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Night 1: Dublin: Four Courts Hostel

The Four Courts was (mostly) clean and very safe. It was our first night in a dormatory style room, and it was an 10 bed room, so we were a little freaked out, but there was no reason to be. The bathroom in our room was a little skanky, but we think that was from the other guests in our room. They served the standard fare of toast and cereal for breakfast.

Night 2-3: Galway: Kinlay House Hostel

The Kinlay House was the only place we stayed on our whole trip that had free wifi available. In fact, it was the only place that had wifi provided by the hostel at all. At Kinlay House we rented a private twin room which was quiet and comfortable. Jen did not sleep well the night we stayed at the Four Courts, but she was comfortable at the Kinlay House. (It was the first night of our whole trip with a comfortable mattress.) We tried to stay a third night but it was Saturday and there weren't any beds available.

Night 4: Westport: Old Mill Hostel

This was the worst hostel we stayed at! The room was like a little yellow prison cell. No table, no chair, NOTHING. Just a bunk bed. Our room could not be locked from the outside, so we could not leave our stuff there. It was very depressing, and to top it off our next door neighbors did not sleep all night. They talked and umm, did other things, all night, and thanks to the thin walls we got to hear everything. I did not sleep at all and felt sick for the rest of the trip after that bad night. The shower we were to use was in a room a staff member or someone was clearly living in, so we basically showered in this guy's bedroom. Weird. We didn't just leave the hostel in the morning, we escaped.

Night 5: Sligo: Eden Hill Hostel

Eden Hill was like a breath of fresh air. We did not have our own bathroom but the room was nice and comfortable. The rooms were clean and simply decorated, and it felt a little more like a B&B than a hostel. We would gladly go back. Sligo itself is a very nice town that we enjoyed staying in. Incidentally, this hostel was owned by a Pentecostal church (not that they shoved that down your throat or anything - we only found out by talking to the caretakers), but this was the only Evangelical church we found anywhere in Ireland.

Night 6-7: Donegal: Donegal Town Independant Hostel

The Donegal Independant Hostel was again a VERY nice hostel, and the owner was very friendly. I think it was 19 Euro per person for a double en suite. The mattress we had was bad, but we asked the hostel owner for a second blanket to sleep on (not under) and she happily gave us one. The second night was very comfortable. We would also gladly return to this hostel. (The hostel was just outside of the town center on the road to Killybegs.)

Night 8: Carrigans: Mount Royd Country Home

Mount Royd Country Home doesn't even compare to the others. It is a very nice (4 star) B&B. The cost was 30 Euro per person, so much more than any other place we stayed. The owner had recently been in a car accident and had been turning away guests, but she let us stay. We were very greatful for that because we had a hard time finding a place to stay this night. We think she probably only let us stay because another B&B and store owner in Donegal sent us. The service was good, the room was nice, and there were (nice) towels provided!