I would like to preface this review by pointing out that I have never, thank God, had occasion to write a review like this before and sincerely hope that I will never have occasion to do so in the future. I would sincerely caution any traveler to think long and hard before staying in this hotel. Our party of two couples decided to book a weekend away at short notice. Due to being heavily pregnant we didn't want to travel far, so looked at a number of possibilities close to home in the Mayo/Galway area. We frequently take weekend breaks in Ireland and holiday abroad along with traveling for work. We average approximately 60 80 nights per annum in hotels of one decription or another. Whilst we usually stay in either 4/5* locations, we did as we usually do and rang a number of different hotels in the area of our choice and got quotations for rates. We then checked these rates against those available on the internet and used trip advisor to check out reviews of the hotels. On this occasion, my husband rang the Ardagh hotel and was quoted for 2 superior rooms arriving on the Friday night and departing on the Sunday with breakfast included on both mornings and one evening meal. The rate quoted was €189 per room. Considering the high rating in trip advisor together with this very reasonable price we decided that although it was only rated a 3* the overall package was very attractive.

My husband rang back the following day to confirm the booking and spoke with the same receptionist who confirmed on three occasions, over the phone, that the rate was €189 per room, not per person and not per room per night. We left a card number as a deposit and as it was so close to the day, made the mistake of not requesting a confirmation email.

We arrived on Friday evening and despite having requested 2 twin rooms we were shown to one twin room and one double which were admittedly reasonably large.

Our first impressions of the hotel were that it was quite dated and in need of refurbishment, but we were prepared to live with this given the price we were paying. We had dinner in the restaurant Friday evening and have to admit that the food was good. As regards, the rooms a few things that I would like to point out;
- The plumbing seems to be in a very bad state of repair and it was extremely noisy to the point that you can feel the shuddering when the toilet was flushed. The taps in the bathroom continually increase in pressure from the moment they are turned on which causes a lot of splashing and means that you have to turn them on and off when using. The sinks are too high and too small and very awkward to use. There was a pungent smell from the bathroom which seemed to emanate from the toilet and would fill the room unless the door was kept closed.
- The walls are extremely thin and you can hear flushing toilets and conversations from other rooms.
- There was ivy outside some of the windows of the hotel and this had the unfortunate effect of attracting many spiders and, more annoyingly, wasps in through the open windows.
- The beds were really hard and uncomfortable with very dated bed clothes.
- One room had a very small portable TV and there were only four terrestrial channels available on three of these the reception made them unwatchable.
- There are no lifts in the hotel.
- There is a Staffordshire bull terrier wandering freely around the hotel (inside and out) and whilst he seems friendly, this breed is notoriously unpredictable.

Overall, for the rate we were quoted, we would have overlooked many of the niggles above, after all, it is not reasonable to expect 5* quality at 3* prices. We were, however to get a nasty shock when we went to check out on Sunday morning.

I went downstairs to settle the bill for both rooms as my husband was on crutches, and found one of the proprietors (a gentleman named Stephane Beauvet) behind the reception desk. I requested the bill for both rooms and was asked why I wanted them both! A little taken aback, I explained that I wished to settle the bill for the other party (my parents) as a treat because it was nice to be nice.

He abruptly changed the subject and asked when I was due. Feeling increasingly uneasy I replied October. Finally, Mr Beauvet did produce the bill, the total for the accommodation came to €756.00 which was €189 per person and not per room as we had been quoted. As I was feeling both very uncomfortable and very intimidated at this stage, I gave my credit card and settled the bill and went upstairs to my husband. My husband was furious and went down to reception to query the bill. He was informed that the rates are always quoted per person sharing and not per room.

My husband was informed that the receptionist who had originally quoted him the rate was in England for the weekend and wouldn't be back until Tuesday evening. My husband re-iterated the fact that he was told no fewer than 3 times that the rate was per room. Mr Beauvet refused to entertain this point and went on to say that the receptionist would deny quoting per room as if he admitted this, the money would come out of his wages.

We decided to load up the car and leave. Before departure I personally went back in to try and reason with Mr Beauvet and to request a breakdown of the drinks bill for the stay (the hotel does not give itemized bills instead opting for a handwritten invoice with numbers). Whilst waiting to speak with Mr Beauvet I heard him inform other guests that it had been a quiet season.

My pleadings feel on deaf ears being told pretty much word for word what he had informed by husband. He was reluctant to provide me with the requested breakdown and when finally did so, I found I had been over charged. Admittedly it was by only €1, but at this stage it had become a point of principle. I asked for the refund to which he replied that it was only €1''. I demanded the money and he said that he only had €2 coins at his disposal which I took and left.

My husband phoned the hotel on Tuesday evening to speak with the receptionist who admitted, after much arguing, that he may have mistakenly quoted the rate per room as opposed to per person. He apologised for any confusion and informed my husband that he would speak to the proprietor and my husband would be called at 5pm on Wednesday evening. Needless to say, the phone call never materialized so my husband phoned back and spoke again to the receptionist who now changed his story and flatly denied ever quoting per room.

All in all, our experience in the Ardagh hotel is one which we will be in a huge hurry to forget. The proprietor's attitude and conduct is beyond the realm of acceptable and it was patently clear to us that he had no interest whatsoever in customer satisfaction he simply wanted our money. We feel thoroughly disgusted by our experiences here and will never recommend this hotel to anyone. As you can see from my previous reviews, I have never given a review like this in my life but I feel that I have to warn people very strongly against staying at this hotel.

Had it not been for Mr Beauvets disgusting and repulsive behaviour, there is an argument that the hotel may have been worth the €378 we were originally quoted, however, when taking account of all the faults, I would rather contract a tropical disease than to pay €756 for accommodation and service like this. I earnestly and strongly urge you all to stay somewhere else in Clifden after all, and as stated to Mr Beauvet we had been quoted less to stay with 4* establishments in central locations elsewhere.