3-star hotel costs €5 less than lower grades

THREE-STAR hotels in Ireland cost €5 less per night than their one-star and two-star counterparts.

A survey of value-for-money at the country’s hotels revealed yesterday that the average three-star room costs €93.42 per night while one/two-star rooms check in at €98.55.

Experts believe the lower price reflects the level of competition within the sector, as well as an attempt to offer better value in the current economic climate.

Overall room rates have nose-dived since high summer, when the average nightly cost was €160.92 across the entire hotel industry, down to €136.54. The average was €143.06 in September.

The figures were contained in Hospitality Ireland’s Hotel Tracker Index, which surveyed prices from June until October.

They also show a wide disparity between hotels in each sector. In the five-star category, the Park Hotel in Kenmare costs €323 per room per night, while a room at the Lyrath Estate outside Kilkenny city is available for €150.

The four-star Louis Fitzgerald Hotel on the edge of Dublin has rooms for €79 per night, compared to €195 for the Davenport Hotel in the city centre while three-star prices range from €140 for a room at the Seven Oaks Hotel in Carlow down to €69 at the Ardboyne Hotel in Navan.

One/two-star rooms can cost anything from €79 at the Portobello Hotel on Dublin’s Grand Canal, to €124 at the Mill Times Hotel in Westport.

“The impact of the budget may yet be felt by Ireland’s hoteliers, but our figures indicate that many have already taken the initiative by lowering prices and becoming more competitive.

“That three-star hotels now appear more affordable than one and two-star hotels is a reflection of the level of competition that exists at three-star level,” said Hospitality Ireland deputy editor Stephen Wynne-Jones.

The prices are the “best available” for a double room for two people and, of the hotels included, only the Osprey Hotel & Spa in Naas (four-star) and O’Gara’s Royal Hotel in Roscommon (two-star) were booked out at the time of the survey.

October room prices

SOME hotel room prices in October.

Five-star

* Park Hotel, Kenmare €364 (RO).

* Dromoland Castle, Clare €323 (B&B).

* Capella, Castlemartyr €175 (RO).

* Four Seasons, Dublin €270 (RO).

Four-star

* Jurys Croke Park €89 (RO).

* Cashel Palace Hotel €195 (RO).

* Hilton Limerick €79 (RO)

Three-Star

* Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow €140 (RO).

* Kenmare Bay Hotel €69 (RO).

* Towers Hotel, Tallaght €89 (RO).

One/Two-star

* Commodore Hotel, Cobh €114 (RO).

* Mill Times Hotel, Westport €124 (RO).

* Portobello Hotel, Dublin €79 (B&B).

RO = room only.

B&B = bed and breakfast.