the green gate

I am just arrived from Ireland, where I spent 15 days touring around the Island.
In general it was a lovely trip and a great experience.
However, the thing I thought it would be the highlight became the worst event of the trip.
I tell you:
The green gate is a B&B placed in Ardara, a little village in county Donegal.
I´ve never read so many excellent write up about a B&B as I read about it. For that reason I conditioned my trip to can stay there at least two nights.
I imagined a peaceful place where I would reduce the rhythm of my trip and I would have even time to read a book,
When I arrived, Paul Chatenoud, the owner, he helped me to reach the B&B, placed on the top of a hill 1mile far away from Ardara. Then we chated while we took a coffee and finally he volunteered to show me a bit of the outskirts of Ardara.
It was not my plan but I understood that as another token of irish kindness and I accepted to do it.
The unpleasant thig was when he tried to hold my hand, to take me by the arm, to hug me, even to kiss me. He made me feel very annoyed.
The next day I decided to spend the most of the time out of the B&B and I came back late, but he was waiting me. He offered me a cup of coffee and again he tried to hug me and to kiss me around my face. This time was worse than the day before because he told me that we were alone at the B&B. I was afraid of him.
I decided to pay him and he asked me 70€ each night and yet when I phoned him to make the reservation he asked me 45€ each night. In that moment I was scared and I payed him 140€.
During the night I could'nt sleep.
Next day, in spite of I was looking forward leaving the B&B as soon as posible I thought that I must demand to him part of my money, but when I arrived to the place where we usually had breakfast it was closed and I could read in a little sheet of paper " come in and call me". I didn´t dare and I left B&B in that moment.
Therefore, I don´t advise you this B&B, especially I don´t advise any girl travelling alone, as I did, to stay there.

If this is true, it might be sensible to tell the authorities - police, tourist board, etc. I don't know much about the law, but it looks like some laws were broken there.

and also get back to those sources of "excellent writeups".

If you are a troll, I admit to being suckered....

mteresa - (Mother Teresa?) did post here on 21st August where it does mention this place.

I was intrigued, so googled a bit.....

from hotelchatter.com -

The Sunday Times called the Green Gate B&B "the greatest little B&B in Ireland", Fodor's claimed this property was "one of the world's top establishments", and even the LA Times called it "the best B&B we have ever stayed in", but before you start clicking around for rates and availability you should know that the B&B-keeper "doesn't deal with Americans".

While this may seem a bit harsh, Green Gate's owner, Paul Chatenoud has his reasons:

It's not me that doesn't like Americans, it's Americans that don't like me. I've recently had 10 American couples who decided, once they saw the B&B, they didn't like it. Most didn't tell me to my face; they said they were going into town for a drink, then called up and cancelled, refusing to pay. The cottage is exactly how The Sunday Times described it: remote and basic.

It's got low ceilings, brown water -- but is in the most beautiful place in the world. Some Americans love it, most seem to hate it. They want an old cottage that is actually brand-new.

It's only Americans that this happens with and I can't take the risk any more. I have revised my website to warn that the Green Gate is the opposite of the American way of life. I advise Americans to come and look first, but not to book in advance.

Ugh, bailing on a hotel room without being upfront about it is so cowardly.

What exactly is Paul's web warning? Well there are many, but our favorite "yankee go home" sign on the Green Gate website is the on that says:

The Green Gate is not a fake, pink, new, stupid, American Disneyland Castle. It is a real, green, old, radiant Irish thatched cottage.

This guy rocks. He is up front and honest
=================================

Seems he has a lot to lose if mother theresa is right.

I will get some details for you in next day or 2 and PM you BUT you have to make an official complaint as scumbags like that will do it again and next time the person concerned may not be strong enough or confident enough to fight back.

