Blarney Vale Bed and Breakfast

I have fallen in love with bed and breakfasts since my Europe trip. They are my now preferred choice of accommodation. Blarney Castle was on our list of attractions (and bucket lists) while we were in Ireland. We decided to stay a couple nights in Blarney and use it as a home base. We chose Blarney Vale as our b&b for that leg of the trip. It is an adorable b&b set atop a hill on the edge of town.

This was one of my favorite bed and breakfasts. Anne was so incredibly nice and welcoming. She is a wealth of information and can give you pointers in any direction. We left our luggage and went straight to Blarney Castle. Blarney Vale is about a 5 minute walk into the center of Blarney Village and Blarney Castle. You are offered coffee and tea on arrival! She recommended dinner options in town for us. The next morning she was kind enough to ask us of plans for the day. She then sat down and gave us directions, advise on where to go and what to do!

I was extremely surprised with the size of our room. It was by far the largest of our stay. We had a full and twin bed, and a ensuite bathroom. For those that are concerned there was a lock on our bedroom door, giving you some piece of mind.

Blarneyvale.com

This b&b offers free wifi, and it works! There a dining room for the guests and a guest lounge. Blarney has a private car park to park your car. This was a huge bonus for us! You do need to notify the hosts of this ahead of time.

All in all we highly recommend staying at this bed and breakfast if you are in the area. It was centrally located with friendly and fantastic hosts!

Renaissance Tampa International Plaza

Girls weekend shopping trip. Sounds great, right? It was a nice shopping trip with my mom. Our itinerary for this trip was to shop at Tampa's International Plaza Mall. For this trip we chose to stay at Marriott's Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Mall. We chose this hotel for it's location and décor. If you want a hotel close to the International Mall you can't beat this hotel. The Renaissance is attached to the mall and a short walk to all the shops and restaurants.

I was very impressed by our short stay here. From the moment we arrived the staff was friendly and helpful. Our room wasn't ready when we arrived, so we took advantage of their luggage storage and began our shopping trip. Concierge called us when our room was ready (before regular check-in time). The décor for this hotel is very unique from the moment you step into the lobby.

Marriot.com

 

I was very much charmed by the décor throughout the whole hotel, including our rooms. I was very impressed by this Marriot "boutique" styled hotel. Breakfast is not included in your stay, however they offer an excellent array of breakfast options. 

               

                                                        

 

 

 

Amenities:



 

- Free high speed wireless internet in rooms

-Fitness Center

-Pool

-4:00pm Check-in

- Noon Check-out

- Complimentary parking

- Valet parking $19 daily

-Continental Breakfast $11 daily

- Buffet style Breakfast $18 daily 

 

Check everything out at their website: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/travel/tpaim-renaissance-tampa-international-plaza-hotel/

 

Expedition: Wanderlust Tip: *When booking your stay don't forget to ask about a AAA discount (if your a member), and don't forget to use your Marriott Rewards # (this is a category 6 property)*

Cliffs of Mohr Hotel

Cliffs of Mohr Hotel is located in Liscannor, Ireland. It's two miles from the Cliffs of Mohr and 50km from Shannon Airport. I had originally booked our stay at Logues Liscannor Hotel. A week before our arrival I received an email from the hotel. They were having construction done on the hotel and moved us across the street to their sister hotel for the same price.

 

 

This was the second place we stayed on our trip. I was pleasantly surprised by this hotel. We arrived just as the weather was taking a nasty turn for the worse. There was a little bit of confusion at check in. They were having a hard time finding our reservation, but I had brought every confirmation with me, and they were able to find our reservation with that. I received the impression that they were a fairly new hotel and were still working out the kinks.


There weren't a lot of people staying and they weren't very busy. The check in guy was also working in the restaurant. He was the only working staff member that we saw. We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. The restaurant was small and cozy. There was a fireplace in the bar area, surrounded by two tables. In the other room there 5-6 tables. The food and beer were really good, and it was a cozy refuge from the storm.

 

The following morning we ate breakfast (included in our stay). They had several cold breakfast options. I was impressed with their spread and options. The fruit was fresh, they had several cereal and drink options. You are also able to order a hot breakfast. The waiters were very helpful. They were willing to answer any questions we had and were very knowledgeable about the surrounding area.

I was impressed by the rooms. They were very spacious and modern, something I wasn't expecting in Europe. The bathrooms were spacious, modern. It was refreshing! Overall we enjoyed our stay here. The fast was friendly and helpful. The amenities were great, but the wifi in the rooms was spotty.

(Laterooms.com)

There isn't much to do in the town of Liscannor. There is one bar in town, but they do not serve food during the week, and the other restrauarant closes early. There is a town within 10 minutes from this location that has plenty of food and shopping options.