Lawlors Hotel

If there was one word that could describe the hotel, it would be this: tired. The room we stayed in was ostensibly for a couple, and certainly the bed was large enough, being two twins shoved together. Mattress was lovely, the pillows just great. The bathroom was recently updated and yet there were issues. The longer we were there (and we were there for 3 days), the more we started to notice. Let's start with the first impression of the room: Entered the room and noticed a spotlight dangling from the ceiling and to the immediate left, an electrical point that had been covered in masking tape. The floor was heavily scratched, and the decor was definitely firmly in the 90s, with the predominant theme being heavy browns and beige. We asked for the light fitting to be attended to, as frankly, that was not something that we felt comfortable with, and to the credit of the front desk, they immediately offered another room. Having just unloaded everything, we demurred and just asked for it to be fixed, which it was. Maybe we should have sought another room, but the view of the harbour (via Supervalue) was pretty nice. But that turns me to the next issue: the window. Whoever had fitted the window didn't exactly do the best job, and it was clear that the framing was starting to pull away from the mounting. Give it another year and that will become a genuine danger. Talking of dangerous, the two latches that secured the window were mismatched, with the top and bottom latches having been replaced at different times, both were loose and the clip that is supposed to prevent people from throwing the window open too far didn't engage. Didn't bother me, but my wife was genuinely too unnerved to go near the window as she didn't feel safe as soon as it came to opening and closing the window to let fresh air into the room. Moving round the room, we found ourselves entranced by the electrical offerings in the room. There was a curious mix of an attempt to update (a pamphlet with a QR code for the website), stay vaguely relevant (a 20" digital TV that was connected via UHF cable) and just giving up (the hairdryers). The latter was particularly amusing, as they had a dryer wired into the wall, which sounded akin to the mufflers on the boy racers that infested the main roads of Dungarvan at night. Obviously they had picked up on this, as they had a replacement in the drawer of the vanity unit that worked. Why they hadn't just removed the defective dryer shall remain a mystery for the management to attend to. Quick note to the management: please check the power points in the room, the one by the left hand nightstand is quite loose and will at some point come away from the wall fitting. The whole room was slightly off. There was no need to have a second mirror right by the kettle, whose sole purpose appeared to have been to accumulate steam from said kettle. There was a single chair in the room for what should have been a couple's room (or at least a twin set up), meanin

The rooms were nice. The property could not of had a better location for the purpose of my trip, and the staff were all top notch The only “nitpicking” I could say of the room is the rain shower head didn’t work properly, but the mounted wand worked fine. Toilet was a little loose, but didn’t cause any issues. The hotel doesn’t have wash cloths, so next visit I’ll just bring my own. Would 100% stay again. The atmosphere was great, and the breakfast was delicious every morning.

Lawlor's is a little old-fashioned but serves as a good-value antidote to the ever-increasing number of clinical chain hotels. I was on a short business trip and arrived late evening. There is a private car park at the back and you have to walk to the front of the hotel to gain entrance. Check-in was warm and efficient and the hotel is easily navigated. My room was clean and spacious enough, with a large double bed, wardrobe, desk, TV, kettle, mugs, tea and coffee. The bathroom was warm, with underfloor heating, a shower in the bath with two shower heads, complimentary toiletries, and towels. The bed was comfortable and there were accessible plug sockets for charging devices. Reasonable choice of breakfast options, although a few different bread options would enhance the offering. I had a full Irish which came quickly and set me up for the day. Check-out was equally efficient. Hotel prices seem very high at the moment generally, but Lawlor's was under €100 for B&B when booked directly on their site. The hotel is showing its age a little but, overall, it was decent value for money.