At least Garda will then be aware of the situation and quite possibly this could get handled very locally very quietly.

peterscot, I´m not a troll. I would prefer to tell you only good things.
onlyMark, why you say "mother Teresa"?
Maybe I have less experience than you travelling around the world, maybe if I had travelled so much as you I would known to react better.
Of course, Paul never used force, and I could refuse and stop him everytime, but really I felt annoyed and I was afraid of him.
What should I tell the authorities, that a man tried to kiss me? that I was afraid because also he had the key of my room and I was the only customer that night?

teresa, I can fully understand you and I'm sure you are not trolling. It's a scary and absolutely annoying situation however 'harmless' it was meant to be. Men and women have different ideas what is harmless or not re sexual advances. I've experienced it quite often while travelling as a woman on my own, it happens everywhere in the world. I think you should write your experience to the tourist board.
Since I recommended the admittedly magic place in my own travel book on Ireland, I'll go and check with the landlord and/or take him out of the book at the next update.

You should have put your foot down, but that's not the question. The scandal is, that he tried his luck with you and scared you. Shouldn't happen.

On the note of the Americans: In this regard I can understand the landlord. I used to let guest rooms for tourists in my old thatched and quite remote cottage, and the Americans in general were the worst (not all of them though!). They were not only infamous in the area for booking several B&Bs in advance just to be on the safe side and to decide on the spot which one they prefer, without letting the other B&Bs know. But when staying in my cottage they more often than not complained about things like no TV in the room, no en-suite and no air conditioner, rooms too small, bathroom not up to hotel standard and what not. It's an old traditonal cottage fgs! And I charged only 25 euro per person!

Anyway, creeps like the landlord in Ardara should be outed. Name and blame, as it's done in Ireland.

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<hr>What should I tell the authorities, that a man tried to kiss me? that I was afraid because also he had the key of my room and I was the only customer that night? <hr></blockquote>

Er, yes. Plus the fact that he seems to have charged you E50 more than he quoted.

I doubt if this is the behaviour of a honest and decent B&B owner. If you don't complain, he'll continue doing it. I'm sure the guide books and the tourist authority would not recommend his place and say its one of the best in the world, if they believed he behaves like you describe.

(I thought you were a troll, because it was such an unusual story..)

What I wrote was "mteresa - (Mother Teresa?)". It is a natural connection because of the m with teresa, and the question mark denoted an uncertainty as to if it was correct or not. No more than that.

It seems to me, instead of a blanket ban on reservations by Americans, B&B's that have bad cancellation experiences could just start charging a deposit on reservations. Plenty of places do this anyway. I admit when I first read about The Green Gate, I was really excited, and thought about driving up and spending a few days there. Then I got to the American thing. It put me right off, but I'm sure it hasn't hurt his business any, and losing my custom probably puts him in no danger of bankruptcy!

But, OP, you should definitely report this somewhere more official than this forum. If he tried it with you, he'll try it with another person, who may or may not be as firm/lucky or bounce back as you have. I don't know how I'd react, but it would definitely have shaken me up and given me a few sleepless nights.

I'm so sorry this happened to you; please do report it.

If you read the reviews on Virtual Tourist you can see also it is very popular.
Though I am a bit disturbed that his web site The Green Gate offers very little information other than pages and pages of quotes and what has been written about the place. Seems a bit over the top.

Mteresa

Point is people like this will always push it. If he rapes someone who is not strong enough to have stood up to him is that acceptable ?

A complaint gets logged and a Garda visiting as a result of that complaint makes him fully aware of it.

Its a small place and people will know what goes on so and may warn others to be wary.

Most often, there are at least two-sides to every story - and I doubt this "incident" is any different. We've heard one rendition. Yes, it would be very bad if the owner of this establishment was behaving this way - but I've seen phony reports on TT before that were similar to what we're reading here. The OP should report the incident/behavior to tourism authorities and local police and provide us some feedback on that - or the thread should be deleted by TT moderators.

Mtresa, why waste our time with it if you will not report it to the police????????

Your accusations are serious, yet unfounded. I am still not sure whether to take it seriously or not. HOWEVER, If it is true and you were the victim of unwanted advances and overcharging as you claim, how does it make you feel to think that he is still free to do the same things to other female visitors BECAUSE YOU WOULD NOT REPORT HIM TO THE POLICE!!!! You have given him a free pass to carry on with the next girl. Well done to you.

