The Old Dispensary
Bed and Breakfast in Kinsale
3-Star Hotel
Reasons to book
Great for petsBring all your friends and family, even the furry ones
High-end valuePrice for this property is higher than average in the area
Includes essentialsPets allowed, Kitchen or Kitchenette, Internet / Wifi and more
About this bed and breakfast
The Old Dispensary in Kinsale provides accommodation with free WiFi, 2.7 km from Dock Beach, 25 km from Cork City Hall and 26 km from Cork Custom House.
Amenities
Pets allowed
Kitchen or Kitchenette
Internet / Wifi
Balcony or Patio
TV
Map of Kinsale
Available Rooms
1 King • 322 ft²
Sleeps 2
You'll be directed to Booking.com for availability & pricing
1 King • 322 ft²
Sleeps 2
You'll be directed to Booking.com for availability & pricing
1 King • 322 ft²
Sleeps 2
You'll be directed to Booking.com for availability & pricing
1 King • 322 ft²
Sleeps 2
You'll be directed to Booking.com for availability & pricing
1 King • 322 ft²
Sleeps 2
You'll be directed to Booking.com for availability & pricing
$$$$
Reviews
100% verified reviews
5.0
Location very good, building full character and lovely old features room good size ensuite nice.
It’s not looking like getting good maintenance- laurels over grown by front door, weeds around property getting bad. But worse in our room main room light not working at all! Dimmer switch but dead! Plus one plug socket had a pin stuck in earth and was not usable (rhs of bed). when shower used upstairs room the pipes went crazy the noise was terrible - at 6.30am wjen upstairs guests used shower - not happy! We had late night. Our friends ensuite flooded as door in shower not sealing. General cleaning not great lots cob webbs low down in corners. Shame as 5 years ago much better. If laurels by front door not pruned soon no one will be staying as won’t find front door!! Saw no one as it’s all self service - think owner needs to get management company taken to task get things sorted.
9.0
Great location…a short walk away from the heart of Kinsale town and harbour! Room was spacious and clean.
10.0
It was lovely, clean and in a great spot. Varun let us leave our luggage for a few extra hours while our friends drove to pick us up! Very kind.
4 flights of stairs with luggage is hard.
7.0
Easy check in. Gave code hours before.
But.. reason is because no one is there.
Room was hot and no way to cool. Opened windows but didn’t help.
Fridge didn’t work. No big deal but would have been nice.
No bells and whistles here. Just a room with bath. Close to town.
No receptionist, no bells and whistles.
7.0
Location good - very close to the center
Some minor improvements in the room could could change from good to excellent
4.0
Location was fine
Completely hands off, no one to answer questions regarding town, or room issues.
5.0
Nice but over priced for Kerry
8.0
Location to everything was great. Room was clean and efficient. However, we were not expecting a 3rd floor walkup which was only an issue on arrival and departure with luggage for a 2 week trip. Town was wonderful and the walking tours (day and evening) were exceptional. Fishy, Fishy was a wonderful seafood restaurant. Call ahead for booking as we lucked out with a last minute seating.
Owner/Manager seemed a bit gruff when I called him for pass code to the lock box when I could not find it in my email.
8.0
Location is ok. Close to the town not many steps
Good for people arriving late as it’s self check in
Had a decent iron in the room
Water in the fridge
Nowhere to store luggage after you need to check out at 10am. No one at the property
Squeaky floorboards
Damp smell around the building
Pigeons sound like they are sleeping with you through the wall!
TV signal cuts out
Internet connection not very stable
Didn’t feel like great value for money - assume we were charged a much higher price than ‘normal’ rates as locals are aware that people are coming here for weddings.
8.0
Beautiful, spacious room with large bathroom, a short and convenient walk from the town centre. Nice information included about things to do in Cork and Kinsale. Helpful directions to available parking.
Parking was difficult (though that is an area-wide issue, not specific to this property, it is worth noting that dedicated parking is not available and nearby parking spaces become filled quickly and may be hard to navigate in and out of on narrow streets).
Be aware the top floor apartment requires climbing several flights of stairs!
5.0
Good Location
Very disappointed - pictures of high ceilings, roll top baths, big rooms. In reality a pokey little basement down two flights of narrow stairs. The host was unaware of my Booking.com reservation until I phoned him trying to get in. Ended up with a very small bedroom and a tiny shower room with a toilet where I was unable to use standing up (I'm 6 foot tall). To be fair the kitchen diner was a decent size (albeit very low ceiling) with a massive TV - that didn't work! There was a "Welcome Basket" - of one teabag and three coffee sachets. Also, it was the most expensive night's accommodation on our holiday.
7.0
Comfortable room. Quiet. Central.
Parking was on street in busy town. Difficult with luggage.
9.0
Good location very near the town centre
8.0
Such a fab location. Loved the quaint old style building
A bit hot at night with no aircon
1.0
We didn’t stay in the property at all, due to the fact that there were too many stairs involved for my husband to climb, especially with luggage. When I booked the hotel, it did say stairs to the room, but what it didn’t say, was the bedroom was on the fifth floor, which was an awful lot of stairs to climb, which probably wouldn’t be a problem for younger people, but we are 67 years old, so yes, it was a big problem for us !!
3.0
Property was close to the centre of Kinsale.
