Old Ground Hotel, Ennis

The Bridgestone 100 Best Places to Stay 2006

The Old Ground Hotel

We reckoned they had all gone to that great hotel in the sky, those kindly ladies, of advancing years, who march around the hotel breakfast room, taking your order, bringing your tea, and who call you 'pet' or 'love' or maybe even 'dear'. Well, if that is your idea of who you want to look after you first thing in the morning, then stay at the spik and span Old Ground Hotel.

For there, amidst many other kindly staff who seem to be getting a great buzz from their work, you will meet the Breakfast Room lady who calls you 'pet', or 'love', or 'dear'.

Mind you, there are other reasons to choose the Old Ground . Ever since they created the new 4th and 5th floors last year, they have shown just how to do a hotel room that is classy, comfortable, and splendidly commodious without being at all over-the-top: these are some of the best rooms we have stayed in in Ireland recently, and the cooking in their bistro, the Town Hall, is very good.

John McKenna, The Bridgestone 100 Best Places to Stay 2006