Garnish House Guesthouse

We enjoyed our stay at the Garnish House. The location was really good. We enjoyed being able to leave our car parked at the guesthouse and just walk around the city of Cork. From the guesthouse, we were 10-15 minutes away from many of the main sites and many great restaurants in Cork. The guesthouse itself was nice. It felt very secure and safe. The room was not overly large but it worked well for the few days we were there. The bed was one of the more comfortable ones we had while traveling throughout Ireland. It was pretty soft and I slept quite well in it. The bathroom was pretty small and there seemed to be quite a bit of mildew/mold in the shower and above it. Aside from that, the room was pretty clean. The staff was very friendly. From the initial check in they were very welcoming and wanting to help. The first morning we woke up and found that the parking lot for the guest house was very full and our car was blocked in. While a bit inconvenient, the staff was very friendly and helpful and they were able to quickly sort it out and get us on our way. While it wasn't perfect, I'd recommend the Garnish House. It was a nice little place to stay in a very good location.

My boyfriend and I spent 2 nights at the Garnish House and we have a lovely memory of it. Our room was big, with TV and a big bathroom en suite. The bed was very comfortable. All the buildings of the B&B are smart and elegant. I liked the detail of the fresh flowers in the hall. The breakfast is just awesome!!! The best I ever had. But it is not included in the price: 10€ per person. The location is good, just a few minutes walking from the city center. I will definitely recommend this B&B to anyone. :)

Very friendly and helpful for staff. I was able to confirm the room and was not pushed for prebooking as I was driving.|Rooms are basic with small bathrooms and a little (to a lot) outdated, but clean.|Breakfast was really excellent and highly recommend.|I have used the imperial hotel for my last few overnights in Cork and the rooms are much higher quality than Garnish. But and this is the big one I had a better sleep in the Garnish bed than in higher classed hotels and this is the most important factor to any stay, a good nights sleep!||Location was good form me as I needed to be near UCC at the time.||So it’s really not ritz, but good sleep and excellent breakfast tops out here.

We were welcomed to a complimentary tea coffee and scones, unexpected but just what was needed after the journey. The room was large clean and comfortable. En suite shower sink and toilet also new and clean. Staff very helpful and friendly. We didn't stay for breakfast so cannot comment.

Lovely guest house with excellent staff located near the university. Very good tea, coffee and homemade scones on arrival. Rooms very clean and very well presented with tea and coffee in the room bed very comfortable fitted with quality bed linen. Breakfast excellent I had the Spanish omelette but they offer a very wide choice to eat and all cooked to order definitely looking forward to being back.

Located on the road next to the river, and a short 10 or so minute walk from downtown. Extremely helpful and friendly staff. The breakfast is incredible. As with most places here, the rooms have no A/C, which was a minor problem because we just happened to have unusually hot weather (for Ireland, anyway) while there. Overall would definitely recommend.

The room was quite nice and the staff were friendly. They even offer welcoming tea and scones which we unfortunately didn't get to take advantage of due to poor timing. On the negative side the WiFi was incredibly slow and the bathroom had a poorly thought out layout as well as separate hot and cold twos in a tiny sink.

Wonderful B n B experience. Greeted at the door with a smile, tea and scones. It is clean with very comfortable beds and pillows. Laundry service is offered for a reasonable fee. Located near UCC and 12 minutes walk to city center. We did keep the windows open as we like a cool sleeping environment. There was a bit of noise from the apartments nearby which seem to be students, but it wasn't too loud nor too long. Overall...it's a gem.

We really enjoyed our stay here. I have to tell you that we put in 'Blarney Stone' in our GPS because it is close and not time for check in. It took us to the B&B and we couldn't figure it out until we were leaving the first day and there was a Blarney Stone B&B next door! We were greeting warmly and asked if we wanted tea or coffee. We figured it was just tea and coffee - but the pastries! Oh my' There is parking. We were in a larger room but it was up quite a few steps. It's on a fairly busy road but you couldn't hear much. The bathroom is extremely small but worked. The accommodations are not luxurious but worked. The breakfast was out of this world! Several people waited on us. The menu was about 7 pages. There was cold cereal, fruit and pastry, then main dish and then dessert crepe of either chocolate and banana or cinnamon sugar. The location is excellent and you can walk to town from there. A cab was 7 Euros.

Friendly, clean, 5-10 min pleasant walk to downtown area. Spacious room by Euro standards, with a double, two singles and a sofa. Functioning windows with views of the main street and the university entrance. Easy, flat walk to downtown and market. Just across from university grounds, where there are walking paths and beautiful buildings and flora to observe. Hostess was ready with tea and breads the second we pulled into the driveway. Parking is a cooperative dance in the small but adequate lot, and guests are friendly and helpful in shifting vehicles around if need be. Very happy with the room, the location, the servce and the rate. It's a corker!

