Bunratty Castle Hotel
For our first night in the West of Ireland, we decided to stay at the gorgeous Bunratty Castle Hotel. Bunratty Castle Hotel is the home to a medieval village equipped with its own castle, complete with a medieval dining hall. This wonderful little Medieval village offers the chance to dine and be entertained just as the king of the castle would be treated.
Our first view of the hotel from the window of our taxi from the Shannon Airport. We were so tired after 16+ hours of travel! We had three flights to make in order to get to Shannon International Airport! From Portland to Toronto, Toronto to London and finally London to Shannon. We were bushed!
The front door is just as pretty as the lobby is, so we were already impressed before we even walked through the door.
We were so tired from the flight portion of our trip that we just wanted to lie down as soon as we got to the hotel but unfortunately they didn’t have our room ready yet at 11am, no worry though, they held our bags at the front desk for half an hour while we explored a bit. We headed down to the local pub which was less than 200 yards from the castle. Boy were we glad we did, because we got to experience Durty Nelly’s pub. It happens to be insanely old, full of history and fantastic flavors. We enjoyed some tasty beverages and the local scene.
We then finished our drinks and headed back to Bunratty Castle Hotel to get settled into our room. The inside of the castle was breathtaking. We saw a staggering amount of antique furniture and unique items as we walked to our room.
The lobby was covered in art, some of it very beautiful. These were just a few of the amazing pieces hanging everywhere. This piece of artwork above was carved out of ivory.
Our little sheep friend was very impressed by this seafaring art! I think he looks like he is thinking about all the adventures to come in the next few days.
That sir, is one serious kilt!
The fireplace in the lobby of our castle hotel! Gorgeous marble and a few turf logs all loaded up and ready to go, no need for these in June though!
The view of Bunratty Castle from Dirty Nelly’s.
The view of Bunratty Castle Dining Hall from the minstrels balcony.
The entertainers in their 16th century Flemish garb.
The master of the evening’s ceremonies giving the guests a hard time.
After getting cleaned up (and a quick stop at the pub again), we headed over to the castle for an evening of medieval entertainment put on by the Shannon Heritage Center. The staff all put on 16th century Flemish costumes and served up fun and songs to go along with the authentic meal and starter.
Holli and I were constantly looking out our windows as we walked to the room, the hotel grounds seemed endless! I couldn’t figure out where this little garden was hiding at first but we went and explored in the morning and found it tucked away around the left hand side, by the spa entrance. It was so peaceful and quiet, we almost stayed another hour just taking photos!
Our new friend the Irish sheep… he joined us on our first night out in Bunratty and was a constant companion throughout the rest of the trip. Get ready for an adventure Mr Sheep!
Here is Mr Sheep enjoying a nice cup of (instant) coffee before we hit the town on our next adventure! Unfortunately this is a trend I have noticed on our European travels, people seem to think instant coffee and coffee are the same thing… not so.
Does he look a little too happy to you? Well maybe he was watching the scramble to get ready in our room and giggling to himself like I was… maybe I’m projecting.
Getting ready for a big day! This is the first of many showers (Get it? Rain showers! Because it’s very rainy in Ireland! Lol) we will encounter on our visit. Get used to it little buddy!
Gathering our Stones 