Last month, my girlfriend and I went over to the west of Ireland for a few days. We were only coming from Dublin so I didn't do much in the way of researching places to stay. I've been to Galway many times anyway so I had a good idea what to expect, prices etc. For the sake of convenience and its excellent location we stayed in Jurys for the first night. For those of you who are familiar with this chain- you'll know they are usually perfectly fine though really have no character or charm.

As such, the next afternoon we walked around the city centre having a look for somewhere else. We saw most of the hotels on Eyre Sq before eventually stumbling upon The Skeff. I'd always known this place as a pub but hadn't realised it also offered accommodation. We went in to enquire about a room and prices and found out the hotel had just been renovated- evident from the smell of fresh paint everywhere! Anyway, the place seemed very nice but it wasn't till we had a look in our room that we realised what a litlle gem we'd found!

The room was spotless- and because of the very recent renovation (the hotel had just reopened that week!) it was furnished to a very high standard. Admittedly the room wasn't huge- but it had a modern and really cool look. A big comfortable , modern-style double bed with lots of pillows, a deep shagpile carpet, trendy pine furniture, a very modern and well-equipped bathroom and the flat screen tv on the wall helped give the room a boutique, ultra-modern and stylish feel. We were really impressed.

As I travel quite a bit I am sometimes disappointed by the customer skills of Irish hotel staff when at home here but the two girls at the desk were absolutely charming and couldn't have been more helpful and polite. The price (about 95 euros) compared compared extremely favourably with the other hotels/b&b's on Eyre Sq and the room we stayed in was far superior to the others we'd looked at.The price included breakfast which was in the adjoining pub which admittedly didn't share the same modern feel of our room, even so, the breakfast was definitely one of the better ones I've had in an Irish bnb/hotel.

As i mentioned, the Skeff is right on Eyre Sq which makes it ideally situated in the heart of Galway City right beside the bus and train station.The hotel doesn't have its own car park but has a deal with the car park at the train station (less than 5 minutes walk) It cost about 7-8 euro for 24 hours which I thought was very reasonable.

To be honest, I have nothing bad to say about the Skeff. At a push, i'd mention that there was no view from our room- the window overlooked the back of a building right next door! As I said, the place had just been renovated so obviously we went the perfect time, perhaps after a few years things might not be so good! It is joined to a pub, we stayed there during the week and it was very quiet.

In conclusion, if you're going to Galway and looking for a room,service and location well above its competitors and indeed its asking price I would have no hesitation recommending the Skeff.