Wow! This place was so amazing! From the moment we arrived, until the moment we left, Marion and company made us feel right at home! So friendly and genuine:) as a Texan, friendly small talk is something we appreciate! The food: AMAZING. The breakfast offerings were fresh and plentiful! Fresh fruit, yogurt, biscuits..but the star of the show was the hot items!! The full Irish breakfast was amazing, the eggs benedict so fresh and tasty! The rooms were cozy and clean with everything you could need! My bathroom was spacious and updated! (I know things vary from room to room, thats what adds to the charm!) But all in all, we were all happy with our accommodations! If you are in the cork area or anywhere nearby actually. Garnish house is a great place to stay! Marion and marcel especially were helpful and made us feel right at home! Cant wait to come back someday!!

This little bed and breakfast is the cutest! Upon arriving, you are greeted with one of the traditions of the Irish which is welcoming guests with tea and scones. The food they make is amazing and it was the perfect amount. Someone also comes by and tells you what the best things to do in Cork are. Our room was so cute and comfy. The only problem was the bathroom was super tiny. But, we made do. We had the breakfast they offer in the morning and it is a ton of food. Definitely a good price for the amount of food you get. It is all prepared right then and there and is amazing. I definitely recommend it.

Out of the three weeks I spent in Ireland my two nights at the Garnish House were by far the least enjoyable of the whole trip. The room I stayed in was on the first floor right next to the laundry room and kitchen. Upon returning late the first evening, about 11pm, I noticed the door diagonal to mine was open - I had thought it was another guest room but it was in fact the laundry room. I was kept awake both nights by the sound of laundry being done throughout the nighttime. Then around 6 am the breakfast ruckus started which included loud chatter and various octaves of pots and pans being banged around. The room itself was rather small, with a very small TV and small bathroom. I get that most rooms and bathrooms in Europe are small - my stay here was towards the end of my adventure, I had been in several small rooms by this point - however the general smallness of the room, combined with an uncomfortable bed and a terrible window view from a window that I couldn't open to let in fresh air and that had limited natural lighting as it was facing the laundry and kitchen made the overall stay depressing and uncomfortable. There was only one wall outlet on the wall opposite side of where the bathroom was so I ended up doing my hair without a mirror so at least I acquired a new skill! I was also very unimpressed with the morning breakfast. The big 'thing' about the Garnish house is the large selection of breakfast items. The selections are not that great and are variations of the same items. Getting to the Garnish house is a bit tricky as well. The street name the B&B is listed under is deceiving. The street 'Western road' actually turns into a different street that becomes a one way. So if you're using your GPS to try to locate this B & B you dead end into the one way street and have to circle around to get going the right direction to actually find this place! Parking is also extremely limited. Location is relatively 'close' with a 20 or so minute trek into the centre of town. On my way I saw a couple of other places that looked nicer, newer and cleaner. I would recommend staying somewhere else while in Cork.

We were happily greeted by Danielle upon our arrival who offered us afternoon (evening really) tea and treats. Our room was located in an attached building on the second floor, facing the street. It was very spacious with a king size bed. The bath was rather small but comparable to other baths in Europe. Our one complaint was the street noise. The room itself didn't have much airflow so we kept the windows open to allow a breeze. The traffic was quite noisy until the early hours of the morning. Also a slight negative was parking; we had to park down the street at another B&B two nights. Breakfast was amazing and offered a large variety of hot meals as well as a fruit, juice, and cereal bar. The scones were homemade and delicious. The location was perfect to the city of Cork and the university. Both were just seconds away. We definitely would recommend garnish house to anyone traveling to Cork.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Garnish House. We gave 4-stars here because of the amazing staff. Google maps directed us to a location down the road, and a staff member actually ran down our way to find us and personally led us to the parking area. We felt welcome from the start...we were greeted with a full spread of tea, scones, toast, butter and jam. Were we able to give a 3.5 overall, we would have. This is mainly because of the accommodation itself. Our room was nice, with a comfy bed...especially nice in light of the low cost for our room. Bang for our buck. But we did see some places where duct tape had been used to patch together the wainscoting in the hall, as well as the door to our bathroom shower. Our bathroom was very tiny. One of the reasons we chose Garnish House was the price and parking. The location was great. Just a ten-minute walk down Western Road into town. Well, maybe a 15 minute walk for some...we walk briskly. Must comment on the breakfast, as Garnish House is a B&B. There was a great spread of cheeses, fruits, juices, cereals, as well as a full menu of options for just 10 euro. Again, the staff was a highlight. Super friendly and attentive. We recommend staying at Garnish House!

