My husband and 1 year old arrived at this guesthouse "on spec". It is half a mile outside Doolin, but a lovely walk if weather is good. We were very impressed with everything- friendly receptionist, who organised travel cot & bedding, rooms were huge- 4 star hotel level, with bathrobes, walk in shower (were offered option of en-suite with bath at check-in). They have a games room & library available.Location is lovely and quiet. Breakfast was brilliant- included french toast, pancakes, salmon with scrambled eggs etc. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Bar was closed at 10pm- but an "honesty" bar -where one could pour their own drinks and inform reception in the morning what one owed-was available all night. We were very impressed and were planning on returning a few weeks later-we are going to Aran Islands and hoped to book in here on the Friday night & get the ferry on Saturday morning- however the receptionist told us they were closing this week- a pity. Would highly recommend this guesthouse and will definitely return.
Ballyvara House reviews
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Ballyvara House – reviews, photos
Ballyvara, Doolin, Ireland
Hotel amenities
5 traveller photos
ireland
Senior Reviewer
“excellent guesthouse, 4 star hotel level”
1
person found this review helpful
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Stayed August 2010, travelled with family
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
andre10amsterdam
2 reviews
“Never again”
WeI stayed recently 2 nights in this "House" during our trip trough Ireland. We were the only quests. It was a bad expirience and surely noth worth the price of Euro 90 for one night. The House looks very nice and the rooms are also nice, but....... we have a lot of complaints.
Our room was full of moth eggs and moths. Tthey don't clean the room; we only got clean towels. The breakfast was very poor and for the second morning we must wait 25 minutes before "the chef" arrived for cooking our eggs. Unbeleavable!!! The bar was closed and it was not possible to have a dinner in the restaurant. The house closed at 10 pm and after that time there was nobody!!! After my complaints by mail to the direction i got the following answers; We are not an Hotel but an House and because this reason we don't provide dinner, the chef was on time, the bar is closed because there are no more than 2 quests and that is also the reason that we closed at 10 pm.
We never visit this "House" or "Hotel" again and we warn everyone !!!
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Stayed June 2010, travelled as a couple
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Rebecca Flanagan, Owner at Ballyvara House, responded to this review
20 July 2010
I am very sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your stay with us, as I did outline in my email response to you. I would just like to clarify a few things for readers of your review: your initial complaint to us stated various issues regarding services not available in our 'Hotel' which you also state here, although I see that you do recognize now that we are not a hotel as you use the term 'House'. Unfortunately, this has not diminished your views that we should have the same services. As a guesthouse we are not required to have a restaurant or bar, nor do we advertise as having a restaurant serving anything other than breakfast. We are also not required to have reception manned at all hours - I also addressed this issue via email: we have a staff member that lives on site who was there the entire time during your stay, there was a notice at the front door and at the front desk stating that if assistance is required to phone the following number (my own mobile number is listed), and this number is also on every phone in every bedroom. You had full access to the house regardless of the hour, due to the special key system we have installed. There were no moth eggs that I could find in the room, however, with the unprecedented warm weather, windows left open might attract moths and such, which is outside of our control. As for waiting for your breakfast - I am very amused that you forgot to mention the fact that you requested breakfast at 9a.m. but decided to come down at 8:30a.m. instead. I see that you also gave a very negative review (your only other Trip Advisor Review), to another establishment which, like ourselves, has a high traveller rating (over 90%), so I would seriously encourage readers to take your review with a grain of salt.
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Arkansas
Senior Contributor
“Cozy and comfortable”
1
person found this review helpful
I loved our one night here. We had a quad room that was HUGE. It was a nice treat with a spa bath, robes, good breakfast, play area for our kids and a rural setting. The staff was very helpful, had good dinner recommendations. Lots of common areas and plenty of parking. Our kids enjoyed the donkeys out front and the dog Rascal that liked to herd the donkeys.
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Stayed August 2009, travelled with family
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Top Contributor
“Nice place, but like a ghost town ...”
1
person found this review helpful
We stayed here for one night and were the sole guests. Not sure what is going on with this place; it was certainly fine--but I'm wishing we had negotiated for a better price. At the height of the tourist season in Doolin, their business was WAY off.
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Stayed July 2009, travelled with family
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Rebecca Flanagan, owner/manager at Ballyvara House, responded to this review
29 July 2009
Thank you for the review, and I am very pleased that you awarded us a 'very good' rating . I just thought I would let you know that whilst our business is certainly slower this year (as are many of my colleagues), we did have a few other rooms staying the evening that you did. We have soundproofing in our bedrooms that may have helped keep things so quiet that you assumed you were alone!
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Illinois
2 reviews
“Will always make this a stop on our list”
Our group of six travelers arrived right from the airport vis the cliffs of moher and a stunning, yet rough boat cruise. We were tired, wet and cold and what a pleasure it was to arrive at Ballyvara House, the staff was warm and welcoming. We were quickly shown to our rooms so we could get situated before we left for dinner and music in Doolin. Our rooms were wonderful and breakfast the next morning was divine. The hotel is accessible to other sights in the area and would make a great spot as a base for touring the area. Our whole group enjoyed Ballyvara House and would definitely go there again.
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Additional Information about Ballyvara House
Ballyvara, Doolin, Ireland
Price range (per night):*
INR4,891 - 10,449
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