Check in was perfect, very friendly brought us to our room, nice touches such as chocolates and strawberries, first impressions excellent, room was exactly as shown on website & v clean., the room had everything a coffee making machine, kettle, iron, robes, slippers, lovely shampoos etc,. excellent shower & you got the feeling you were the first people to ever stay in the room-exactly what you want. A lovely lady escorted us to our suite and was friendly, polite and bubbly. The hotel and room was of medium to high quality or an excellent presentation of a boutique style hotel. The bar was well set, nice open fire & 90% of service was excellent. Friends had issues with some of the bar staff,.where 2 were a bit rude-they were not happy with serving us at 12.20 or so at night, even though we were told on the phone when we booked, that they serve resident until 2 or so - we made it known that we were residents. Disappointed with Mojitos & sparkling wine cocktails, sparkling cocktails were flat. It is worth mentioning the reason we were this late getting to the bar is because we had dinner in the West restaurant in the hotel, which formed part of the deal - 2 BB's & 1 dinner. 2 of us went to restaurant at 9 & were asked to sit at bar until our friends arrived, however when our friends arrived, We were then pressingly asked if we'd like to buy drinks while 'waiting for our friends', minutes later our guests arrived & we remained at the bar for a further 15 minutes. They made it look like we were were waiting o nfriends and that this is why we couldn't be seated, which clearly wasn't the case. Eventually seated - we consistantly waited for food, far beyond the normal timeframe for all courses,.When we sat at the table and were greeted with a huge smille, told a waitress 'K' would be taking care of us & they couldn't have been friendlier,.however a few minutes later, a lady - possibly manager (who had accompanied 'K' our waitress earlier, said 'I've just been informed yer on the deal' and she left,..very strange,. From here on, the smike 'K' had presented us with left for the rest of the evening & she was rude consistantly, my partner ordered before me - in fact I had asked him to & she said to him 'excuse me, but I must take the ladies orders first' - even though I note - the lady was offered to taste the wines! Our 'deal' wasn't a cheap one to say the least & we spent over 100€ extra on wine. My friend ordered well done beef - which was served in a bed of it's blood,. it was returned but they mixed up the order and brought back the wrong dish (at this stage all others were finished mains and they didn;t bring fresh or hot veg to accompany it,. One of the guests is vegetarian & allergic to blue cheese - the 2 veggie dishes had blue cheese & this was explained to the once lovely 'K' , who got quiet excited about it, saying that what was on the menu-is all that was being served - we eventually got a dish without the cheese, although we weren't told this would happen - it just arrived! Overall the restaurant was a total disaster,.I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. All sounds very negative, but the reception staff were delightful, rooms beautiful & location perfect for coastal walks & easy to get to Galway city,. I would stay there again but never ever eat in the restaurant! We made it clear we weren't happy, in the restaurant but this was ignored and an air of arrogance and nose in the air, took over,.very poor service,.very disappointing..I must mention there were many excellent seafood restaurants in the immediate area,. within walking distance, across the raod and others within a five minute distance - these were excellent with friendly polite staff - these are where we dined for the remainder of our stay.

I fond this little gem by accident last summer, stayed twice in one month ...loved it so much! To me it is New York Boutique, with a James Joyce Georgian House feel , reminicent of the dinner party portrayed in The Dead, Large Georgian Mirrors propped against the walls ,old clocks all at something to or after 12.00!! Boutique meets the pure Wild Iirishness of Galway Bay!!

When I wanted to relax after a very busy Christmas I headed to the west with our very well travelled USA friends. Our choice was The Twelve, we arrived on January 1st, which can be a very hit and miss time for hotels, after the flurry of New Years Eve. Not so at The Twleve, from the warm and welcoming check in with Gerogina and Jennifer, to the large airy very clean rooms to the buzz in the bar we were not dissapointed. This hotel in my opinion, has embraced some of the detail expected in a 5 star property, egyptian cotton sheets, organically stocked mini bar, welcome letter, and their unique welcome snacks, none of which you would expect at this excellent price point.