I've already left a review for Garnish House on TripAdvisor / Booking.com, but I've had some time to think about my experiences in Cork and now I want to leave a review here on Yelp, too. First, I had never used Booking.com before, and was somewhat trepidatious about the website and its service. But...it worked out, to an extent. There were two issues that I noticed-- one, it was not always clear on the webpages if the amounts of money being discussed were in Euros or in Dollars; and, two, the Bed & Breakfast room fees did not always include what you would expect. That is, many B&B fees were unnaturally low because BREAKFAST WAS NOT INCLUDED! (well, then, how could it be a B&B you might ask?). I got a great rate for Garnish House but then found out when I got to Cork that breakfast was 10 Euro extra each morning (but...read on; the money was worth it!). So, I'm not real happy with Booking.com, but will probably continue to use them. I'll just be more careful about the details in future. Now, the second main point is the accommodations at Garnish House. I stayed there in January of 2016 for about a week. My daughter and I shared a double room in their annex building across the street (west) of the main building. The room had two double beds, a small table and chair set and a wardrobe. The room was overwhelmed by the furniture--one bed partly blocked the bathroom door. And the bathroom was TINY-- you almost had to turn sideways to shuffle between the toilet and the sink. The shower was GREAT, however; clean, fairly spacious, and with great water pressure. Overall, the room (and bathroom) was clean and serviceable, the beds and furniture were comfortable, and everything was safe and secure...but the room was small. My third point relates to the general B&B experience itself. This is the FIRST B&B I have ever stayed at, and I liked it. But Garnish House is NOT what I expected. There was no "family" here, with a matronly old cook and her gnarled husband flitting about in their generations-old family home festooned with photos of cherubic grandchildren on every wall and a hound dog curled up in front of the peat-burning fireplace. Garnish House is a business and runs more like a high-end hostel with meals supplied. So...I missed having the classic B&B experience with the family on site, but who cares? The excellent food made up for everything. So here is my final recommendation: STAY at Garnish House for the excellent breakfasts and incredibly attentive and helpful staff. By all means, pay for the breakfast each morning, and definitely try their porridge with Bailey's Irish Creme on top. I suspect the servers push you to have the porridge (oatmeal) because it is cheap and will fill you up-- which limits the other more expensive breakfast options you could consume. But again--who cares? You gotta have the porridge with Bailey's on it because it is EXCELLENT (and filling).

Unfortunately was unable to attend this vacation as the trip got cancelled four days prior. Was confused because the cancellation policy on their website said free cancellation up to 48 hours prior, however when you go to book the first thing that popped up and I selected, which was the discounted pay in advance booking. The cancellation policy changed in the little text hidden by all the other words and said with this rate you can't cancel, modify, or change the booking. I guess they need the $75 for their own pleasure and I have never seen a cancellation policy change from one screen to the next. Book at your own will.

This is a great guesthouse that has spacious rooms. Their rooms are more akin to what you'd expect in a hotel. Clean rooms, beds are comfortable and a bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. They do have two buildings across the street from each other - so you might have to walk outside to get your breakfast. WiFi was fast and worked just fine. All in all - no real complaints and had a great stay. As an economy tourist, I would come again, but might try to find a place even cheaper.

Beautiful B&B with lots of rooms. They are a bit spread out, but the host, Johanna I believe, was exceedingly pleasant. The rooms were well appointed, the beds very comfortable, and the breakfast that comes with the room was awesome. Both in quantity and quality. I had the full Irish breakfast, but there was much to choose from. If I go back to Cork, I'll try to stay here again :-)

Just came back from an overnight stay in Cork's Garnish House and had a lovely time. We walked into the establishment very tired after a morning on the train from Dublin and then a cab ride and we were greeted by the lovely host. She whisked us away to a sunny table and brought us tea and a table full of baked goods. It was exactly what we needed. And it was all so delicious. Our room was lovely and very comfortable. We had a great night's sleep. And breakfast! Everything was awesome. The Garnish House is ideally located too. Once we settled in, we walked outside, took a right and we were immediately on the University walking path which was lush and breathtaking. It ended very close to city center and we had a lovely time walking around and shopping. The people of Cork are a special kind of people. They have an honesty and love for country that shines through. While it was short, I loved my visit to Cork and our stay at Garnish House was the icing on the cake. Perfect!

This is the best B&B I've ever stayed in! Marian greeted us with tea and fresh baked scones on arrival. We were part of a large (10 people) group. She had every room ready to go and they were very comfortable and clean. The breakfast is delicious!! A great surprise was the extensive menu available as well as baked goods and cereal. A superb visit and I would stay here again and again. Thank you!!

