I chose to stay at this hotel knowing that it did not have a city centre location yet was fairly accessible in around 5 mins by car - it advertised the attributes of a quiet country hotel.
Because of a disability I asked to be placed in a conveniently located room prior to my arrival. (The room I was allocated was on the 2nd floor close to the lift which was fine as I didnt have to walk long distances)
On arrival I was happy enough with the room. In the evening following a long journey to get there I wanted to get to sleep early but was unable to because music from a wedding reception continued until after 3am.
When that stopped i was kept awake even longer (and awoken early) by heating / ventilation equipment and/or lift motors - I would compare sound levels to a running car engine not far from a window - until then it had been masked by the sounds from the wedding. I had to resort to trying to sleep using in-ear headphones to block out the noise.
I complained at reception the following morning and agreed to change rooms to a quieter part of the hotel - I didnt realise until trying to have an early night following a long day sightseeing that the second room was directly above the hotel bar - I mean literally over the bar - I could hear every word of every song (this room was on the first floor - the hotel accomodation was over 2 floors). I found this hugely distressing considering my previous nights experience. When i called reception i was assured that the music would stop by 11.30 but it continued until 1am.
The next morning I was offered a change of room yet again but didnt feel I wanted to stay there any longer and so left a day early cutting short my trip. This was my first time in Galway.
Needless to say my experience of my stay here has been overshadowed by the truly awful location of the rooms. This hotel may be a good place to stay at if you are attending an event but not so if you want a quiet relaxing place to stay independently.
I was offered discount voucher for a future stay but declined this when checking out.
- Westwood Hotel Galway
