Greeted with a friendly smile and a warm welcome for our 3 night stay. It was absolutely no bother…read moreat all that we arrived in the evening and we were immediately shown to our beautifully appointed (looked recently renovated) double room. We had the best sleep of our 3 week trip in Ireland. The next morning we woke to the smell of coffee and breakfast being made. We sat for an hour and had a huge Irish breakfast with delicious coffee and just chatted with Shona who runs Ardkeen as if we were staying in her home. We wished we could have changed our travel plans and stayed one week. Ardkeen is located a short walk from a small village outside Westport called The Quays which has pubs, restaurants and cafes and overlooks both Clew Bay and the mountain Croagh Patrick. What a backdrop to our early morning walks!

I highly recommend this gorgeous B&B for a countryside getaway. I highly recommend Connemara in…read moregeneral. It's God's Country for sure -- shallow bays and lakes peacefully shrouded by rocky hills and endless green pastures, there is much about Connemara and not just about this bed and breakfast that steals the heart. Our first time to this gorgeous part of County Galway we simply did a drive through on the way to Westport, and it wasn't enough. We returned a year later, with the Dolphin Beach House on the top of our list. About 10-15 minutes outside of bustling Clifden, the house is on the Lower Sky Road (a totally jaw-dropping scenic drive) and abuts the water while still remaining nicely sheltered. We booked a queen bed with a view of the water and patio. The rustic and handmade wooden furniture, spacious room and view of the Connemara countryside put me at immediate ease. The breakfast room is a greenhouse of sorts -- brilliantly lit with exquisite views of the sheep, rolling countryside and Atlantic sea. The morning breakfast was lovely - choice of full Irish, smoked salmon, wonderful orange yolked fresh eggs, pancakes and oatmeal as well as cold cereal, scones, all the fixings. There's a patio that overlooks the scenery that epitomizes the lushness of rural Ireland. And the Foyle family are lovely hosts. I've docked one star mostly because of how loud the B&B was, probably because of bad timing. A large family from the United States, about 11-12 people carried on until 2am and then woke up at 8am, thrashing around and belting riotous laughter. Our second night was much more quiet and more pleasant, but it would be nice if this house was more soundproof. You can't win them all. But this place is still a big winner.

We stayed at Dolphin Beach House for five fantastic nights, June 4-June 9. Clodagh Foyle is the…read moreheart and soul of this magical place. She corresponded with us prior, gave recommendations for other places we were visiting, and greeted us with her great good humor and lilting language (which I loved) when we arrived. We had a crazy-great time in Ireland for 16 days, but I'm kind of going for this experience might have been tippy-top. Our room was lovely, like a child's getaway room, with slanted roof, and windows on either side, one to the mountains, and one to the sea. There was a large bathroom with its own skylight. There was a white horse with her young one, and a brown cow with hers. There was a placid, stony beach where we spent most mornings, lolling about, waiting to change into selkies. There was Clodagh herself, always kind and helpful, and fun. There were Clodagh's breakfasts with a la carte offerings, and a round table with scones and breads and fruits and cereals and yogurt. Perfectly cooked eggs and bacon, scrambled eggs with salmon, and a porridge I heard one visitor say was the best she'd tasted, and she'd had porridge every day in Ireland. There was Sky Road, Lower and Upper, which we were finally brave enough to circle on night #3. Unbelievable views, and scary driving. A rainbow, double!!!, over the sea. I had to stop the car at the narrowest part of Lower Sky Road to snap a photo. Like a portent of the perfect place. And there was Clifden, the town, lively and friendly. And there was the Clifden Boat Club, halfway down the road toward town. With its kind patrons who befriended us and took us sailing with some of the finest sailors in Ireland! And the Boardwalk Café there where Simon served up scrumptious food and fellowship. This was Clifden for us, and we loved it. Thanks, Clodagh. It was awesome staying in your world.

These accommodations were as advertised and then some. Beautiful and spacious the house was very…read moreclean with beautiful views. We made good use of the pub as Carl O'Grady set us up with a barrel of Guinness. We also had 2 dinners in house prepared by Carl and they were outstanding, we wished we would have scheduled another. Every step of the way Carl and staff made sure we were comfortable and had everything we needed. If you're looking for a relaxing vacation don't pass this opportunity up.