We booked a room here on very short notice after spending a night at a sketchy youth hostel. When we arrived the hostess was extremely nice and brought us in for tea before giving us our key. Our room was in a building a few minutes walk away but the walk was short enough. The room and service we got was infinitely better than the hostel for only €10 more! The room was in excellent condition and breakfast and tea were fantastic. Garnish House is an excellent choice!

To be honest, I loathe B and B's. I booked this place because I thought it would show a side of Ireland that I wouldn't see if I stayed at big name hotels thoughout my 2 week stay. Thank god I only stayed 2 nights. I hate doilies and old fashioned bedspreads. I hate the smell of rose scented soap. I hate mingling with strangers over breakfast playing the "where are you from?" game. The staff here is top notch. The hospitality is everything that you've ever read about how the Irish treat their guests. They really put us Americans to shame. The people are lovely. This is a nice place. It's kind of like staying at your grandmother's house when you were a kid. I just loathe B and B's. Can't wait to check in to the Park Hotel Kenmare and the G Hotel in Galway after that. And then, back to the Westin in Dublin. The hospitality has been top notch no matter where I have stayed so far in Ireland. Gotta go...I smell scones. God, get me out of here.

The Garnish B&B is a real gem. We have stayed here 3 years in a row on weekends away with my team. It's very reasonable, the staff are excellent and a good location, beside the University. They serve tea and scones on arrival, which is amazing, these are delicious, rooms and bathrooms are a good standard, and the best breakfast I've ever had at a B&B. So many choices and cooked to order. They are constantly offering more tea & coffee and checking that everything is ok. Every hotel manager in the country should stay a night here and this is the definition of Céad Míle Fáilte!!!

Pretty good bread and breakfast in Cork. Great breakfast and pretty good rooms that can fit 4 people nicely. People actually come here to eat the breakfast itself so it must be good.

We stayed here four years ago and I would go back to cork just to stay here. Johanna was a lovely and most enjoyable proprietress! We, obviously, stayed in the nice house (green and across the street from where she serves breakfast) The beds were comfortable, rooms were large, bathrooms very nice. Everything was clean and tidy. The food was amazing (that doesn't even begin to describe the breakfast offered.... Porridge, platters of fresh fruit, deli meats, anything you can imagine cooked to order, warm fresh home made scones, great coffee, tea selections) and the entire staff was charming! My advise is just be clear about where you would like to stay! Thank you Johanna ~ we hope to see you sometime soon!

We entered the Garnish House Bed and Breakfast and a very nice German man met us and directed us to our "welcoming tea," during which we were served home-baked (at the B&B) bread, scones, chocolate cake, fruit cake, and choice of coffee or tea while the helpful proprietor introduced us to Cork, illustrated with maps, and provided us with answers to all of our questions, including safety and recommendations for restaurants. Unfortunately, there are no lifts at the B&B, so the stairs are a bit of a challenge for elderly folk, but we were able to get moved in with minimal effort thanks to the parking on site just outside the B&B entrance. Slept like a rock while we stayed (I use ear plugs, so no promises on street noise). Got up in the morning to savor was had been foretold as a truly great breakfast. The legends told of pancakes, omelettes, assorted dishes of delectation. The implementation at Garnish House certainly met these expectations. A veritable smorgasbord of scones and bread met us at the table, with fresh French press coffee delivered only seconds later. The menu lived up to it's legend, with a multitude of selections to satisfy any taste. Delicious. Save room for the pancakes (crepes) served at the end of the meal. If you like poached eggs, go for the smoked salmon and poached eggs. They will also accommodate multiple orders and bring you anything you want. An absolute steal for the 10 euro price when you stay at the hotel. If I come back to Ireland, I am staying at this location at least two nights. Simply wonderful. Warning - the GPS will take you through the kitschy and bustling business area on the way. Fear not, it is located in a nice area just outside the university.

The host was absolutely lovely and offered us delicious tea, scones, bread and cakes upon arrival. The outdoor garden is absolutely adorable. That is the good part. The bad part follows: They put us up in a building around the corner which reminded us of a hostel, we couldn't even fully open our suitcase in the room it was so small and could barely turn around in the shower. Plus, the wifi didn't work well and we could hear everything our neighbors said and did. Make sure to ask if you are staying in the actual place as I imagine from the positive reviews on trip advisor that experience is much better; otherwise, look elsewhere. We found cheaper hotels in the area, but paid more for the B&B experience which we did not receive.

First time in Cork and the friend accompanying me had stayed here twice before. Lovely staff that upgraded our room and went out of there way for food allergies! Do take advantage of the Tea/Coffee and scones in the sitting room upon arrival. 10 min walk to all the great pubs and resteraunts. Will definitely stay again!