The appalling 'customer service'. When we mentioned that the room was very hot and asked if a fan could be provided, we were advised there were no fans and the window opened! We also advised that the tv wasn't working, which was acknowledged by Varun, who subsequently advised this wouldn't be fixed during our stay and no refund would be offered to compensate us for this. We didn't pursue this further whilst staying at The Old Dispensary, but raised the issue again on our return home, as we felt a small refund wasn't an unreasonable request, bearing in mind the property was not offering all the facilities as advertised (and as the weather was so appalling, we really needed a tv in the room). We also mentioned the poor state of the entrance to the property (overgrown bushes and weeds (please see pictures)) and the response we received from the Owner (and I quote this word for word) was:
"You are welcome to raise this with booking.com
TV was not working due to a lighting strike. Can't do anything about forces of nature. The window worked perfectly. The entrance to the property has nothing to do with the comfort of your stay.
Please do what you must, rest assured you will not be getting any refund."
Due to this response, the total lack of desire to assist guests and rectify any issues, the broken tv, the lack of a fan and the state of the entrance to the property, I do not recommend this property. There are much better options within Kinsale, that are more deserving of your business.
10.0
A beautiful apartment with everything you need in a fabulous location
8.0
Dog friendly and a little terrace off the room.
Terrace area needs a little love and attention. Secure fences etc
6.0
Pet friendly
Unkept grounds
3.0
Tired. , Needs an upgrade
10.0
Very good
Beautiful room and location
3.0
did not realise this was an air b&b when booked on the bookings.com website. expected a hotel!!
8.0
Good location, quiet place, clean room.
The wifi connection was non-existent effectively.
8.0
Very cozy room with a nice terrace that we used. Convenient location walkable to town.
9.0
The shower was amazing, beautiful bathroom, and great location.
The bed on the left side was a bit uneven, felt broken.
A fan would have been nice.
6.0
No breakfast offered
Too many steps up to the property.
The laurel hedge to the side of the front door desperately needs cutting back.
Shower door does not close properly so water gets on the the bathroom floor. Owner aware of this issue.
1.0
To be honest the staff were so rude it deleted any positive comment about this property
The Old Dispensary in Kinsale is definitely the least welcoming place that I have ever stayed.
Prior to staying I looked up it’s ratings on Bookings.com and it had an average rating of 8.2
After my stay, I looked up it’s ratings on Trip advisor which portrayed a more accurate average score of “3”. My rating of this property is “1”
I arrived at the property at 7pm and could not gain entry. I rang the contact number at got no reply after 3 calls
Eventually another resident emerged from the property and said that they had received check in details by email. I checked both my emails and text messages and had received no such instructions.
I rang the contact number again, still no reply.
Eventually I received a call telling me that instructions had been provided on bookings.com at 4pm and he basically called me stupid.
He repeatedly snapped at me as I followed his instructions to get the key.
I said
“I’m your customer. You are being very rude”
To which he replied. “What of it” and hung up.
The entrance is not as portrayed in the photos. It is badly maintained and covered in weeds.
In room 4 the shower is falling off the wall.
The window is covered in green mould.
There is a door in the room leading to an upper street. ( Property is built an a hill) The window over the door has no covering. Apartments on the opposite side of the road can see directly into the room.
If you have any mobility issues, this is not the property for you. There are 20 concrete steps from street level to the entrance door ( yes I counted them).
My room was Room 4 , 38 steps up from the entrance.
There is a visitor’s book in the entrance hall. Obviously others have written their complaints in this book , because previous pages have been torn out. !!
8.0
Lovely room, with everything needed for a comfortable stay
.lots of stairs to reach front door.
7.0
go for the top end room .. stunning
1.0
Location is central in Kinsale.
The bedroom was much smaller than the picture, with no table or couch; there was a serious problem with pidgeons (number 2) which meant that from 4am, there was loud pidgeon noise clearly audible in the room which continued until 7am and ruined our night's sleep. Both my wife and I had a very poor night's sleep.
We commented to the manager - Varun - who didn't seem to care at and just said - leave it to the review - but didn't apologize and had zero hospitality skills. I was shocked at his approach as everyone we have met during muliple stays has been so charming - this cannot be said this time.
The pillows smelled of body odour which was very disturbing.
the early check-out time of 10am is also unique for all of the places we have stayed and an extra charge of 35 pounds was charged; given that the check-in time is 4pm to 6pm, this seems to be not customer friendly.
Given our poor night's sleep, the smell on the bedding and the total ignoring of our comments by the manager Varun, the insistence of charging for the late checkout was indicative that revenue is more important than guest satisfaction.
8.0
Large room in a central location
10.0
The room is beautiful we absolutely love it, massive bathroom with bath as well l will definitely recommend it!!
8.0
everything except the pigeons we will return nex year but I won’t stay in room no. 2
pigeons woke us up at six o clock both mornings
FAQs
How much does this bed and breakfast cost compared to others in Kinsale?
The average price for a rental in Kinsale is $215 per night. This rental is $3 less expensive than the average.
Is parking included with this bed and breakfast?
Parking is not specified as an available amenity at The Old Dispensary. For more information, we encourage you to contact the property about where to park.
Is there a pool at this bed and breakfast?
We didn’t find pool listed as an amenity for this bed and breakfast. It may be worth double checking if a pool is important for your stay.
Is The Old Dispensary pet friendly?
Yes! This bed and breakfast is pet-friendly. For more information, we recommend contacting the booking provider about animal policies.
What amenities are available at The Old Dispensary?
We found 5 amenities for this rental. This includes pets allowed, kitchen or kitchenette, internet / wifi, balcony or patio, and tv.
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