Should I stay in a hotel or B&B?
Bed and breakfast accommodations are the most widely recognized throughout all of Ireland. There are a wide variety of styles to chose from and they're affordable. You'll find a varied selection from town and country homes, manor houses, townhouses, castles cottages, family homes, etc.

Guesthouses are large B&Bs that also offer a few more amenities, such as TVs in the room and may even offer an evening meal.

Hotels are generally only found in the larger towns and cities though there are a few around the countryside as well. They offer the standard hotel amenities, some with leisure centers. They will cost you a lot more than a B&B.

For detailed descriptions of accommodations in Ireland click here.

What does "en suite" mean?

The term "en suite" refers to bathroom amenities. An en suite room means that a full bathroom is in your room. You won't have to walk down the hall or share with another room.

All hotels and guesthouses will have en suite rooms. Most B&Bs are moving towards all en suite rooms, though some will be very tight.

Not all bathrooms are handicapped accessible so be sure to ask if you have special needs.

Some B&Bs may have a partially private bathroom, meaning the bathroom is private for your room but not in the room itself, rather beside the room. And others may have a pair of rooms with a bathroom between them, which is ideal for a family with parents in one room and kids in another with a shared bathroom for their use only.

Standard rooms have shared bathrooms with other rooms in the house. Room rates are less than en suite rooms for this inconvenience.

Is there a benefit to using vouchers?
There are benefits and drawbacks to using vouchers on your holiday. I'll attempt to lay out both here.

Benefits :

You don't have to carry as much cash - supplements may still apply, such as to upgrade from standard room to en suite.
They're part of a self-drive package.

Drawbacks:

Can be used for B&Bs only.
Not all B&Bs accept vouchers.
Of those B&Bs that do take vouchers, many will not be open in the off-season, or they may not accept them in peak travel season (May through September) or on the weekends.
Innkeepers will not accept them during festival or special event times of the year.
Innkeepers reserve the right to refuse them at any time, either during your stay, at the time of booking, or at the door. **If you are standing at the door beside a cash paying guest and there is only one room available, the cash paying guest will be given the room!

Other things to consider:

Innkeepers are continually having trouble getting reimbursed for the vouchers so are less likely to accept them, even if they're listed as taking them in the guides.
You pay full price for the voucher and get full services from the innkeeper, yet the innkeeper only gets paid on average half of the voucher price. The voucher seller is making the money.

At one time, vouchers were an excellent way to travel. They benefited everyone involved. For the guest, it meant no cash handling and ease of free travel as most B&Bs took vouchers.

Should I tip the innkeeper?

In most cases the answer is NO. Your room rate includes all services by the innkeeper, including cleaning the room, preparing breakfast, offering advice, etc. Exceptions to this rule would include:

If the innkeeper allowed you to use the laundry facilities and didn't charge you for it.
If you're on vouchers, per above, and you found the services excellent knowing the above about this form of travel.
If the innkeeper goes above and beyond your expectations of service.

Should I bring the innkeeper a gift?

Again, in most cases the answer will be NO. Unless you've been corresponding with the innkeeper and have become friends in the process then you won't know them so it's unnecessary to bring gifts. Gifts are reserved for friends. Giving a gift to someone you don't know may seem like a generous thing to do but will make your innkeeper feel extremely uncomfortable, as if you expect to then get the room discounted or for free. This may intimidate the innkeeper which could reflect on the level of service he/she would normally give you.

If you've stayed in this accommodation previously, if the innkeeper is a close friend of one of your friends, or if the innkeeper is a close personal friend of yours then NO, do not bring gifts.

If you DO know the innkeeper for whatever reason and are looking for ideas for a gift for your next visit, here are some suggestions:

Give them something that reflects the area where you live. Ideally it should be something the innkeeper can't get in Ireland, such as items made by local artisans, or hard to find wines or possibly something you've made yourself. Other locally made items would include artisan cheese, small vineyard wines, local brewhouse beers, artisan chocolates, locally made pottery, etc.
Sweatshirt with your town or state name or image as it also reflects your area.
Duty Free items - Most Irish appreciate Duty Free items, such as alcohol and perfume. When they go on holidays abroad these are some of the items they'll bring home with them as gifts for family and friends. Popular alcohol purchases includes various Irish whiskey's such as Jameson, Powers and Bushmills. Most perfumes in Duty Free are high end products such as anything by Christian Dior, Yves St Laurent and Georgio Armani.