Name: Shandon Bells BB
Address: Western Road Cork,Western Road, Cork, Cork, Cork, T12RC63, Ireland
Rating: 7

Smoke-free property

Heating

Terrace

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

Outdoor furniture

No elevators

General

Non-smoking rooms

Family room

Cable TV

Hairdryer

Flat-screen TV

Shower/Bathtub

Wardrobe/Closet

Linens

Toiletries

Rooms

Laundry

Luggage storage

Wake-up service

Services and amenities

Kettle

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Russian

English

Italian

Portuguese

Languages Spoken

Sun Deck

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Spa tub

Beach/pool towels

Pool and beach

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

Cork Airport

Shandon Bells BB

Cork

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

We reserved this accommodation as part of a 80 day European holiday.  We arrived and were shown to our room.  It  was located on the top floor.  We noted the staircase and walls etc were dirty and damaged.  We entered the attic room.  The ceiling was water stained with mould.  The room was dingy to say the least.  There was a wardrobe size door that we later found was the doorway to the bathroom.  I could not fit in square on.  I had to turn sideways to squeeze in.  The old chest of drawers in the corner was missing handles and the whole room was dated and grimy.  The room was one of the more expensive on our holiday, at AUD $286 for one night.  I acknowledge its close proximately to the city.  We asked to be moved to a room that matched the photos on the booking site but told they were booked out and nothing could be done.  We asked to speak with the manager.  The lady manager met us in the foyer.  As soon as she heard we were complaining she ushered us out into the carpark away from other customers.  We lodged our complaint saying the room was nothing like that advertised and in our view unacceptable.  She said there was nothing she could do and the photos on the website were random.  We felt the accommodation has misrepresented their room and was not worth the money.  She became irate yelling at my wife and I, stating "There is nothing I can do, I am only an employee"  We stayed with our complaint and eventually she said, "OK I list you as a no show and then you can get a refund."  I said, "if I am a no show then I will have  to pay.  She replied "No, this is what we always do.  I will reply to your booking agent that we will waive the no show fee"  This was done and we did receive a full refund.  I just want other to know that when the booking is cancelled in this way there is no ability to leave a review on the booking site.  I believe that's why the number of poor reviews are not reflected when viewing this hotel on line.  Stay clear of this hotel it's not as represented, in our view and the manager was rude.  We left Cork and never explored the town because of this experience.

Beware of this hotel and its management

When you are used to modern hotels and their abundance of steel and glass, spending a few nights at a place like Shandon Bells feels almost like being in a time capsule. The labyrinthine corridor leading to the rooms in the main building, with its ups and downs, three steps here, two there, could be taken straight from a Victorian novel. Everything feels like from a different time.
The rooms are decorated and furnished nicely, while the bathrooms do not make you feel like you are missing out on any modern comfort.
The staff is delightful and very helpful. 
One word about the location: especially if you are visiting someone who is studying at University College Cork, you would be hard put to find a more favourable place,  10 minute' walk from the city centre and literally on the doorstep of the main university campus.

Nicely cosy

Brilliant B&B in the centre of Cork - walking distance to everything. 

Very attentive staff who make sure you are very comfortable in your stay. 

Definitely will be staying here again. 

Also great breakfast. 

Brilliant stay

If I could give this ‘Guest House’ / B&B, or whatever they want to call themselves, a -10, I would. They need to decide which they are. Their website says B&B, yet  on booking.com they’re a Guest House. I contacted the staff, who is a receptionist in the other half of the house where the cooking is done, seemingly, and we were brought a rad, so that temporarily heated the bedroom, but the bathroom had no source of heat whatsoever. The next morning, there was NO HOT WATER and NO HEAT at all! I understand heat is metered, and only comes on at different times of the day and night, but in the morning when you get up, I would think there should be hot water so you could shower, or, at the very least wash! That issue was ignored. Instead, when I brought up the issue and wrote to the establishment asking for at least one night’s compensation at an already way overpriced establishment, I felt the blame was put back on us. I agree, they moved us to another room at the top of the stairs in the morning, but that room was just being vacated, so of course we had no access to it, and went out for the day already cold and unhappy. When we came back, again we needed a rad, because the room was so cold. Thankfully, we had hot water this time, but as another guest wrote in their review, you could hardly stand in the shower without conking your head.  Also, in all our travels over the years, most places that advertise as a B&B include breakfast in the price, they don’t charge you extra for it. We usually stay one night at a B&B, then move on. Unfortunately, we stayed two nights at this nightmare of a place! 

