This B&B (which, by the way, has moved further up on Antrim rd) was simply the wrong choice for us, especially when the room price didn't include breakfast, while another B&B on the same street offered the same price breakfast included.

What the other reviewer said about dirty shower mats is true - the hand towel was dirty when we checked in and there was a half-empty coca-cola bottle behind the bed. We checked in on a Thursday and by Monday nobody had yet cleaned the ensuite facilities!!!!! I had to point it out to the manager, who then "cleaned" it to the satisfaction of the owner, who thought now the shower was "spotless" and the mold on the curtain shower was a "detail". In fact, when I first told the owner, he replied I could do it myself, showing me the cupboard with the cleaning tools!!! The shower was cleaned again the following Sunday by the French employee, the only understanding person there, again after I complained to him I shouldn't be changing by myself the towels and the bed-sheets and emptying the bins! Were we paying for a ROOM or just a BED, after all?

Unfortunately, we couldn't change B&Bs because they had demanded that we pay all the money in advance (for all 12 nights!), so we had to endure sleeping there until the end of our stay in N. Ireland. The manager said they ask for all the money in advance because if people booked for a certain period of time but then left earlier, they'd have turned away other customers saying they're booked. Funny, considering most of their 7 rooms remained empty during those 12 nights we stayed there! And I certainly sympathize with all other customers who decided to cut their stay short - I wish we could have done so as well!

A difficult review to write as Geraldine and her Saturday breakfast cook were both welcoming and great to talk with, however the accommodation was below average. Both of our rooms were small with tiny ensuites, broken shower head supports and problematic water flow, making it difficult to shower and impossible to wash hair. Standard of cleanliness is ok but not great, I'm sure our shower mat had been used previously.
On arrival we were told that there had been a mixup by staff and the twin room we'd booked was not available for the first night, however we suspect it had been given away to walk-in guests who arrived earlier than we did. Instead we were given a double bedroom at the front, which was stuffy but unable to open windows for fresh air due to traffic noise outside which lasted almost all night, making it near-impossible to sleep. However, the 2nd room used by one of our party was not overlooking the street and was quiet.
TV, tea/coffee not available in the rooms, only in the small guest lounge area. No probs with breakfast, nothing flash but aok.
The locality is quite a walk from the city area and from the hotel in the other direction which served a great meal but was too far to walk, particularly as the neighbourhood is quite seedy and we didn't feel entirely safe out and about.
All in all, despite the folk at McCracken's being hospitable, we wouldn't stay here again, although thought it would probably do stag/hen's parties, backpackers etc. We also had to ask for a receipt from the foreign student who took our cash payment, he seemed a little reluctant but we weren't comfortable with leaving without proof of cash payment.

Of all the B&Bs we stayed at in Ireland (both North and South), this one was at the bottom end of our list. The building and room were clean, save for the bathroom, which was fairly clean but not as spotless as we had seen in other establishments. The quality of the fixtures was on the low end of the scale. Also, the showerhead holder was broken and there was no shelf for shampoo or soap, so that made showering a little more difficult. In addition, the toilet paper holder was falling off of the wall.

The other minuses were the walk to the downtown core (a little long, made to feel longer because the area the B&B is in a little on the drab side), and the breakfast wasn't as good as in any other B&Bs we'd stayed in. The scrambled eggs were watery and the orange "juice" appeared to be an orange drink. Also, the ambience and lighting made it feel more like a hotel than a homey B&B. It would also be nice if there were TVs in the rooms instead of having just one common TV room.

On the plus side, the room was affordable (compared to the general cost of things in Northern Ireland), and the proprietress was very friendly. Also, the room, which was at the back of the house, was very quiet at night.

We booked this B&B on the basis of the positive reviews. After much confusion with the booking over the previous week we booked in early with a friendly Irish lady - the last of our warm Irish welcome as thereafter service was from foreign hired hands. The walk to town was definitely twenty minutes on a rainy afternoon. The rooms were clean and tidy, the shower closets miniscule with shower heads that could not be hung up. Our rooms faced onto the Antrim road which on a warm wet Friday night was extremely noisy until about five am.