I admit it, we planned a good deal of our trip to Ireland around available dates at Castlewood House in Dingle.
In all honesty, I cannot recall exactly where I first came across this guesthouse. My best guess is that I was looking on Google Maps and simply happened upon it, searched for its website, and was immediately taken in. I checked availability, we tentatively planned to be in Dingle on July 1 & 2, which would allow us time to travel up to The Cliffs of Moher and Galway before driving back to Dublin to make our way to Leeds for the Pearl Jam show, but the guesthouse was available on those days. I was terribly disappointed, I knew we HAD to stay there, so we simply adjusted our plans… we’d stay in Dingle on the 3rd & 4th of July instead and fly out of Shannon rather than Dublin.
I emailed Helen, one of the proprietors, to confirm our stay on those dates and was devastated to learn that the room we wanted was not available, however, there was a harborview room that we could have for two nights. Immediately, I replied to her stating that we wanted it and our reservation was confirmed. This was in mid-January. We then proceeded to put together the rest of our Ireland itinerary.
Shortly after making our reservation, Castlewood House was voted the Tripadvisor’s Traveler’s Choice 2014 Best Small Hotel in Ireland in addition to the Best Bargain Hotel in the World. I felt confident that we’d made a brilliant decision, and we looked forward to staying there with great anticipation.