Absolutely wonderful rural resort in the lovely Connemara countryside. Early 19th century…read morearchitectural charm, gorgeously appointed rooms. Check in was quick and friendly, bags carried to my room by Colm, the gracious inn keeper. The king size bed in the spacious accommodations included a fluffy duvet. I slept like a bug in a rug! Breakfast options were fresh and my personal favorite after 4 days were the scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. Fruit, yogurt, toast, croissants, and juices were tasty and plentiful every morning. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment at this gem in Ireland. Highly recommend for a night, a week, or a month!

I first stayed here in the very depths of a bad winter, Jan 2nd in fact. My then girlfriend and I…read moreshowed up and were the only guests in the entire hotel. But Colm, Martina and their team put on an incredible show of the greatest hospitality I've ever seen, lighting all the fires, hanging out with us, feeding us lovely food, and drinking with us in the bar until late. It was incredibly cozy, it felt like a home away from home, and they felt like family. In fact, it was so incredible that when a year later I asked my girlfriend to marry me, our first thought as to "where" was the Zetland. Over the phone only (we live in the US, I'm an Irish emigrant), Colm arranged everything, connecting us with a huge array of local vendors, planning the menu with local lamb and wild salmon from his own fisheries, organizing wild flowers from the garden, recommending local musicians, and even finding a druidic priest to celebrate the marriage. A year and a half after we'd first visited we returned for the wedding, with an entire entourage in tow. We booked out the entire hotel for a weekend with family and friends, and the hospitality knew no bounds. Colm was Master of Ceremonies for the whole thing, tending to elderly relatives and young children with equal charm. It was utterly brilliant. We went back about two years ago and it was just as lovely as ever. If I could give the Zetland 10 stars out of 5 I would. Bravo, this is how you run a hotel.

Modern and spacious bathrooms. Wifi available for guests, though it does not penetrate the…read morerooms...you can enjoy it downstairs in the bar or restaurant areas. The food offered by O'Malley's is really well done, Connemara comfort food. I highly recommend you don't sleep through breakfast. It's entirely farm to table organic, and they source all their fish and crab from the local fishermen in Clifden and Cleggan. This is one of the few hotels or B&Bs in the area that offers real coffee, and they will beat your milk upon request. Hotel offers live music at night and is in the heart of historic downtown Clifden, just steps away from a plethora of ancient ruins, tombs, standing stones, castles and billion dollar views.

My husband and I stayed here for a weekend while visiting family. The rooms were clean, the…read moreincluded breakfast was pretty tasty (try the black and white puddings!), and the staff, especially the owner, Edward, were all really friendly. The place has a lovely pub serving delicious dinner and if you catch it on the right night, they have live music which seems to draw a pretty big crowd of locals. We will definitely stay here again!

I stayed here 2 nights as a bus driver of a group. The employed staff was very friendly. The room…read morewas ok. The group (17 + guide) had dinner on both nights at the hotel. I was given the menu by the guide and as it was very basic I decided to have dinner with the group as I presumed it would be reasonably priced. On the first night I had fish & chips as main and a small slice of cheese cake + coffee as desert. On the second night I had a chicken fillet on mash with veges and a small slice of apple pie + coffee again as desert. When checking out there was nobody at reception and I went to the waitress in the breakfast room and mentioned the 2 dinners. She said she would go into the kitchen and ask Eddie (owner). She came back and said Eddie wants €20 for each dinner. I was a bit shocked and asked her if it was maybe €20 for the 2 dinners but she said it was for each meal. She suggested to discuss that directly with the owner and went back into the kitchen only to come out a short time later, to tell me Eddie does not want to discuss that, it's €20 for each dinner. Very disappointed that the owner wasn't willing to talk to me. If you are not getting your meal completely for free, you get at least a special price for your food if you are a bus driver at other hotels. €20 for this kind of food is a special price - a specially EXPENSIVE price. Never experienced anything like this before. This is just to warn other drivers what to expect. You better have your meal somewhere else.