The Malone

Breakfast was nice with lots of options, and we enjoyed drinks in the bar. The staff were very helpful, and overall we’d definitely stay again. Some areas could do with a refurb, and I’d ask for a room with a properly sized bathroom next time. We were in room 205. The room itself was really nice, but the bathroom was absolutely tiny for an Executive room. The shower door seal and bottle holder were both broken. We paid £10 for late checkout.

The bed was comfortable and the bar staff were nice. Those are the reasons this gets 2 stars. The room was only so-so for cleanliness: the couch cushions and carpet were dirty, the carpet was lifting, and the sink stopper was broken. Breakfast the next morning was extremely basic for a four star place. On top of that, other guests seemed to be having check-in issues too, and there was little consideration for the inconvenience caused. My friend and I had looked forward to returning, but we won’t be back after this experience. We booked one night for two through Rory’s Travel Club at a set price of £109. No confirmation email arrived, so I had to email them with my booking reference to get one. The night before, I noticed the reservation seemed to show only one person even though the deal was for two. I contacted them straight away, which I shouldn’t have bothered doing. Aisling replied that breakfast for the extra person would cost £16. When I phoned the hotel, Aisling answered and was very unhelpful. She said the original offer was £119, which it wasn’t, and that adding the £16 brought the total to £125. She also told me that because it was a ‘third party booking’ I had to take it up with the third party, even though I booked on their website, not a third party one. I tried to explain, but she was dismissive and wouldn’t let me finish. Check-in itself went fine and the staff there were friendly. At checkout, unfortunately, we had to deal with Aisling again. She was incredibly rude and seemed to be trying to intimidate us. When I tried to explain that the deal couldn’t be booked for one person, she interrupted me several times, saying things like ‘as I have already told you on the phone’ and ‘I need payment of £125 now’. Her manner was demanding and showed no regard for customer service. She brought up the original offer being £119, which was incorrect and irrelevant to us, so why charge us £16 extra when the offer was £109? She gave us no chance to explain, and trying to intimidate us in a reception area full of people was frankly disgraceful. We had booked this through Rory’s Travel Club, at £109 for two sharing, so we didn’t understand the extra charge or the claim that the original offer was £119.

The receptionists we spoke to were very friendly. We had a really nice stay in a lovely, spacious, modern room. The area was nice too, though a little way out from the city centre.

It was an atrocious night. We were in room 221 and the noise never let up. An air conditioning unit outside our window was loud, but something above the room was much worse. Every stomp came through the thin ceiling. Between 2300 and 0700, people moved tables, ran around and threw things on the floor. It genuinely sounded like a nightly tap dancing class for weight watchers. These weren’t guests, or at least we wondered if a badly placed laundry room might be above us. I absolutely wouldn’t recommend it. Access to the car park costs £10 per night?? It’s a real shame because the hotel is in a great spot, looks inviting from the facade, and the young receptionist and barman was lovely.