Also see:

• Hotel Review: Radisson Blu Royal, Dublin
• Hotel Review: Radisson Blu, Galway
• Hotel Review: Radisson Blu St. Helen’s, Dublin
• Special Guest Review: Exploring Ireland’s Radisson Properties

After an underwhelming experience at the Radisson Blu in Galway, we hopped in our rental car and drove the ~2 hours to Limerick.

It was a pretty easy drive, except for the zillion confusing roundabouts.  And the fact that I don’t really know how I got to the Radisson Blu in Limerick other than dumb luck and some hairpin turns.

It’s literally one weird turn off the highway and then a narrow road into a parking lot that also randomly has a hotel in it. There seemed to be nothing around, but apparently it was only 15 minutes into downtown Limerick.

We didn’t end up going into the city because there was a marathon going on that day. Traffic was terrible and there was no parking. Instead, we drove to Killarney National Park for a day trip (though I could’ve spent several days there).

In a forest in Killarney #Ireland

A photo posted by Harlan Vaughn (@harlanvaughn) on May 3, 2015 at 2:31pm PDT

Anyway, we got to the Radisson Blu in Limerick and had a bite to eat and put our things down before we left again. But it was a fine crash pad.

Arrival and check-in

Unlike the Radisson Blu Royal in Dublin and the Radisson Blu in Galway, we were not upgraded to a business class room. So, no free breakfast in Limerick. Which was fine. It’s nice when it’s unexpected.

We checked in with a friendly desk agent and the GM of the hotel. You could tell he really enjoyed running all the moving parts of the hotel. Super nice guy.

He gave us some driving tips, showed us the restaurant and bar in the hotel, and offered to help us with our bags. Very welcoming staff here.

It’s not the most updated or modern hotel in the world. Some of it’s not… run-down but just… well-maintained older stuff. But it doesn’t really need a refresh. Does that make sense?

It’s not really near anything, so I wondered how this location was strategic for the Radisson brand. Who are they trying to reach?

Since there’s nothing near the hotel but the highway you can either drive, pay $50 for a taxi round-trip into town, or deal with their food options. If you’re tired and don’t want to pay for a taxi, you’re a captive audience.

Like the Radisson Blu in Galway, the “spa” part of the “Hotel & Spa” was a separate but attached building.

Kind of isolated and bizarre, but whatever. We got back onto the highway and explored more of Ireland.

The room

Your basic hotel room. Nothing over-the-top, but a fine place to sit and type, and crash in the evenings. Good, fast wi-fi. Clean. Some things a bit dated.

But I kinda liked that somehow. It fit the feel of the place.

See what I mean so far about the “not modern but not dated either” thing?

Overall, a fine room to serve as a base for Limerick and Shannon.

If you want/need to be in the center of things, this is NOT the place for you. It’s pretty isolated, and a bit difficult to find (especially if you’re still getting used to driving on the left side).

There are signs that point to the hotel, but they come at you pretty fast, so pay close attention and go slow if you can. For what it’s worth, the directions I pulled off Google maps ended up not being accurate. So without those signs, I would’ve definitely been up the creek.

 

Bottom line

I can’t speak much to the property, spa services, or breakfast as I was only there for 1 night.

The reason I booked here and not in Cork was because I was in Ireland for an odd number of days, so couldn’t use Club Carlson BOGO for 1 of the stays.

Because this one was only 15,000  Club Carlson points, I decided to bite the bullet and not get the award night free. (Note: this feature is has since been removed. RIP, Club Carlson Visa.) It is still 15,000 points per night though as a Category 2 property. Not a bad redemption.

This would be a good place to stay if:

• You’re flying into Shannon and want somewhere to crash for a night (the Park Inn Shannon Airport is 28,000 points per night)
• You want to see Limerick and don’t want to deal with the traffic or parking overnight
• Like me, you’re driving from one part of Ireland to another and just want a breather
• You want to use points to fill in a gap between other stays

I can’t really say anything bad about this hotel, but I can’t rave either. It was fine for what it was, and I’d stay there again if it fit into my travel plans.

I highly, highly recommend seeing some of southern Ireland (Dingle Peninsula, Killarney National Park, County Cork). My god, it was beautiful.

Oh yeah, and if you couldn’t tell, I now have the gift of gab. 🙂

Cheers!

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