My partner and I recently stayed at the Harbour Hotel in Galway and found it to be ok, at best. While the lobby of the hotel was clean, bright and very modern, the room (at least the one we had) was something else entirely. First off, the view was of the pillar to the parking garage behind the hotel. When we asked to have the room changed, we were told there were no others available. Since the parking garage and the lobby seemed empty our entire stay, I'm not so sure we were told the truth. In any case, it looks as if all the rooms on that side of the hotel and on the first (not ground) floor would have the same view, so beware. The room itself was cramped, with dated furniture and a very uncomfortable mattress. In addition, there was no way to cool down the room since virtually no air came in through the windows that only opened a couple of inches.

We stayed one night in Galway and were told to stay off the Eyre Square because of the noise.. The Harbour hotel is on a busy street in an industrial area but the staff said the area has plans for renovation . The hotel was modern having a redo a few years ago and was quiet except for traffic noise. It is still in walking distance to the center of Galway so seeing the sights was easy. The beds were very good with crisp linens and the room and bath were very clean . The carpets should be replaced as they were stained and older. The staff was very efficent and helpful. One good thing was the available free parking for the night. The breakfast was good and included in the price. It was sufficent for the night but I wouldn't want to spend too many days there.

I decided to bring my wife away for a weekend to Galway. Having read some good reviews on the Trip Advisor website about the Harbour Hotel, I decided to have a look at their website. I got a reasonable deal for the weekend and decided to book even though when I asked about the available views of the Harbour, I was told that the “Harbour” rooms, the superior rooms, had no view of the Harbour!

Upon arrival, we discovered that the small and inadequate car-park was full. When we went into the Hotel to enquire, the receptionist told us quite smugly that it was a “first come first served basis” and that we would have to pay for the car-park adjoining the Hotel car-park. The rooms are also very noisy and we could hear many of the Guests returning to the Hotel throughout both nights as it is quite close to the City centre.

The buffet breakfast is mediocre in comparison to other Hotels I have stayed in around the country, offering very little choice and the standard of some of the cooked food is atrocious, especially the green fried eggs offered on the Saturday morning!

Most of the staff are courteous but seem inexperienced and a smile wouldn’t go astray! Not the friendliest of welcomes which you would expect in the west of Ireland. When having coffee in the lobby, one of the friendlier bar staff mentioned that this might have been the result of there being four General Managers in the last year!

Dinner was acceptable, though we both felt it was a limited and unimaginative menu. We had a very nice waiter who chatted throughout the evening but the food left room for improvement, the sauce with my steak and even my wife’s soup tasted as if it came from a packet!

All in all, we did not receive value for money as we did not even sleep at night and certainly didn’t enjoy the food! Personally, I think this Hotel would be more suited to young people who would be visiting Galway in a group for a party weekend. It is certainly not for a quiet weekend away and therefore I would definitely not recommend it!

I would agree with previous reviews that this hotel is not exactly in a scenic environment. It is perfectly adequate, the rooms are clean and relatively comfortable, the breakfast is fine but nothing memorable and the service is fine. The whole place though is a bit "clinical" with little character, it is too hot and I think overpriced (nothing special). Difficult to be desperately enthusiastic but it is "OK". It is reasonably well placed as nowhere in Galway is more than 15-20 minutes walk.It does have a tendency to be noisy with traffic noise in some rooms and revellers at the harbour giving an early wake up call around 5am. Our taxi driver had recommended that staying anywhere in Eyre Square at the weekend guaranteed a sleepless night, so maybe we were luckier than some in terms of how much sleep we got.
General points: the Kirwan Lane restaurant was excellent - fantastic fish and superb steak. My husband and I were at a conference at the Harbour and had a conference meal at the Great Southern - nice surroudnings, but food and wine not up to much. A shame reall when most restaurants in this region really do have the most stunning selection of seafood (the oysters, crab and smoked salmon were fantastic). Wifi probably makes this hotel a good choice for business people.