September/2007
Canada
We had been travelling in Ireland for almost 2 weeks and had been in B&B's that were clean and well kept with caring and lovely staff. We arrived at The Gallery and were shown to our room. It was run down and dirty. The bed was extremely hard. We went back downstairs and discussed not staying here. When we told Mr. O'Hare that we could not stay because the bed was too hard for my back and I had allergies to dust. We tried to be polite as we don't ever want to hurt anyone's feelings and we realize that this is his home. He got very angry and finally threatened us that if we were to leave, he would charge us on our visa for the room anyway.
My husband said that it was not about the money, but the poor condition and dirtiness of the room. He had tried to be polite, but Mr. O'Hare continued to get very, very angry and was yelling at my husband. We just got into our car and drove away. Ironically, five days before, we had been shopping in Derry in Northern Ireland and had
accidently left our visa at the store. We didn't discover this until we were in Donegal, so we phoned and cancelled the visa as we always travel with at least 3. Because of this, Mr. O'Hare would have been unable to charge our room.
Upon driving away, our only concern was getting away from a very angry
man who obviously, was making us feel extremely nervous. This was our only bad experience in Ireland and fortunately, it was over and done with very quickly.
We ended up staying a the Lotamore Lodge which is closer to Cork. It is 200 years old and full of character. The room was immaculate and the breakfast was superb, with white linen table cloths and shining silver everywhere. It was only 20 Euro more than The Gallery.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
No way!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young Singles, An Amazing Honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Older Travellers, tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young Singles, An Amazing Honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older Travellers, Great pool scene, pet owners, Families with Small Children, Families with Teenagers, tourists
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Beach / Sun, Museums / Cultural / Historical sites