares about the business any longer. Everyone I met while I was staying there was extremely friendly and helpful. I was greeted by the owners’ daughter when I arrived. She showed me to my room, made sure I had everything I needed and answered my questions in a very friendly way. I broke the key trying to unlock my door when I returned to the house a few hours later. Although the family were just finishing dinner the owner went to fix the lock immediately. He returned less than five minutes later and handed me a new key. I was assured that it was no problem at all. Hilary is just great and is dedicated to the guesthouse. She does a wonderful job.
There might be less expensive b&bs and guesthouses in Cork but I didn’t think Shandon Bells was overly expensive at 85 € for two people staying in a double room. It’s about the same rate I got in Dublin and Killarney.
Overall I loved Cork and the Shandon Bells. I would recommend it and I look forward to returning.

Really disappointed. Dirty crockery in the rooms, threadbare towels, half used bottles of shampoo and no light bulbs in the bedroom. Did complain and the host was very apologetic and rectified the problems but I still feel it was far too over priced for a night. For 85 euros I was expecting more.

Breakfast was fine , but the meat was of a low quality. The property is up for sale and it just appears that perhaps standards have slipped.