The location is perfect, minutes to the harbour. A visit to O'Gradys Seafood Restaurant is a must, never mind the excellent food, just for the pure nostalliga of watching "the sun go down on Galway Bay" sound corny but is so great!! Donnellys pub across the road is like stepping back in time, complete with a snug. The food is also excellent in the hotel.

Dont miss the seaweed baths, the perfect way t o detox, all in the privacy of your rooom.

I will return to Barna, to the beautysalons, pubs and restaurants and to the amazing Twelve. But for now my next trip is to Cavan tos ee if any hotel there can come near this experience.

MF

My partner and I stayed in The Twelve for two nights and were very impressed. We booked a "Super Splendid Guest Room" online, but upon arrival were told we had been upgraded to a suite - presumably due to a booking error. The suite was incredible (and bigger than some studio apartments in Dublin!). The bed was super king size, the furnishings and decor were modern and muted, and everything was immaculate. The seating area contained two sofas and we opened a large "cupboard" to discover a wet bar, with fridge, microwave, sink, coffee maker and a great selection of beers and treats - and even a small bottle of Absolut vodka (very tempting until we saw the price). There were two plasma TVs, an iPod dock/alarm clock, and robes and slippers for our stay (you could buy a robe if you liked it enough - but it was very expensive at 60 euros). There were even chocolates and a personalised greeting card from the receptionist welcoming us to the hotel.

The bathroom was huge and there were disabled facilities, organic seaweed toiletries from Voya and lashings of hot water. We had one minor quibble and that was with the shower - it was designed in a "wet room" style, and that's exactly what the whole bathroom became, due to insufficient drainage. The entire floor was one huge puddle. A stern lesson for leaving my robe on the floor, perhaps - it was sopping wet when I'd finished my shower.

We didn't try the West restaurant because the menu didn't appeal to us, but The Pins bar and bistro was wonderful. The environment was relaxed and cosy, the crowd convivial and the menu large and varied (I can recommend the pizza, and the pork and herb sausages - all were cooked to perfection and delicious, as were the huge starters). There was a good selection of beers and wines, and some great cocktails. The breakfasts were brilliant too - yogurt, cereal, juice, scones and pastries, coffee and tea, and that was just to start; there was a hot breakfast as well, with the full Irish fry-up or eggs done however we liked.

In short, The Twelve is a lovely boutique hotel - very stylish, friendly and comfortable. It opened in March 2007 and everything still feels very new and fresh. Cab fares from the hotel into the city varied between 13-16 euros - but if you have a car or are prepared to travel a little, the hotel is well worth the effort.

As I am in the fabric business I was keen to stay at this boutique hotel on my recent visit to Galway.
I can honestly say for the money (dinner, b&b less than £100)this is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at. I had a huge double bed with a superbly comfortable mattress, egyptian cotton covers. great bathroom with really funky lighting, girlies will love the toiletries.
Mini bar very well stocked with some unusual beers and wine. Green and Black choccies, oh yeah and you get a plate of five complimentary belgian chocs in your room when you arrive.
Ipod docking station was a quality touch, great to have an alarm clock that wakes you with your own selection from your music library.
FREE wifi internet access, although I am told in some rooms the signal isn't too strong.
The restaurant is only open Thurs-Sunday and as I visited on a Wednesday I ate in the bar. That said I had a sirloin steak that was perfection. It was cooked exactly as I asked and service was excellent.
i had one minor irritation but Fergus the manager sorted that swiftly and I got a complimentary pint of Guinness to say sorry.
Breakfast is unreal, I have to say you won't eat it all if you have a full irish fry up, take a team of sherpas and a flag to put in the top!!!

Georgina on reception was incredibly welcoming especially good when you have driven three hours from Dublin in wind, rain, snow and not the best roads in the world.

Make a point of staying here if you don't mind being a bit out of town, the village is about fifteen minutes from Galway city centre.

I already can't wait for my next trip to the Emerald Isle