A Room with a View, an Alien, self-propelled bath fittings and lousy service

So, here are some photos my Dad took while we were in Dublin. This first one is a view from the balcony of the hotel where we stayed at in Portmarnock...and the best thing about that hotel was definitely the view!



And here it is at night....



And the rather questionable art above the bed in each room, which reminded me of something from Alien...



And a view of Malahide across the bay from Oscars pub and restaurant, where we stopped for lunch with my sister and her family...



We searched long and hard for the right hotel in Dublin. We wanted somewhere that was both comfortable and a bit special, somewhere that would be a treat for my Mom & Dad since we wanted them to have a bit of a break while we were visiting. We actually chose a brand new hotel, the Ritz Carlton at Powerscourt, and then discovered they were full for one night in the middle of our short stay because of some celebrity wedding. Harumph!

So we found the Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links, which was supposedly 4 star and looked pretty darn good. But pretty much from the moment we arrived, things went badly. And when my parents checked in the next day, it went downhill rapidly thanks to bathroom fixtures that weren't 'fixed' (taps and handles kept falling off the wall!) and a restaurant manager with an attitude the Nazis would have been proud of...

Thankfully my parents had checked out before the final night....when the fire alarm went off and we were left in the pouring freezing rain for over 30 minutes only to discover that the alarm had malfunctioned and the rest of the hotel weren't even aware of it, and...after another half hour searching for anyone who cared we were told to go back to our room and the alarm would be switched off until someone came to fix it. Very reassuring....and what if there happens to be a fire? Oh, that almost never happens, they said unconvincingly.

We met with the customer relations manager the following morning before we checked out who promised a letter of apology to my parents for how appallingingly they'd been treated, and an email to us after they'd investigated the rest of the shambles...neither of which ever arrived. All I can say is, if you ever find yourself looking for accommodation in Ireland...don't ever go here.