What I Liked
- One of the only international hotel brands in Cork
- Swimming pool
- Decent breakfast
- Kids club
- In room Nespresso Machine
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I had 4 nights at the Radisson Blu Cork. We used the hotel as a base to visit Cork and the surrounding area.
The hotel was a solid a choice. A modern, 4* hotel with a hydrotherapy swimming pool and spa. The breakfast was really good.
They also have a kids club, open from 5pm to 9pm. I didn’t know this when I booked the hotel. But I was happy to make my kids someone else’s responsibility for a few hours!
The Radisson Blu is one of the few international hotel brands in Cork. This was why I booked the hotel. With an international brand, you can expect a consistent service.
I took loads of photos. Each of the photos can be clicked, to open out the full slideshow.
I had 4 nights at the Radisson Blu Cork and, unusually for me, I paid full whack. €700 for a family room, bed and breakfast. No deal, no clever points hack. That's the Irish hotel market for you, and I'll explain why the prices sting a little more here than back home in England.
There's plenty to like. A hydrotherapy pool, a Nespresso machine in the room, and Barry's tea on tap. Any Irish tea drinker will tell you that last one matters. But it's an honest review, so a warning too: there was no fridge in my room, and my beer paid the price. Warm. The pool has its quirks as well, and I'll get into why it felt more like the local leisure centre than a hotel spa.
What the Radisson Blu Cork does really well is sit as a base. You're 10km from Cork city and 15km from the airport, just off the motorway next to a retail park on Little Island. Not glamorous, but genuinely handy for exploring the city and county Cork.
One thing worth sorting before you go: a car. This part of Ireland really opens up when you can drive, and the big rental firms are a nightmare here (I've had one take a €3,500 deposit in Ireland). I now book through Local Car Rentals instead, where deposits are far smaller and the fees don't ambush you.
The Radisson Blu Hotel Cork Ireland is one of the few chain hotels in Cork. I paid €700 for 4 nights for a family room. Bed and breakfast rate.
I didn’t get any sort of deal. This is very unusual for me. But when you stay in remote locations, it’s more difficult to get a deal.
I live in England. The Irish hotel market is very different to the English one. In England, there are far more chain hotels. Because of this, hotels are normally cheaper in England. In England, it’s normally possible to find a Holiday Inn for $80/night.
This is probably because the population of England is much larger. Ireland has 5 million people in it. England has a population of 56 million. Ireland is 65% the size of England. So it’s far more sparse.
Most of the hotels in Ireland are small independent B&Bs, or grand country houses. I found these hotels to be more expensive than comparable ones in England. If you want to save money, your only options are hostels or campsites. AirBnB is quite expensive here too.
Radisson have a loyalty programme, so it’s possible to book with points. You get a rebate of 0.2 cents per Radisson Point. So it doesn’t matter where you use your points — they will have the same value.
The Radisson Blu Cork Ireland is a really good base for exploring Cork city and county Cork. That's exactly what we used it for. It sits just outside the city centre — 10km away, and the drive took me 15 minutes. Cork Airport is about 15km out, 20 minutes by car. The hotel itself is just off the motorway, next to a retail park, on Little Island. That name does a lot of heavy lifting: it's an industrial and business park estate rather than anything picturesque. Warehouses, office units, a golf club and the retail park. Handsome, it is not. But it's quiet at night. Everything is flat and easy to park, and you're pointed straight at the N25 in both directions.
Getting in from Cork Airport, a taxi is the only direct option. There's no airport bus that drops you at the door — the airport coach runs into the city centre, so going by public transport means going into town first and back out again. Fine if you're counting every euro. Less fine with two kids and a suitcase each, which is why I pre-book with Welcome Pickups instead. It costs more than the bus, obviously, but the price is fixed before you land, the driver is standing there when you walk out, and nobody has to explain "Little Island" to a stranger at 11pm.
If you're arriving with the whole family and half of Ireland's luggage, look at a bigger vehicle rather than squeezing into a standard taxi. Grab a transfer here and you can pick the car size and see the fare up front, which beats the arrivals-hall guessing game. The trade-off is you need to book ahead — turn up hoping and you're back to whatever's on the rank. For a 20-minute run from the airport it's a small bit of admin for a very calm arrival.
The train is the surprise here. Little Island has its own railway station on the Cork–Cobh and Cork–Midleton line, and it's a short walk from the hotel. Trains into Kent Station take around 10 minutes and run roughly every half hour through the day. So you can leave the car at the hotel, ride in for dinner, and never think about parking in Cork at all. The catch is the timetable. Miss one and you're standing on a platform in a business park for 30 minutes — not the spiritual high point of any holiday. Worth it anyway. Which is pretty cool.
