We had a 4 night break based around Cork, the good point was the hotel in Douglas (Maryborough Hotel and Spa) which was very good with excellent facilities and very friendly staff (probably because most were eastern european rather than Irish). Not a cheap option though.
Overall though we found Cork disappointing, the countryside is OK, nothing spectacular though, and many areas appear shabby.
One thing we did note was the apparent aversion to tourists in terms of lack of parking spaces - Cork City and most towns - even small ones have "disc parking" i.e. if you are local it's easy to park, if not then virtually impossible or you pay often over 2 euros per hour - and worse many parking bays have a 2 hour maximum stay.
The City itself was also disappointing, it seems to be undergoing a major refurb in the centre at the moment with lots of building work, also the centre is small and after a couple of hours there didnt seem to be much to do (we have kids so pubs were not an option). We tried to go to one of the parks but again no parking available so we gave up!
Prices on the whole seemed a bit higher than UK (particularly for wine, where a £6 bottle was more like £10 in Ireland), and also many of the tourist attractions seemed to charge quite a lot for not much!! The most laugable being the Model railwayVillage at Clonakilty - over 21 euros for a familty ticket to walk round a few (sad) model houses with a bit of railway track and some toys trains (not many either) running round. It was fun though to see the bemused looks on the other visitors faces, clearly thinking the same as we did - "we paid how much for this???". Fota animal park (near Cobh) was just about worthwhile though, you do get quite close to the animals and the kids enyojed it.
So overall we had an OK stay, were lucky with the weather (no rain), can say we've been there - but probably no on our list of places to re-visit. We were disappointed with the general unfriendliness of the locals (even my 10 year old noticed and commented) - perhaps it helps if you're American rather than English. Our overall impression of Ireland - a bit shabby.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Welcome to Ciao. A good review but if you feel you would like to add or expand on the details in the review at any time in the future you can do this by pressing the edit link in the centre at the top of your review as you read it. . Fionaxx
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Attractive and compact city, eclectic and diverse yet still traditional, lots to do Disadvantages: Eating out not cheap; some may find it too hilly
fizzytom 25.07.2007 (25.07.2007)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Cork City (Ireland)
Advantages: Quieter, and cheaper than Dublin. Some good restaurants to be found Disadvantages: Very little tourism in winter time, fewer 'sights' open, smaller than Dublin
indiegirl 31.01.2003 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Cork City (Ireland)
Advantages: Attractive and compact city, eclectic and diverse yet still traditional, lots to do Disadvantages: Eating out not cheap; some may find it too hilly
fizzytom 25.07.2007 (25.07.2007)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Cork City (Ireland)
Advantages: Low fares! Extensive range of routes and destinations. Good Punctuality Disadvantages: Can be uncomfortable on longer flights. Extra charges expensive if you don't play by their rules.
olster99 22.10.2009 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Ryanair - RYR
Are you the manufacturer / provider of Cork City (Ireland)? Click here
Aug 31st, 2007
very helpful by (20%):
helpful by (80%):
