I recently visited Cork and stayed at a hotel which was (a) not of my choosing, and (b) my room type had been specified in advance as a single room. Given the fact that the name was not one of a chain I recognised and I had no time to check the web for more details on the property I can confidently say that my expecations were not particularly high for the Kingsley Hotel upon arrival.
How wrong I was!
Website and Booking -------------------------- I did not book this hotel directly, as someone made this reservation on my behalf, however bookings can be made via the contact details shown below.
I did try and see if cheap rates were available via www.laterooms.com; www.lastminute.com. And www.hotels.com, but alas none were forthcoming for a handful of dates during October, perhaps indicated the popularity of the hotel
However the hotel’s own website has a handful of special offers, and the most popular would likely be the 2 nights BB, plus one dinner and one
afternoon tea for a total cost of EUR 350, which doesn’t sound too bad, on the face of it.
Booking on line looks straightforward enough, although there is a non refundable booking fee of EUR 4.50.
Rates available for this week for double for sole occupancy are around EUR 175, which is probably the hotel Rack Rate.
Location and First Impressions ------------------------------------- First impressions were excellent. The hotel itself is five star, and I was greeted at 11.55pm by a concierge who was happy to take my luggage, and welcomed by name as soon as I approached the check in desk. Check in itself was swift, and I was provided with my keys and a stack of messages which were awaiting me. The hotel was within easy reach of Cork Airport, on the banks of the river Lee, and is just west of the city of Cork - mere minutes away.
I found the hotel to be extremely fresh and there was a feeling of the outdoors coming in, due to the clever use of plants, windows and general use of space insude the hotels lobbies and stairwells.
The Room ------------ Unfortunately this was one of those trips where a mere touchdown and sleep was involved, which was a tremendous shame given my initial impressions of the room. Not the poky single room I was anticipating, but what I walked into was a superbly fitted room which had all the luxuries I could have wished for, for my short stay. The room itself was actually classified as a Standard Double, but there was nothing standard about it. The King Size bed was adorned with two wonderful crisp white duvets, which are always a symbol of lusury for me. The furniture was made from Yew and included an ample work desk. A Queen Ann chair was also provided, and the room also had a portable radio/cd player as well as the normal TV. The area between the bedroom and the bathroom was put to full use by means of a delightful dressing area, well equipped with mirrors as well as the simple essentials. Finally the bathroom itself was of Greek style with its crisp tiling and overbath shower.
All floors were accessibly via lift, and therefore suitable for most customers.
In addition I had to use the phone a couple of times, to make a few calls back to the UK and my telephone charges were only EUR 3.83, which I was delighted about, as I was expecting them to be much higher, given the time I was on hold for one organisation!
In fact all rooms at the Kingsley do have a King size bed, ISDN and workstation, fully vanity area and tea/coffee area, safe, bathrobes, movies and messaging service, TV and music, Air Con, and power shower and bath.
Wining and Dining ------------------------------------ Given my late arrival, I did not get to experience full use of the hotels bars and restaurants, although I was famished for a snack on arrival and did enjoy breakfast. For my midnight room service I ordered a glass of wine and a sandwich at a cost of EUR 4.35 and EUR 8.60 respectively (you have no idea of the nightmare journey I experienced, I needed that wine!!). The food itself was delivered within 15 minutes and I was left to enjoy it as I completed my evening’s reading.
The following morning I enjoyed breakfast at the restaurant, and once again top marks to this hotel for offering an a la carte menu. I ordered poached eggs, and service was timely and the meal was superb.
The hotel has a choice of bars and restaurants, including the Poachers, the Library and the Sabrona Lounge and Garden Terrace.
Other facilities ------------------ The hotel can provide excellent conferencing facilities for business, with their own separate entrance, and a total of elevent separate conference rooms to meet most requirements. All conference rooms can provide state of the art technology as well as lumbar seating.
For the athletic among you (or those with more time on their hands than I), the hotel also offers a great leisure club including 20 metre pool as well as gym, outdoor hot tub, and jacuzzi. Or if you really have time, then there is a smorgasbord of beauty trreatments which await.
In a nutshell --------------- Good - Luxury Cleanliness Friendly service
Not so Good - Special offers might be hard to come by
It sounds lovely, its a shame you didn't have more time to relax there. Kate xx
slshepley 07.11.2004 21:05
sounds great. i'd definately go there if i had that much money to spend on a room for the night
sue.51 24.10.2004 10:57
Looks and sounds lovely, although I suspect outside my subsistence levels, one to watch if I am over in that part of the world. I always hate those occasions when staying in someone else's choice of hotel, and am always so grateful when travelling and speak to colleagues who get everything chosen for them. Going to a conference in Oxford ina couple of weeks where the accommodation is someone else's choice, will have to wait and see, shame you didn;t have more time there.
Sue
This refurbished, non-smoking hotel is a short stroll away from the extensive sandy ... more
beaches, cliff top gardens and local bus service.The pier, the shopping centre and Chine Gardens are within walking distance of the hotel which has a peaceful location ...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
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