When I was researching this guest house I was a bit concerned as there were only 5 reviews on Trip Advisor and one wasn’t great. But I did not need to worry; everything was perfect from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. As others have said, we received champagne on arrival and there were fresh flowers and a complementary decanter of port in your room.

The room was spotless, we probably had one of the smaller rooms which didn’t have the harbour view but we knew this before we arrived as our budget did not allow us to have a harbour view! However, we did not miss out as breakfast was served in the sun room which looked over the harbour into Kinsale town and this was perfect. The breakfast is something else. Usually breakfast to me is a means to an end, but in The Harbour Lodge it is a dining experience. Go early if you want to be away early, but do enjoy it. You are served fresh breads with a selection of homemade jams, and then have a choice from cereal to fish of the day. My husband would recommend the bacon and eggs, the bacon was organic cured and he said it was the best he had ever had! You enjoy all this while looking across the bay into Kinsale, on a sunny day it is a wonderful view!

Although it is a short walk from Kinsale to the Harbour lodge it is worth it, the views are amazing and it is much quieter which helps to make it so relaxing. You also look forward to the homemade chocolates on your pillow when you return at night. As I said, the rooms are spotless, plenty of fresh towels and dressing gowns in your room. A past reviewer complained that their room was not cleaned and they did not get fresh towels, this was before the new owners took over and as others have said since I have never seen such clean rooms and bathrooms.

My only complaint is that our room was downstairs and we could hear the staff in the kitchen in the morning but it was our choice to have one of the cheaper rooms, if you can get a room with a view I would recommend it! The staff were friendly and attentive when required and the owner was obviously very proud of her guest house. It deserves every star, we felt it was better than some 4 star hotels we have stayed in!

I have included some pictures as we felt the website did not do the guesthouse justice. One shows the guest house viewed from Kinsale. The others show the wonderful view!

A word of advice on eating out though – Man Fridays is highly recommended but we found the food dated and the service poor. We were really disappointed as everyone said we must eat there, but we had to ask several times for the wine list, the service was rushed and when we complained about the quality of the food we were told it was fine. It was also more expensive than our other two dinners and we had a much better experience in the other restaurants. My advice, don’t eat there – there is so much better. We would advise you to go to The Vintage which is in village, great food and great atmosphere. Also The Bulman which is in the direction of Charles Fort, again wonderful food and great setting. Lunch should always be had at Fishy Fishy, but be warned it gets very busy!

The Harbour Lodge was such a great experience it motivated us to join the review process at Tripadvisor! Traveling Europe as a family of five is both difficult and expensive. The Harbour Lodge proved worth the value. Location is walkable from town and provides nice "hike" to Charles Fort. Accommodations were absolutely worth recently received the 4* rating. Owners were charming and available yet not overly present. Not many rooms offered but if you're a family of 4 or more you MUST try to reserve #9 and 10 that walk out to the patio and breakfast atrium. We'll go back as often as we can!

We have been visiting Kinsale for around 11 years now and Harbour Lodge is the best B&B by far. We had Room No 5 which is slightly larger than the others on the top floor, all the top floor rooms have their own balcony overlooking the harbour, uninterrupted views on a quiet road. The conservatory view is breathtaking, breakfast is served there and we were able to sit in the conservatory, read and relax at any time during the day. Price was fairly expensive at 198 Euros per night, and the breakfast was OK but not outstanding. Our only complaint, although we didn't mention it to the staff, was that our bed was not made and room not cleaned during our stay. But the view makes up for any problems and the staff were very friendly. Harbour Lodge has just been sold so we hope that no changes will be made when the new owners take over, possibly in a couple of months. Eat at Fishy Fishy, only open 12.00 - 3.45 but the best seafood restaurant in town. One of the best pubs is the Spaniards just up the hill from Harbour Lodge, most nights they have live music. You won't get better than Kinsale to end of your holiday.

Kinsale is a beautiful harbour town but it can get a little noisy in the evenings. Therefore a short stroll around the harbour takes you to Scilly where the purpose built Harbour Lodge is situated.

The service from all the girls was the friendliest we experienced in our whole trip and the views from our bedroom were stunning. Our room (no. 5) was a superior room with a super-king size bed and balcony at a cost of e198 (28/07/04). It was our 5th wedding anniversary and there were rose petals on our bed and a chilled bottle of champagne to greet us. Breakfast is taken in the sunny conservatory overlooking the harbour. Nice additional touches such as a weather report delivered to your room and an honesty bar in the lounge.

LUNCH @ FISHY FISHY CAFE. We sat outside in the sunshine although there is a road next to the terrace (the only drawback to this restaurant). We shared a starter of Prawn & Avocado and then a platter of Dublin Bay Prawns - the best we have ever tasted. We would highly recommend you eat here.

DINNER @ JIM EDWARDS. Even though they knew it was our wedding anniversary we were shoved in a dark corner on a tiny table next to the toilets. Service was slow but the food was good. The Crab Claws were delicious followed by tasty Scampi but the Black Sole was a touch rubbery. Feels a bit like "ship 'em in - ship 'em out" tourism.

DRINKS @ HOLE IN THE WALL in the beer garden listening to live music.

DRINKS @ HARVEYS. Good band but more a pub for the 'youngsters'.