A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!

When we arrived, we were made to feel very welcome, but as she showed us our room, she said it was very small. We had booked a twin room back in March. It was smaller than some of the other rooms we had seen as we were showed to ours! The bathroom was a strange shape, and if you are bigger than a size 16 you would struggle to get through the gap to the toilet & shower. The door to the bedroom was not a firedoor and you could see the light from the landing all around the door. Breakfast was good. Our plane was not till late evening, she let us leave our luggage for the day,  but as soon as we went back she rang us a taxi to get us to the airport, felt like she wanted us out. The furniture in the bedroom was dated but adequate. The carpet could do with a clean.

Cork weekend September 2023

Had a lovely stay!  Room had everything we needed and was very comfortable.  On-site parking with easy walk to city center and restaurants.   Breakfast was delish. Staff was very hospitable It’s a gem!

Great stay!

The room was in the apex of the roof with sloping ceilings almost down to the floor. It was also a very narrow room with the bed pushed up to the wall, so we could not sit up in bed. The bathroom also had a sloping ceiling immediately over the wash basin, so low that my wife banged her head on it when cleaning her teeth. This bedroom is not fit for purpose and certainly not worth the amount charged.

NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE

A weekend in Cork was made all the better with a stay at this little gem of a bed and breakfast. 
Don’t let the outside put you off. There’s work that seems to be going on. However once inside the rooms are just lovely. The breakfast choices very numerous and delicious too. We will definitely book here again when we return to Cork.

Fabulous value B&B with great breakfast

I was arriving via the train from Dublin and they were very helpful on how to get from Cork station to their b&b. I was able to check in right away. It was great having a wardrobe to hang up my dresses. The bathroom was lovely and modern and the shower and bath both worked very well. The towels were so fluffy. They were perfect. The doona was the right weight in my opinion, the bed was very comfortable and the sheets were divine. It was an easy walk into town, but also, go for a stroll around the university just across the road. I would recommend,

The wifi wasn’t the best, but that was my only issue.

Very comfortable room

Fantastic weekend in Cork, made better by staying here. It looks like a house of two halves from the outside, one side painted bright and clean, the other in need of renovation.  This didn't detract from our stay whatsoever.   We were in the 'new' part.   We were in room 8 at the back overlooking the river.   The room was a little small but adequate, the bathroom was small also, but recently modernised and fixtures and fitting were lovely.  The shower was AMAZING!. Lovely fluffy white towels (which were changed daily, unnecessarily so in my view).  Breakfast was served in the conservatory.  The staff were lovely and so helpful, nothing too much trouble.  They had a professional type coffee machine which made my day!  Breakfast was plentiful with a varied menu.  We were able to sit on the small patio to drink our coffee.
We were able to leave our bags for a few hours on our last day, and the manageress was very helpful with our request.
We only give 4 stars as there were a few niggles - 1) TV.  There werent any terrestrial stations available, only Netflix, but the signal could be quite poor, so were without a TV at times.  We also missed having a news station.  2) small touch, but a full length mirror would be appreciated
3)  it seems like the B&B is in the middle of renovations, the other half of the property is very old fashioned (communal areas, didn't see other bedrooms).
Overall, this is a great place to stay, not far from town, right next to the University and large park. Staff were great.

Shandon Bells BB

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