Portmagee Hostel

Portmagee Hostel is a very clean, tidy, and comfortable place to stay, with excellent common spaces. It is suitable for single travelers, couples, and families. It is in a good location to use as a base while visiting the sights of Valentia Island and the Skellig Ring Road, which joins the Ring of Kerry. The staff are pleasant when greeting guests upon arrival. There is a relaxed cooperative feel to the place. There is no curfew so you can come and go as you please. It does not seem to be a party hostel. With its mix of age groups, families, and solo travelers, everyone tends to be considerate of the facilities and other guests of the hostel.

The Location

The hostel is easy to find as you drive from the south toward Portmagee, on the right-hand side of the road. It seems a car is the best way to get to Portmagee, but bicyclists would also enjoy this hostel. There is plenty of parking. The hostel is a good five-minute walk into town and the dock for boats that go to Skellig Michael. Right over the bridge from Portmagee is the Skellig Experience on Valentia Island. There is a very small Post grocery shop in Portmagee, which also sells wine. A larger grocery store that sells beer is located ten miles away in Caherciveen. So if you plan to do prepare meals, you might want to arrive with provisions.

Rooms and Bathrooms

The hallways, rooms and grounds are all clean, tidy, and seem well-maintained. The rooms are very clean with good mattresses, pillows, and linens. There are shelves in the room to put your belongings and a few places to hang things up. Electric outlets are accessible. The heaters work if you need to take the chill off in the evening. The rooms are located in three blocks, or sections of the buildings. The couple of buildings are right together so everything is in close proximity. There are six family rooms, six double en-suites, two standard doubles and eight twin/bunk rooms.

There are bathrooms in the various blocks, including some wheelchair accessible bathrooms. Some bathrooms only have a bathtub with a hand-held shower attachment. This is ok if you want to take a bath (narrow tub), but it is rather unworkable for taking a shower. So it might mean going to another block for a stand-up shower, or enjoy the chance to have a bath for a change. All en-suite and family bedrooms have showers.

Common Spaces

The common areas are excellent. There is a large kitchen with two complete working areas. Each end of the kitchen is set up with its own sink, stove top, microwave, coffee pot, toaster, fridge, cupboards, and good counter space. This setup makes it very practical for multiple guests to prepare their meals at the same time. There is plenty of cutlery, plates, bowls, glasses, cups, pots, and pans. There is a cabinet marked "For Everyone" that has things like sugar, coffee, and what seems to be items left behind for others to use. The dining area has four large tables, another table with brochures. This area is used for dining at mealtime, and also provides a working area to use a laptop/read.

There is a nicely furnished living room with chairs and sofas, tables, a TV, CD player, and a few games. The common spaces are much used by the guests for meals and later in the evening to play games, plan travel, watch TV, and access the internet. Free Wi-Fi is available in the common areas.

Summary

Overall, this is a very comfortable, friendly hostel. It feels homey and it is obviously well-maintained. It is a good place for families, couples, and people traveling alone or in a group. It is a good setup for preparing your own meals and socializing. And it is in a scenic part of Ireland.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
August 2011