Joe Cotter

NOTE: Our rating is a 3-1/2 for the KimKim experience and working with Joe.

A beautiful island with amazing sights including verdant vistas, rolling gradation of greens, rugged and wild coastline a surprising amount of archeological history. So happy we toured around almost the whole island, starting in Dublin then south to Kilkenny and Kinsale, west to Dingle (our favorite) and up to Galway.

Many great experiences including the Ashling Hotel in Dublin (great location, helpful front desk folks and good breakfast selections), drinking Guinness and Jameson and hearing traditional music, quaint and colorful villages (Kilkenny, Cobh, Kinsale, Ennis, Dingle). Glad we made the stop at the Rock of Cashel, the Jameson Distillery tour in Midleton, the Titanic museum in Cobh and the Cliffs of Moher. Dingle Peninsula is a must-see and thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Emlagh House with delightful and helpful staff, delicious breakfasts and great location. Doyle's restaurant in Dingle is a MUST.

The most challenging part for us was notably the driving, which can only be described as harrowing and stressful. We did not get much chance to enjoy scenery enroute to the locales as one was driving and one was navigating - very narrow roads, a lot of traffic circles and plenty of traffic. We missed stopping off at many sights just because it was too
tense getting back on the road and pressure to get to the next overnight. Also we were very disappointed outside Dublin that pretty much every pub we went in in Kinsale and Galway were not what we expected in terms of warm welcomes and jovial conversations. In some we were virtually ignored while locals chatted with the bartenders and made merry. We were also disappointed with our hotel in Galway - located on the ocean, which was beautiful, but waaaaaaayyyy out at the end of town with a commercial district that was overrun with casino-type buildings, fast food restaurants and convenience stores.

Hotel Reviews

Ashling Hotel Dublin

Dublin

Great location, great (friendly and helpful) front desk staff, great breakfast selection and wonderfully big, fluffy towels in the bath. There is a huge and beautiful park nearby, a free museum, a light rail that will take you directly to the Temple Bar area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

see above

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Greenmount House Luxury B&B

We did not stay at the Greenmount House - We stayed at the Emlagh House which was five stars all around! Lovely, helpful staff, wonderful breakfasts, cozy accommodations, wonderful location to walk to beach or to town.

Authenticity & Character

Note this rating is for Emlagh House

Location

Note this rating is for Emlagh House

Staff

Note this rating is for Emlagh House

Cleanliness & Comfort

Note this rating is for Emlagh House

Actons Hotel

Cork

Beautiful hotel, spacious and comfy rooms, great location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beautiful views, easy walking to all parts of town.

Staff

Ian (front desk manager) When we arrived, after a long day of driving on the LEFT side of the road on narrow streets and much traffic, there was NO parking. The person who greeted us at the hotel basically said "too bad." Ian was extremely helpful and found a way to keep my car safe until a spot opened up, so I could get settled in. If Ian wasn't working at the front desk that day, my rating would've been poor. The person who greeted us didn't even offer to help us find parking.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Galmont Hotel & Spa

Galway

We did not stay at the Galmont House - we stayed at Salt Hill Hotel. Overall rating - 3 stars

Authenticity & Character

Location

situated in very commercial district, too far from town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

worst bathroom ever

Activity Review

Jameson Distillery and Blarney Castle

Cork

I will start by saying our time in and around Westport with our guide Jim Henry was one of the best parts of our trip. He’s friendly, knowledgeable, extremely accommodating, empathetic and an overall pleasure to spend time with. We learned a great deal from him.
We really enjoyed having multiple choices of places to stop along our routes. Most routes we accomplished 1-3 stops. On the causeway coast we did 6 of 7. We were exhausted after but it was worth every step. If we get the opportunity we will be in touch for another trip in the south of the island.
Thank you to all who were involved!!

Overall, we were very pleased with our trip. The itinerary was excellent. All of the accomodations, with the exception of Gabriel House in Cork, were wonderful as were the restaurant and pub recommendations. The main issue we had with Gabriel House was the location, being quite a distance from Cork city centre. Plus, we were assigned a room on the top floor (not KImKim's fault, just something for you to be aware of) which made it impossible for us to haul our full suitcases up 4 flights of stairs. We transferred a few essentials into a duffle bag and carried that. up. The room was spartan; felt like a dormitory room and the bathroom was barely big enough for one person to maneuver in. Concerning Cork, I know we asked to include that location in the itinerary, but we chose to instead drive down to Kinsale after finding Cork rather dirty and uninviting.

We were pleased to find all the reservations confirmed, including the taxi to/from the Dingle Way hike. We were especially pleased with the hike. We didn't particularly care for the 2.5 km part on the road leading to the Blasket Centre, but we understand why the Blasket Centre was chosen for a pick up location.

Lastly, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a daily check-in text message at the beginning of our trip. I know we had ways to reach out to KimKim had we had any problems, but we liked the check-ins as it felt like KimKim was keeping track of where/what we were doing. Then, the day before we were to go on the Dingle Way hike, I reached out with a question. My phone indicated that KimKim received and read the message, but we heard nothing back for 4 days. We were surprised and taken aback at the sudden lack of communication. I know I could have called, but we assumed all would work out with taxi pick up which it did.

Hotel Reviews

Ashling Hotel Dublin

Dublin

Great location, very nice hotel.

Authenticity & Character

it is just a nice hotel; much like we would stay in anywhere

Location

within walking distance of most of the sights in the city, or a short walk to public transportation

Staff

very friendly reception and restaurant staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Galmont Hotel & Spa

Galway

A modern, functional hotel in a great location

Location

within walking distance to city centre

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fiddle & Bow

Doolin

We actually stayed at the Doolin Inn which was delightful. We loved the small, unique character of this inn and it was in a great location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Killeen House Hotel

killarney

A quaint inn a nice distance out of Killarney. We really appreciated being away from the more touristy and busy city of Killarney.

Authenticity & Character

Location

it was on the edge of Killarney National Park with great access to the Ring of Kerry and without being in the heavily populated city of Killarney. We ate both our dinners in the bar there and found the food to be excellent.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tower View

Dingle

Another nice, small inn located close to city centre

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fernroyd House B and B

Cork

We stayed at the Gabriel House. See my comments in the general section.

Authenticity & Character

Location

way too far from city centre.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Cliffs of Moher Cruise

Ireland

We took a combo cruise to Inishmore then to the Cliffs of Moher. We enjoyed seeing the Cliffs from the water more than from the top.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff