D’ya know when you’re hiking across a mountain and you come to an isolated village where the people welcome you with open arms and have a party to celebrate your visit and as the golden sun sets across the valley you think to yourself you have at last found Shangri-la, then the moon comes out and everybody turns into werewolves and try to eat you? …That’s what staying at The Ross Hotel, Killarney, County Kerry is like.
In fairness, I would rate it among the best hotels I’ve stayed in terms of helpful staff, overall appearance & decor and top-class food, but if you’re not planning on staying in the bar until 2AM the chances are you won’t get much sleep.
The first night of our stay we couldn’t turn the volume on the TV up louder than the noise coming from outside (we were on the third floor, overlooking a courtyard that had at least three pub beer gardens -the window was closed, but the unblockable window vent kept all the noises flowing through.)
The next day we meekly enquired if there might be another room that was slightly quieter. The ever-helpful staff obliged -they moved us to a room two doors down. It was a slightly quieter to be fair. This time we did manage to turn the volume on the TV up louder than the outside noise.
Of course, we were being somewhat dry by being in our room before pub-closing hours, admittedly, but both nights we had gorged ourselves on top-class cuisine in the Hotel restaurant and weren’t fit for more alcohol after. Add to that the fact we were two parents deliriously happy to have escaped the clutches of our beautiful and demanding children for a whole weekend. We were already exhausted when we got there. The forced late nights didn’t help much. Everything else was perfect.
Would I stay at The Ross Hotel again? Gladly -but preferably at a time when the weather isn’t so good, when people are content to stay mostly inside the bar instead of outdoors all night long -or at a time when I am physically able to join them.
