When I think of travel many things come to mind, adventures, seeing new sights, trying new foods, and dedicated family time. I love all of those things so much, however there are a few things about travel that I don’t love… Though worth bitching about mentioning, there is nothing that would stop me from embarking on my next journey, let’s not carried away!

Arriving in Dublin!

Having recently had the opportunity to stay in 12 different hotels over the course of 6 weeks I had a lot of time to think about the things I love and don’t love in hotel rooms. Before I tell you specifics I’ll admit upfront that I’m a bit of a hotel snob. However, I do try to be objective. Really!

A few of my not so favorite things:

• Why are there never enough towels!? Enough said…
• Data – in this age of instant satisfaction spotty data just won’t cut it, especially at the rates they’re charging for it?! This is especially irritating when one is attempting to watch the season finale of Game of Thrones from a hotel room and there is little or no wifi service!
• Laundry services – Is it just me or do all hotel laundry services use the same very bad strong smelling detergent? And too much of it at that! Since Elliot insists on throwing up in just about every country we’ve ever visited and Simon fills in the blanks we’ve had plenty of occasions to notice.
• Crappy shampoo – In an effort to travel light and pack everything in a carry on suitcase packing shampoo isn’t always an option, so more often than not travel equals bad hair that never quite feels clean. High on my dislike list are the two in one shampoo options!
• Weak Hairdryers – and don’t even get me started on where to find the hairdryer! I like to think of it as a game: Find The Hairdryer. I get to play it at each new location! Yay me.
• Plug placement – Why oh why can’t their be a hairdryer plug in the bathroom?! I’m traveling with a man who doesn’t shave on vacation (yes, even when traveling for six straight weeks), yet there’s always a shaver plug available!

Between bad water pressure, hard water, soft water, weak hair dryers, scalding hairdryers, cheap shampoo, rain, and humidity it’s almost impossible to have a good hair day while traveling, but throw in the fact that the hairdryer isn’t located in the bathroom and I’m absolutely sunk!

I’m sharing a room with three other people, none of whom wake up as early as I do, so while I can take care of everything else quietly in the bathroom, drying my hair isn’t an option unless I want three extremely grumpy traveling companions!

All of this has prompted me to come up with a personal rating system for places I stay and blog about!

I’ve decided this hairdryer icon  will work perfectly. Moving forward I’ll use a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best! I’ve just finished a series of blog posts about our recent travels through Ireland, so I’ll start with those properties first! While cleanliness, comfort, and service are paramount. My ratings will also include the following criteria:

• Water pressure
• Shampoo quality
• Placement of the hairdryer plug

Reviews:

The Westbury Hotel – Dublin

The Westbury Hotel had lovely bathrooms, with really good water and pressure! The shampoo and conditioner smelled and worked great! The hairdryer plug wasn’t in the bathroom but instead located at the mini bar/coffee station right next to the bed. The hairdryer was so hot I had to use the medium setting or risk burning my hair – that’s a first! If only the hairdryer plug had been located in the bathroom.

Overall this hotel was a lovely property located in a great part of town and I would absolutely stay here again. If you’re interested in a visit to Dublin, you might like to read Three Days in Dublin and if you’re a beer drinker or even if you’re not check out my post about The Guinness Storehouse!

The Ross Hotel – Killarney

The lobby and main areas in The Ross Hotel were fun and very trendy, but this didn’t carry over to the rooms which weren’t nearly as cheerful as the rest of the property. The bathrooms were pretty utilitarian with dark shower stalls and although the water pressure was decent, the shampoo and conditioner were awful. I never really felt like my hair was clean during our stay. The hairdryer was in the bathroom, but it was so weak it was hardly worth it.

Considering Killarney isn’t a big town and the staff, service and location were great I would consider staying again, but I would bring my own supplies. Killarney is well worth a visit as is The Ring of Kerry and if Castles and Cliffs are on your list than you are in the right part of the world for those as well!

The Twelve

The Twelve located just a few minutes down the road from Galway had a lovely and helpful staff and the rooms were very spacious for a family of four. Little touches of whimsy were placed here and there, so I really wanted to give them a better review… However, even great water pressure won’t help if the shampoo is terrible and it not only smelled bad, but it didn’t do anything. Unfortunately, the only plug located near the mirror was on the floor, so I had to dry my hair while kneeling on the floor. The hair dyer was decent though… In hindsight, I might like to stay just a little closer to Galway, so probably won’t choose to stay at The Twelve again. Galway was a lovely little town and if you fancy a chilly dip in the bay you’ll be in the right place!

Stay tuned for more hotel reviews hilarystyle!