Ireland’s Best B&B: ‘A unique experience of feeling both like you are in a five-star hotel and in a good friend’s home’

What makes a great B&B stay?

“The moment John and his staff welcome you makes you feel like you’re their only guest,” one reader said, kicking off a flood of praise for John O’Farrell’s Pax House — a playbook for small-scale hospitality at its very best.

“Attention to detail” and “personal service” were singled out repeatedly (guests were offered hi-vis jackets to walk into town, snacks for their cycles, or dining-room tables for takeaways when restaurants were booked out, as just a few examples).

You loved the “heavenly” Atlantic views, “elegant” rooms, the “eclectic” art and décor and, key to any B&B stay, “awesome gourmet” breakfast. It’s “to die for”, you told us.

Read the full results of our Reader Travel Awards here.

“I’ve never experienced a place where the owners and staff remembered your name and genuinely cared so much about things you had planned,” one reader said.

“A unique experience of feeling both like you are in a five-star hotel and in a good friend’s home,” added another.

Four Dingle B&Bs feature in our readers’ Top 10 — a stunning show for a single town.

Judges noted how the community kept spirits, creativity and reputation up despite Covid (and the loss of Fungie the dolphin), providing visitors with mouth-watering food, a super selection of activities and innovative festivals like Other Voices, bringing us sustenance in live streams as well as real life.

Ireland’s top 10 B&Bs

1. Pax House, Dingle, Co Kerry
2. Castlewood House, Dingle, Co Kerry
3. Ardmore Country House, Kinnitty, Co Offaly
4. MacNean House, Blacklion, Co Cavan
5. Sheedy’s, Doolin, Co Clare
6. Applecroft House, Killarney, Co Kerry
7. Heaton’s, Dingle, Co Kerry
8. Hanora’s Cottage, Nire Valley, Co Waterford
9. The Gateway Lodge, Donegal, Co Donegal
10. Greenmount House, Dingle, Co Kerry

Great small stays like Pax House personify the town’s unique place in visitors’ hearts. “That doesn’t happen by chance,” as one of you noted. “It takes hard work.”

John and his caring staff help you to feel like you are their only, favourite guest,” you told us.

“La qualité de l’accueil,” one happy customer said. “Le détail dans chaque chose. Le petit déjeuner. Le sourire de John. Le plus bel endroit du monde.”

The translation could hang over the door: “The quality of the reception. The detail in everything. Breakfast. John’s smile. The most beautiful place in the world.” pax-house.com