Michael Parsonsstays at Jurys Cork Hotel
THE MODERN, four-star, 182-room Jurys Cork Hotel is close to the city centre and offers 138 classic rooms and 44 executive rooms. Access is via a new purpose-built bridge and the underground car park is free to residents.
The hotel is sleekly modern and features glass walls and lifts to take full advantage of a pleasant setting overlooking the banks of the Lee. A spacious lobby has plentiful comfy seating and a browsing library of undemanding travel and Irish-interest books. There is, unusually, no clock. Staff are very friendly and good-humoured.
A cheerful receptionist confirmed that the room was smoking - as requested. However, it subsequently transpired there was no ashtray in the room. A query to reception prompted the odd response: "Oh, we only provide one if you ask?" And could one be sent up? No problem at all. But it never appeared. Micheál Martin's influence?
Still, the second floor smoking room with no ashtray offered soothing views of the river as compensation. A Rejuvenate bed specially selected from the King Koil pillow-top range was very comfortable. A good-sized bathroom had separate bath and shower units and underfloor heating. But the Judith Jackson toiletries which allegedly promote benefits to life, body and spirit were no great shakes.
Operating the 25-inch widescreen LCD television was reasonably idiot-proof but trying to find Morning Ireland on a mini-entertainment system with CD, radio, and iPod was a challenge. There's an extensive library of CDs available from reception. Who has the time? All the rooms have complimentary broadband, but if you don't have a laptop there's a business centre on the first floor with two PCs offering free internet access.
Hotel room rates are bewilderingly complicated. A night at Jurys Cork Hotel can cost anywhere between €99 and €289 with the website listing 14 different price permutations.
For a recent midweek overnight visit the standard rate for a classic room was quoted as €249. But a quick scan of the website secured a whopping saving of €140 - by opting for a last-minute special price of €109. Advance payment was required on a non-cancellable and non-refundable basis.
The website listed prices ranging from €169 to €289 for the same room on the same night! The rates are per room, not per person, so if you're sharing it would be difficult to find better value in a Cork hotel of this quality.
A lunchtime snack of a bog-standard chicken sandwich and a cup of coffee in the Weir Bar cost €11.45.
There is a pleasant decked terrace overlooking the water for mild days and nights.
The Weir Bistro's dinner menu is what foodies call modern Irish with at least a nod to local produce. Starters include West Cork chowder and Cork goats' cheese (both €9). Main course dishes include whole roast seabass for €26 and a 120g T-bone steak for €28.
Breakfast was not included in the room rate. It costs €12.95 for the light version and €17 for the full variety.
Like most new Irish hotels there's a spa, called Urban Retreat, which offers the ubiquitous treatments which are so inexplicably popular.
A promotional leaflet trumpets that Oxygen the Revolution has arrived in Ireland, and a five-minute shot of clean air to kick-start your body before a hectic day at the office costs a sharp-intake-of-
breath-inducing €30. Or you could just walk to that meeting.
The hotel is part of the (much-shrunken) Jurys Doyle Hotels group which also operates Dublin's Jurys Croke Park Hotel and the five-star Westbury, as well as hotels in Bristol, London, Boston and Washington. It is not to be confused with the Jurys Inn chain which operates a separate hotel on Cork's Anderson's Quay.
Jurys Cork Hotel is probably the city's best option for business visitors, but also offers a smart and comfortable base for citybreak tourists. The city centre's St Patrick's Street is just a few minutes walk from the entrance and UCC's lovely campus is even closer. Sky Link's shuttle bus provides an hourly service to and from Cork Airport.
The rates are per room, not per person, so if you're sharing it would be difficult to find better value in a Cork hotel of this quality
WhereJurys Cork Hotel, Western Road, Cork. Tel 021-4252700 www.corkhotels.jurysdoyle.com
What Four-star hotel close to Cork city centre.
Rooms182 en suite guest rooms. Check the website for rates and special offers.
Food and drinkThe Weir Bar has light meals and snacks all day and evening; the Weir Bistro serves breakfast every day, lunch on Sundays only, and dinner from 6pm to 10pm Monday to Saturday.
Child-FriendlinessThe hotel is not recommended for children.
AmnitiesLeisure centre with 18m indoor pool; Urban Escape Spa with six treatment rooms. For business executives, a dedicated meetings floor offers eight air-conditioned suites.