Killarney, Ireland: Review of the Fairview Hotel

My trip to Ireland involved a brief stay at the Fairview Hotel. It’s a boutique hotel in the town center of Killarney in Ireland and boasts a small town charm. There are about 2 main streets in town full of shops, bars, and hotels. It makes for a great, couple of days stay!

What originally brought me to a hotel and not a hostel for visiting Killarney was not being able to find a hostel I was satisfied with. After perusing through several hostels and reading reviews, I noticed that a good proportion of travelers did not have satisfying hostel stays in the area or there was a lack of information that would make me comfortable booking one. The hostel reviews and relatively low hotel prices during storm season in Ireland made it more rational to book a hotel over a hostel.

Location:

The hotel is located towards one end of the main street in Killarney, making it easy to navigate back and forth from town to hotel. It’s also easy to find if coming to town by train or bus and is about a block away from the train/bus station.

Eats:

The hotel itself has a small restaurant that serves breakfast. I tried all of the gluten free items from their Irish Breakfast with tea and found it to be quite good. Beyond what is available in the menu, there is also a table in the middle of the dining room that offers yogurt, fruit, cereal, and milk.

Other food choices outside of the building are close by. The hotel is down the street from several pubs and restaurants, so finding food is pretty easy and fast! Killarney itself has a fair amount of gluten free options and I found the servers to be quite accommodating with a gluten free dietary restriction.

Rooms:

Rooms at this hotel are smaller than a standard sized hotel room in a larger hotel chain but will easily fit 2-3 people. Booking a 2-bed room will come with the beds (one twin and one full in my case), desk, armoire/closet, chairs, and small bathroom.

Hotel Atmosphere:

The hotel seems more like a mix of a cozy bed and breakfast with a small hotel. To the left of the entryway is a lounge area that looks like a living room. There were Christmas decorations throughout, giving the entire hotel a festive feeling.

The restaurant is on the smaller side with seats for about 30-40 guests max and hallways are narrower than typical large chain hotels. The elevator is on the smaller side so it may be a squeeze if traveling with a ton of luggage!

Service:

The staff was very friendly and was able to check me in with no issues. As I was out exploring for most of the day, my interaction with them was limited. Do keep in mind that smaller hotels in Europe may not have someone at the check in desk at all times, especially during low season of travel. However there was someone always taking a peek into the hallway for guests every couple of minutes.

Additional Perks:

Hotel bookings generally include breakfast and not a bad one at all. I was able to get a full Irish breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, and tea with milk. There is also a miniature buffet table in the middle of the restaurant for self-serving cereals, milk, yogurt, and fruit.