Claremont House

Dun Laoghaire itself is a pretty place, with a quaint high street and handy train connections to Aviva Stadium and into central Dublin via Tara Station. But we wouldn't return to Claremont House. On our eight-night trip, this was easily the worst place we stayed. The house felt old, shabby, and musty. Our upstairs room had clean-looking bedding and a comfortable double bed, but the bed bases were torn and the beds squeaked and banged whenever anyone moved, waking me repeatedly. We each had one regular pillow and several tiny scatter cushions that got in the way. The en suite smelled of urine, the shower pressure was very weak, and the curtain was grubby. The toilet lid was dirty underneath, and industrial rolls of toilet paper were piled up randomly. The room was cleaned on the first morning. On the second, I asked the host to clean after 12:30 because the kids were sleeping in and we were leaving for rugby then. She agreed, but when we got back that evening, the beds were still unmade, bins were overflowing, and wet towels were everywhere. She said she'd forgotten. That wasn't good enough. Neither host, a married couple, introduced themselves, and they didn't properly explain breakfast times or mention that tea and coffee were available in the breakfast room. The lounge was run down, with broken, torn furniture. At breakfast, the yoghurt I ate was past its use-by date, the cereal boxes were just lined up rather than poured into jars, and one was empty. The dining room bin hadn't been emptied, the room was cramped and uncomfortable, and nobody topped up the juice when it ran out. The hosts seemed to be going through the motions and weren't interested in running a top-class place. The husband didn't know Ireland had an international rugby match on and said he'd never even visited the Ring of Kerry. I think hosts should know at least a bit about their own country. While we were trying to have a meeting over coffee, staff at the counter and in the dining rooms didn't greet us. After we'd found seats and waited 5-10 minutes, a woman took our order. She was pleasant enough but seemed rushed and flustered, busy serving retired locals. There also seemed to be a seminar in one room, with large groups of Garda cutting through the dining room every few minutes, making it feel crowded and disorganized. The coffee was average, and we had to get the woman's attention again to pay. There's a lot of potential in such a lovely building and area, but we won't stay here again. We would come back to Dun Laoghaire, just not Claremont House.

The area is pleasant and the house is quiet, and the hosts were very nice. But the beds are old and the bathroom is shabby, so the guesthouse could use a refurbishment. Breakfast shuts firmly at 9, which is a pain when you're away for a relaxing break.

The room was nice, and the owners were lovely. Breakfast was better than I'd expected, too. It's not far from the DART station, which makes getting around easy.

The house dates back to 1876 and sits in a peaceful part of Glenageary. There's a friendly couple running it, and a pleasant little village nearby with all sorts of shops, including Mitchells Wine shop. Mitchells is among Dublin's oldest and most respected wine merchants.