Lodging in Kilkenny, Ireland

Andrea: Since you haven't received any replies, I'll offer a few "sympathy" ideas. :)

I have used Tripadvisor.com as my "bible" for trip planning. Every time I visit a place, I post a review, many times with pictures. So do many others. An occasional review from the lodging itself might get through, but all in all I think it's pretty reliable. That being said:

There is only one review posted for Castle Lodge, but it is a good one from May of this year. You could e-mail that person for more details. Cleere's doesn't have any reviews, although I looked at a website and it looked nice. My rule of thumb has been....if I see 25 or more reviews and they're sterling, I can be pretty sure the place is good. If there are one or two reviews that seem inconsistent, I take a good look at what their gripes are.

Kilkenny is a great town for B&B's, and Tripadvisor will provide some top choices. Search on "Kilkenny B&B" and scan through their ranked B&B's to see if something catches your eye. We stayed at Hillgrove B&B a few years ago...very nice, great breakfast (porridge with Irish Mist - yum!), warm hosts, but not the best for walking into town (we had a car). Good luck in your search for that special place!

We are planning to be in Kilkenny the 2nd week of September ( have not arranged lodging yet ) when are you going ?

Thanks for the replies!

Roy: I really like trip advisor too! Thanks for the idea of emailing person that reviewed. That is a great idea I will use in the future. Since we don't know much about these two B&B's we decided to pay a little more and stay at the Pinecrest. We won't have a car so being close to town is important to us.

Martha: We will be in Kilkenny November 7 and 8. The Pinecrest has excellent reviews on trip advisor and is a 5-10 minute walk to town. Good luck on your trip planning!

Andrea

Andrea - It looks like you have chosen well...Pinecrest looks wonderful. Regarding e-mailing reviewers: When we were planning our trip to Provence, two reviewers referred to the proprietors of a certain B&B as "eccentric." I e-mailed one of them and got a nice explantory response that steered me clear. It pays to do your homework! Enjoy Kilkenny...have a Guinness for me.