The Red Cow Inn in Dublin seemed situated in an endlessly incomplete road construction zone adjacent to one of the many and often confusing roundabouts that are a regular feature on Irish roads.  More on this later.

The

hotel itself (part of the Moran chain) was more than adequate featuring nice rooms, substantial furnishings and all the comforts of home if you’re a Donald Trump type.  The main offending item here is the “Trouser Press.”  This semi useless but admirably complex gadget is exactly the sort of thing you can buy on the Internet for 80% off the day after Fathers’ Day.  But enough of that.  The food was excellent, the service entirely adequate and frighteningly proper.  We were working on a business project while we stayed there and enjoyed the calm, insulated ambience the Red Cow provided.  We worked long hours and appreciated the 24-hour room service. 

The hotel restaurant was excellent and proper.  Very enjoyable.  Across the parking lot was another structure of the same name which is billed as one of Dublin’s top nightspots.  It is a large restaurant and pub with live music, good grub and a raucous crowd.  Worth a visit and some R and R time.

 The Red Cow stands almost as its own country because there’s nothing of note or interest to walk to and nothing but a construction maze of roads surrounding it.  So, if you jump in your car, within 20 minutes (except at rush hour) you can be downtown in the historic heart of Dublin visiting pubs, shops, Internet cafes or “Irish Fortune Tellers.”  On a whim, we dropped in to see one who informed me that I wasn’t an alcoholic (“Drink is not your master”) which came as no surprise since I don’t drink.  She also told me lots of other true data including the fact that I would marry Agnes.  Pretty astute.  I did.  Brilliant!!!!!!!!!  Grand!!!!!

But back to the Red Cow.  Roundabouts are built to speed the passage of cars in the four different directions the intersection provides, and, as is the modern fashion today, they have been “improved”, meddled with by fools who have installed traffic signals in the roundabout to snarl traffic and completely defeat the original purpose of building one.  So having navigated this absurdity, where the ability to see in all directs at once is not just desirable but necessary, the return drive to the Red Cow was always a welcome event.  Even the pub-grub in the hotel bar was excellent. 

 

If you have things to do and places to go in Dublin, the Red Cow will provide you with a terrific “home base”.  If you’re the type who needs a hotel to provide amusement and adventure, go somewhere else.

Geoffrey