This was the first hotel I stayed in on my trip around the burren on my bike. I decided to do a mix of hotels for a treat, B&Bs to save money and "whatever" where there was no other option.
All I hoped was that the hotels I stayed in would put the treat, rather than the threat, in treat.
I arrived in at 7 in the evening, hot, sweaty and lugging a bike full of panniers, with a fair amount of the sand and mud of the backroads from Galway to Kinvarra on my bike. I did not look like the poster child for the typical hotel advert.
The receptionist didn't even blink.
My bike was stashed safely inside, I was handed a key, asked if there was anything else I needed and told not to turn the hot tap the full way around as the water coming out of the faucet would be scalding.
The room was lovely, simply and pleasingly decorated, a typical Irish low-down bath in an immaculate bathroom, a mega-comfy king sized bed and everything scrubbed until it shined.
Now, for the ultimate hotel test. I have done this in hotels all over the world and most, even the most expensive, fail really badly. I love yoga and try to get in at least 40 mins every day. To do this, I shove the bed into the corner of the room and usually I find some pretty spectacular horrors in the space it vacates. Usually, I find dead *somethings*, rubber *somethings*, bits of paper, bits of pen, broken glass and more than once stuck-together hankies (lovely!) Not so in the Merriman, all I found was an immaculate carpet with 1 tacking pin, which in fairness I would not have spotted but for my eternal fear of missing something I would go on to step on.
I had dinner in the bar that evening which did have veggie meals other than the toasted cheese sandwich which has been my only option in some hostelries in Ireland. I has the pasta and pesto and a glass of wine. The table service was excellent and attentive.
Later on, after meeting up with friends, I called into the lounge for one before bed and although there was a full bar listening to the pub band, I found an alcove where I could have a quiet read of my book whilst still being an observer of all the fun going on, on the floor.
I completely recommend the merriman for anyone looking for a clean comfortable hotel in a lovely location with all the trademarks of a family hotel and none of the uniformity of a chain.
Fantastic place!
- Merriman Hotel Kinvara
