Dubhlinn House

Wonderful stay in the off season. The proprietor, Martin, is affable and welcoming and quick with a joke. He’s also a wealth of knowledge on places to see and things to do (throughout Ireland, as well as in the nearby area). He was a bit sheepish when greeting us. The entire town of Doolin (and the neighboring tiny towns) basically take February off. And Martin had forgotten to turn off his online
tool, so we’d been a surprise when we booked a night with only two days notice. But he said we were most welcome and definitely treated us as such. The B&B is lovely. Ample parking out front. Gorgeous views in all directions. A short 3 minute walk into «town» which has about 8 stores and several pubs and restaurants. (Again, in the off season, only one building was open. Fitzpatrick pub, which was great. But I imagine during the other seasons, things are quite lively). Bring a flashlight, as there isn’t much street lighting for wandering to/​from the pubs at night. Our room was clean and comfortable, with en-​suite bathroom. The breakfast options are a nice variety. My pal loved her pan-​fried mackerel and my veggie omelette was a fluffy and delicious start to our day. Martin gave us ideas of places to see along our next route to Adare. Our whole stay in Doolin was great.

What a gem. My girlfriends and I did a whirlwind 6-​day tour of Ireland in November 2010. We had no agenda. We would party all night long and get up in the morning and hop a bus to the next city. We found ourselves in Doolin on Sunday. We were a tad worried when we arrived because we didn’t realize how small Doolin is, or that things would be closed because it was the off-​season. We drug our luggage to the first and only B&B that had a «vacancy» sign. Turned out to be the best decision we made all week. We rudely knocked on the door hours before normal check-​in time. Joan Reilly warmly greeted us and offered us a room without batting an eye. The house is small, quiet, beautiful, and immaculately kept. After we got settled, she even drove us to the Cliffs of Moher, which is only a few miles away. She also recommended we go to O’Connor’s pub that night, just a short walk down the road. We had a blast there, eating and drinking and listening to music all night. The next morning, Martin graciously got up extra early to cook us breakfast so we could catch the bus. He even gave us a ride to the bus stop. The Reilly’s embody the Irish hospitality that I’d heard about for so many years. Many thanks to them for sharing their home with us!