Irish Cottage Inn & Suites — Hotel in Galena

We haven’t even made it to our reservation yet and I’m so unimpressed I’m leaving a review prior to checkin. Our reservations are for tonight and tomorrow night for my birthday. I booked with the hotel for two reasons, they have in room jacuzzis and they have a day spa. I scoured the website when I made the reservations to find out how to book with the day spa. There is no information on the website at all about booking any of their treatments that are advertised. We are literally driving to the hotel as I type this and I called to speak with someone about making a reservation for tomorrow at the spa. The woman told me there was nothing available and that I should have called before? There is no information on the website stating they do not keep appointments available for guests staying at the hotel. What if I didn’t want a massage when I booked the reservation literal weeks in advance but after decided to get one for my birthday and now I can’t? Why did I even book at this hotel if I can’t use the amenities? I do not recommend.

We checked into our traditional king suite with jacuzzi and the rooms are smaller than other comparable rooms we have stayed in. The room was featured as having a patio for access to the parking lot. However, there is no way to either lock or unlock the patio door from the parking lot. Again, another advertised amenity that can’t actually be utilized.

Our next issue is the jacuzzi tub! The tub in our room did not have a stopper. I looked all over the room for it. I even checked the other bathroom and could see that the plugs are screwed into the tub itself. I went to the front desk to inform them that we had a problem and the woman that checked us in just kind of looked at me confused. Another woman came out and asked me if I looked for the plug? Someone actually asked me if I searched the room for the thing which should have been attached to the actual jacuzzi tub. I told her of course I looked. After some hesitation they moved us to another room, which they told us was an upgrade.

We got into the new room and the mini fridge actually WREAKS. The odor inside of it is so bad that it clings to metal cans that you take out and makes the beverages taste foul. On top of that, we didn’t find out until the following morning the fridge wasn’t even plugged in. So the $95 dinner we had the night before at the hotel restaurant went completely to waste.

And since I mentioned the dinner, let’s talk food. The restaurant is good, but insanely overpriced. I have never in my life been charged $24 for an order of fish and chips even in London. We had one appetizer, two entrees, a beer and a root beer and it was almost $95. Then there is the breakfast. They charge you $20 per night for their included breakfast? And it’s the quality and variety you would find at a Holiday Inn for...

DISAPPOINTING! I seldom leave a bad review, but felt it was necessary. We have always had a wonderful stay here for years, until recently. We were so disappointed! The Irish Cottage was always so nice & clean, good food, fun entertainment, pleasant staff, with a charming Irish theme & a beautiful spa vibe experience. NOT anymore! Maybe it was purchased by a corporate hotel chain. (?) Check in girl was rude. Charged more than quoted per night. We asked for a lower level room instead, for entry convenience and poor location. She said yes, then after looking at computer screen, said no, nothing else available! Proceeded to say she could not change or upgrade, since it was 3rd party booked reservation. Ok, good to know, so if there is a problem with the room, they will not let you change rooms. Not accomodating at all! Charged around $200 more to our card, JUST IN CASE we charged anything in the gift shop or the restaurant to our room. We didn't, so that was not on our final bill. We expected from website the new additional $20 per day charge for things we did not use. - pool, tea time, gym. We did eat the continental breakfast - which must be open to the public? Unlike before, is now only accessible through the front door entrance for guests & the general public, so we must've paid for them too. No one ever asked for our room key or a ticket at the door to prove we were guests, so we seated ourselves. Buffet ran out of plates, tables & chairs were dirty with food scraps. A nice plate of food used to be delivered hot from kitchen to the table, now just a buffet - cold & bland. We visited the restaurant one night, but after reviewing the menu, nothing sounded appealing. I asked for a margarita, but server said no tequila offered, though there was a stocked bar visible. As we left without ordering food or drinks, she didn't seem surprised. The room - Studio king room was expensive, but plain. Located above the noisy lobby & kitchen, with burnt food smell early in the mornings. Window view was of the party deck just below. Bathroom was filthy, corners had not been cleaned in a while, fixture had bugs in it. Mattress was hard. Turn down service only if requested and before 10am now. Shuttle available, but have to call for pick up instead of hourly run. Conveniently located to downtown, but no longer worth the money. Goodbye Irish Cottage - Sadly, we will seek other accomodationsp,...

Wondering about where to stay, eat, drink and have loads of fun the next time you visit beautiful Galena, Illinois? Well, we highly recommend The Irish Cottage Inn and Suites and their on-sight, authentic Irish pub, Frank O'Dowd's.

We recently stayed there, connecting with family and friends and will forever be grateful for their incomparable hospitality during our stay and gathering at the Pub.

To begin, they were able to accommodate a block of rooms for us with only a couple weeks' notice! In addition, they had the sensitivity to put all of us on the same floor! It was so nice being neighbors with our usually-distant relatives over those few days.

We also had the honor of meeting Joshua, their F&B Director, who graciously worked with us (again on short notice) to provide a perfect space at Frank O'Dowd's for a gathering of family and friends. Turns out, an unanticipated party of 16 showed up at the same time our reserved-party of 40+ started to arrive. The entire staff rose to the occasion, including their on-sight managers, taking care of both parties with the utmost professionalism throughout the evening!

Across our entire time spent at this wonderful establishment, we were fortunate to befriend their amazing person on staff, Bruce. We met Bruce who was our bartender and waiter (upon our request) on the first night. He continued to be an integral part of our stay, wearing many hats at both the Inn and the Pub. Bruce embraces the true spirit of 'hospitality' and we will forever be grateful for his kindness, compassion and generosity!

Did we mention the food?! Authentic Irish and delicious options including Bangers & Mash, Shepherd's Pie and Fish & Chips! The complimentary, hot breakfast for the Inn's guests is exemplary! Real scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, various breads, old school oatmeal...What a rare and wonderful breakfast experience!

Our room (standard King) was clean, modern with very comfy bedding. It was surprisingly quiet despite the busy traffic on US20.

We cannot recommend The Irish Cottage Inn and Suites and Frank O'Dowd's enough! Their staff throughout the entire establishment were friendly and welcoming and we will always stay there when we...