My wife and I had a very nice stay for two nights at Pauline’s place in Cork during a longer road trip around Ireland. Overall we were very happy with the place and its location and a Pauline was a good host.
Location: good. fairly centrally located up on a hill just north of the city centre. It was about a 10-15 min walk to the city centre and there were other good bars and restaurants a bit closer on Maccurtain street. Note that is on a fairly steep hill so it’s a little bit of work out walking back to it. We were able to get street parking right out of front of the place but this may not be possible on busier days (street parking costs €1/hr during the day, free at night; you buy tickets at nearby convenience stores). If you’re parking for longer we did see reasonably priced carparks a block or two away, although we did not use them.
The place: we had access to the second story of a three story townhouse, which included a large bedroom and private bathroom. The bedroom had a nice little balcony with chairs and a table, and there is a pretty good view of the city. Pauline left a kettle and tea/instant coffee for us - she also let us keep some items in her fridge on the 3rd floor. The bedroom and bathroom were both quite nice and spacious and it felt fairly private. The toilet was a little wonky but Pauline showed us how to fix it if it’s acting up so it was not an issue. The house itself is quite old and dark (slightly eery at first, to be honest) but the guest area is overall quite nice. It’s very important to understand that you are staying within Pauline’s house (no separate entrance) so you will probably interact with her and others who live there (no other guests though).
Interactions with host: good. She reached out in advance to coordinate check in then gave us a tour of the place then helped us get our bearings in the city and gave us suggestions on things to do, places to eat.