What really makes this spot work is what's east of you rather than west. Fota Wildlife Park and Fota House are the next stop down the same railway line — about 6km by road, 10 minutes in the car. Cobh, with the Titanic Experience and St Colman's Cathedral, is around 16km away and takes 20 minutes to drive. Both are on that same train line too.
Heading the other way, Blarney Castle is roughly 20km from the hotel, about 25 minutes by car on a good run. Midleton and the Jameson Distillery are around 15km east — another 20-minute drive.
For the city itself, the English Market, St Fin Barre's Cathedral and Shandon Bells all sit within the centre and within walking distance of each other once you're in. So you only need to solve the journey in. After that, Cork is a small, walkable city. Honestly, though: this is not a location you stay in for the location. Nobody has ever stood in a business park car park and felt their soul lift. What it is, is a genuinely brilliant launchpad — a motorway junction, a railway station and a car park. Exactly what you want when the plan is to be out all day.
One thing worth saying plainly, because the search results get it wrong: the Radisson Blu Cork is in Little Island, on the eastern edge of the city. I've seen it filed under Offaly online, which is a different county entirely and about two hours away. If you're booking Radisson Blu Cork Ireland and the map looks odd, that's why.
Little Island itself is a business park with a railway station attached. That's the honest description. But it means you're a junction off the N25 and a short walk from a train that runs into Kent Station, which is more than most Cork hotels can say.
Walk the English Market. It's right in the centre of Cork and it costs nothing to wander round. Butchers, fishmongers, cheese counters and a smell that hits you at the door. I'd go in the morning, when the traders are still in a chatty mood.
Cork Midleton Distillery Jameson Experience & Whiskey Tasting
Midleton is around 15km east of the hotel, about a 20-minute drive. You can book here for $36, and it's rated 4.8* from over 770 reviews. You get a guided tour of the old distillery and a tasting at the end. The honest caveat: someone has to drive back, so decide who's on lemonade before you set off.
Cork City Ramble
A walking tour of the city with a local guide, $35, rated 4.8* from over 260 reviews. Book your ticket here. Cork is small and walkable once you're in, so this is the easy way to make sense of it on your first day. Bring a coat. It's Ireland.
Ring of Kerry Day Tour from Cork, including Killarney National Park
The premium pick, and the one I'd clear a whole day for. Grab your spot here for $69, rated 4.5* from over 730 reviews. Someone else drives the coach road while you look out of the window at some of the best scenery in Ireland. It's a long day though, so it's not one for tired legs or very small children.
The hotel is located over 2 floors. With parking spaces around the outside. The hotel has the following facilities:
The hotel has a modern decoration. The lobby is really nice, with some classy pieces of furniture and a grand piano.
The brasserie is on the ground floor. It’s an all-day bar and restaurant. Breakfast is served here.
The gym, spa and swimming pool are also on the ground floor.
This hotel had a bit of an identity crisis! It has a swimming pool and a kids club, but it’s not a resort. You can’t stay at this hotel for a week, and not go out anywhere.
It’s not a country house hotel either. There aren’t large grounds. It’s not a city hotel either. Cork city is too far away.
The hotel is a cross between a city hotel, country house and a resort!
I think this hotel is ideal to use as a base for exploring the local area. You can then come back in the evening and use the pool. Or send your kids to the kids club.
There’s a small kids playground. With a slide, see-saw, swing etc. It’s really a playground for smaller kids.
One thing worth knowing about the badge on the door: Radisson Blu only became Radisson Blu in 2009. Before that it was Radisson SAS, a name that goes back to the airline that started the whole thing. The very first one was the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, which opened in 1960 and was designed top to bottom by Arne Jacobsen — the furniture, the cutlery, the lot. Often called the world's first design hotel.
So when I say the lobby at the Radisson Blu Cork has some classy pieces in it, that's not an accident. It's a brand with actual design pedigree in its DNA, even when the branch in question is sat next to a retail park off the N25.
Radisson Blu is a brand I keep coming back to for family trips, and it doesn't always land the same way. My Radisson Blu Paris Disneyland review is the one to read if you want to see what the brand does when it's actually trying to impress families.
If you're weighing up a city-centre base instead, my Kimpton Edinburgh hotel review is a useful counterpoint. Brilliant location, and I still didn't like it — the reasons might save you a booking.
The spa is on the ground floor alongside the pool and gym. That's part of why the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Cork sells itself as a spa hotel rather than a business-park stopover. Officially it's the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Little Island Cork, and the spa is doing a lot of the work in that name.
There's one restaurant in the Radisson Blu Cork. The brasserie on the ground floor.
It's an all-day bar and restaurant, and it's where breakfast is served — which was one of my favourite things about the Radisson Blu Hotel Cork. Fresh sourdough, a proper full Irish, and Barry's tea. Not a destination restaurant, but a genuinely good start to the day.
I stayed in room 165, on the 1st floor. I booked a family room. I stayed in here as a family of four. It was a modern room with the following features:
I am a Radisson Gold. I’m eligible for room upgrades, but I don’t think I got one on this occasion.
