Suggestions for Killarney lodging

We actually enjoyed Killarney, as well as the central location of Scott’s Hotel, with free parking.

We absolutely loved the Lake Hotel. Beautiful scenery, right on the lake and next to the Killarney National Park. Not walkable to city centre but easily drivable and parking was never an issue for us

Killarney is touristy, but we loved it in March. Less crazy than August I imagine, so I bet you will enjoy it in October. So I do think it matters when you are there. The town itself is charming in shoulder season and yet has hotels, pubs, music, etc as you would expect for a busy place. Stay in town makes sense to me. Easy to drive there it you will want to stay somewhere with parking as spots didn’t seem to be widely available.. It is a great location with plenty to see all the joys of that part of Ireland, ring of Kerry, gap of Dunloe, Killarney national park, Muckross House and farm.

As for hotel, there are good options, and while I don’t know if it qualifies as midrange but the Great Southern Hotel is fanatic and has dedicated parking. Rick Steves apparently despises Killarney but we loved it at a less busy time of year!

I don't know why Rick Steves is so hard on Killarney. We just returned from 3 weeks in Ireland, four days of which were spent in Killarney. Sure it's touristy in the city center, but you can also find amazing places. We stayed at Killarney Lodge on Countess Rd. and could not have made a better choice. The owner, Catherine Treacy is a gem and her quiet B&B is maybe a 4 or 5 minute walk to the center of town. The full Irish breakfast was a great way to start our day. The entrance to Killarney National Park is just down the street. There is an impressive visitor center at Killarney House and the gardens behind it are beautiful and serene. If you like beer, Killarney Brewing is maybe a 10 minute walk down Mucross Rd. We arrived by train and did not have a car, but wanted to walk the Gap of Dunloe. Catherine was kind enough to make reservations for us with a dependable tour who sent a driver to pick us up at the lodge. Rick makes it sound as if every shop has plastic leprechauns in the window. He must have just been having a bad day.

Like Sharon, we stayed at The Lake Hotel and throughly enjoyed it. Parking was free at the hotel. Sharon is right, it’s not “ in town” but not far and parking is available there. We liked Killarney and would return. And we were there in August.