I am a new owner at this resort :) - purchased
sight unseen for the great location and added
bonus of a hotel based TS.
It is a 50 minute drive from the Dublin airport
as the TS is in Killiney - a suburb south east of
Dublin while the airport is north of the city.
We were not disappointed when we enter the
Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel Lobby to check in
June 6,2007. Every employee we met in our 7
night stay was friendly and helpful.
Check-in was quick - we were given our keys
and a clicker for the gate to get into the TS car
park. The TS units are in a row of flats next to
the hotel - there are about 48? units in a 4
story building with several entrances and
elevators - 9 units are TSs - 6 2BRs and 3 1BR
apartments.
Within minutes of arriving in the unit, Beverely
the manager was at our door to introduce
herself and show us around the apartment -
she gave us a complete orientation including
how to work all the appliances whichare a bit
difference then what we used to.
My unit is a "C" which faces away from the
parking lot toward the back of the building
(along with "B") onto a beautiful garden -
units A & D face the parking lot in front, have
balconies and a sea view if u r on floors 2 or
3. There is a master bedroom with a queen
bed and a bathroom with tub/shower
combination - the second bedroom has 2 twin
beds and outside the door is a hall bath with
a shower.
Washer/dryer was in a separate closet in the
hall and laundry detergent was provided.
Living/dinning/kitchen was really one big
room - everything you could think of was in
the kitchen including a coffee pot. Dinning
table for 6, pull-out sofa and 2 chairs,
fireplace, TV with DVD player and phone.
Master bedroom had a small TV and a phone.
All rooms had full "wall-wide" windows making
the apt. very bright. Furnishings were
adequate - not upscale as one would expect
from a US TS but comfy and cozy and clean -
bathrooms were spotless!
As a TS guest, you had full use of all hotel
amenities - indoor pool, fitness center with
classes, internet/business center. There was
also free internet in the units. The hotel had 2
restaurants - a formal one that was only open
on the weekend and The Dungeon - billed as
a pub/casual menu - which was great, we
considered the food to be gourmet! - we ate
there 3 times during the week.
There was also a large lounge area near the
main floor bar that served food and drink from
noon until 11 pm - we frequently went here
after dinner. The also serve 'tea' there in the
afternoon - my DD and I had it the first day - it
was very good. Sandwiches were generous
and deserts were yummy.
Grocery shopping was available at Eurospar 3
miles from the resort - food quality was
excellent - the bread is fantastic! It was a 5
minute ride down the hill to Dalkey - a great
little village with lots of nice shops,
restaurants and pubs - and this was where
we caught the DART - the commuter train into
downtown Dublin - it was a 25 minute trip
that costs under $5 round trip. By car, it was 7
minutes to get to the main highways to visit
other areas of Ireland - Waterford was a 2
hour drive, Cork was 3.5 hours, Limerick was
4.5 hours, Galway 4 hours......
I would highly recommend Fitzpatricks as a
great central location to tour Eastern/South-
eastern Ireland