In terms of view. The room was looking towards the outside, rather than the interior. With a view of the car park.
I was really impressed with in room tea and coffee facilities. There was a heavy duty Nespresso Machine. There was also a tea selection from Barrys. Barrys is a popular Irish brand.
I had a couple of cups of tea. Irish Breakfast. Which I enjoyed. The Nespresso machine looked so impressive, that I made sure to try it. I enjoyed it. Although, my palate can’t appreciate good coffee!
The décor of the room was modern, like the rest of the Radisson Blu Hotel Cork.
The bathroom was pretty small. With a bathtub, rather than a shower.
On the loyalty side, being a Radisson Gold at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Cork didn't get me much on this stay. No upgrade that I could tell, and a view of the car park. Which is the honest version of loyalty status — sometimes it lands, sometimes the hotel is full and you get what everyone else gets.
The bathtub-instead-of-shower thing is the detail I'd want to know before booking. If you're a quick-shower-before-breakfast person, factor it in.
The breakfast was one of my favourite things about the Radisson Blu Cork. There were a variety of well-made dishes. With a full Irish breakfast and continental items. I had a good breakfast on each of my four days.
The following dishes were on offer:
I tried the baked beans, mushrooms, roast potatoes and toast. The bread was excellent. Fresh sourdough that I cut myself. The mushrooms were decent. Although not as good as I make at home! The potatoes weren’t the best. Not flavoursome.
I tried the porridge too. They made it with water, which I’m not a fan of. I use a mixture of water and milk when I make porridge.
I tried the pancakes. They have a pancake maker, which makes small pancakes. They were pretty good.
I had a cup of Barry’s tea each day. It was excellent.
Overall, I liked the breakfast.
One thing I'd flag: breakfast at the Radisson Blu Cork is busy. Go at the back end of the service and the pancake maker has a queue of children attached to it. Go early and you get the sourdough before it's been picked over.
And the tea. I know it's a small thing, but Barry's at breakfast in the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Cork is the detail I'd tell an Irish reader about first. Proper tea, unlimited, every morning. The porridge made with water I can forgive.
The Radisson Blu has a hydrotherapy pool on the ground floor. The pool is quite large. There’s also a sauna and steam room, next to the pool. This is a pretty cool facility for the hotel to offer. I used the pool once during my stay, with my kids. I was a little disappointed, to be honest. I went in the morning and the pool was very busy. There were kids swimming lessons and private swimming lessons taking place. The pool also requires all users to wear swimming hats in the pool. They enforce this rule strictly. It felt more like a council swimming pool, rather than a hotel swimming pool. As long as you have the right expectations, there shouldn’t be a problem. Don’t expect an oasis of calm. I was advised that the facilities are quietest in the afternoon.
Worth clearing up the name, because it trips people up in search. The full title is the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Little Island Cork, and that "& Spa" is doing a lot of work. What I found was a hydrotherapy pool rather than the candlelit, whale-music treatment suite the name conjures. Good for the kids. Less good if you booked expecting a day of being pummelled by a professional.
So set your expectations at the door. The Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Cork is a family hotel with a proper pool attached, not a destination spa. If a hydrotherapy pool and a swim before breakfast is what you're after, you'll be very happy here. If you want the full treatment-menu experience, check what's actually bookable before you commit.
The Radisson Blu has a kids club. Open each day from 5pm to 9pm.
It’s a small room with a TV and some games. Theres a couple of staff members that host games and activities.
Activities include board games, movies, disco and arts and crafts.
My daughter said that it’s not the best kids club that she’s been too. This isn’t surprising, she’s been to kids clubs at large resorts.
But it’s a great facility for the hotel to offer.
I stayed four nights at the Radisson Blu Cork with the family, and I'd stay again — but I'd go in knowing exactly what it is. The breakfast was the highlight. Fresh sourdough I cut myself, a proper full Irish, and Barry's tea every morning. The room had a Nespresso machine that looked far too serious for my palate, and a kids club from 5pm that took my children off my hands for a few hours. Which, frankly, was worth the €700 on its own.
It's not perfect. There was no fridge in the room, so my beer was warm. The pool felt more like a council leisure centre than a hotel spa — swimming lessons, compulsory swim hats, strictly enforced. Go in the afternoon and you'll have a better time of it. And the hotel has a bit of an identity crisis: not a resort, not a country house, not a city hotel. Sat next to a retail park off the motorway.
But that's also the point. Ten minutes from Cork by train, 20 from the airport by car, and pointed straight at Fota, Cobh and Blarney. If you want somewhere beautiful to sit still, this isn't it. If you want a comfortable, modern base to explore Cork city and county Cork from, with a decent breakfast waiting when you get back — the Radisson Blu Cork, Ireland does that job very well.