It all sounds like a personal dispute to me, based on the above.

MTeresa:
So sorry to hear you had such a negative experience at the Green Gate. After you used my review to check it out I'm feeling kind of responsible in a way.
To Paul's credit, he never did try to hold hands with my wife or myself. Don't know what I would have done if he had!
He really was helpful to us when we arrived in what I still consider one of the most amazing viewscapes in Ireland. After a cup of tea he dug out a bottle of wine for us (since we couldn't pull ourselves away from what turned into an incredible sunset and go down that winding hill). Then he disappeared until breakfast the next day. Conversation was pleasant and his place really is a living work of art.
None of that should distract from what you went through though. If you're a single remale traveller, it's a challenge in itself and carraig nailed it pretty good.
To those who think you should run to the authorities, it sounds a bit self righteous to me. Imagine being in a foreign country and then having to deal with the police in a neighbourhood where the person you're complaining about could potentially be well known.
This all said, I really wouldn't mind sitting in the front yard at the old school desk watching the sun drop down over the bay. And if Paul tried anything funny, my wife might just take the boots to him.

Hello everybody. I want to thank you every answer. I´m thinking about them and about what should I do and where could I go, if I decided to do something finally.
Now I am quite busy in my work, more after my 2 weeks of holidays, and I need lot of time to understand every reply and to thing and to write my answer. So, as soon as possible I´ll try to answer you in a convenient way. thanks.

#14. The reason I suggest going to the authorities, is to clear this matter up. We have not heard this Paul's view. He seems to run one of the best B&Bs in the world and now his name is on a public forum saying he molests female guests and intimidates them into over-paying. Not trivial in the hospitality business.

When future clients search for info on his place this thread will come up. It could ruin him and his business, and he has no way of redressing this. I have seen other remote businesses go to the wall because of one, petty, negative review.

That's why I suggest involving the authorities - to prevent it happening again, and to give the guy a right to defend himself.

Innocent till proven guilty, or are we just assuming guilt?

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<hr>To those who think you should run to the authorities, it sounds a bit self righteous to me. Imagine being in a foreign country and then having to deal with the police in a neighbourhood where the person you're complaining about could potentially be well known. <hr></blockquote>
If the incident did occur and the OP doesn't report it - she is doing a huge disservice to travelers who may visit the place in the future. On the other hand, if the OP has another agenda here - something personal - such as her advances towards the man and his confronting her and saying "NO" - well, she's now badly damaged his reputation by posting such a report on TT . . . which is now archived in the www for all to see when they search the name of the B&B. Again - if the incident did occur a report should be filed . . . even from outside Ireland . . . or this discussion thread should be removed as an unfounded allegation. If someone has the email address for the place please post it and if nobody else will write to the man asking for his side of the story I will - and I'll post his response here for all to read.

Longford - My comment re my quote you quoted had to do more with the stress I'm sensing mteresa feels she was under than anything and how hard it is to deal with at the moment. When others then tell her what she should have done,I feel it would make what decision is made even harder. Could become quite a weight.
I can't find an email for Paul and I don't think he even has a computer. I believe he said it was a friend or neighbour who made and maintains the website for him.
There is a mailing address and contact number however.
Apparently he also writes articles for most of the major European newspapers, but I've never found any.

Publicity, even bad, is always good. I read the whole thread and now I want to stay at the BB with the creepy Paul, I will go with my hubby, of course, I am curious about the place.

I also think you talk about several issues here, sexual harrasment, cultural differences, women traveling alone, refusing service to Americans, little bit mixed up. Each toppic is interesting itself. Anyways, sorry you had a bad experience.

Just wish I knew how to post some pictures on this thing, it really is a spectacular location. Even have a picture or two of the infamous Paul, the 70+ French romantic.

Upload your photo to an online album site. Once uploaded copy the url for the photo, click on the "http" tab on the toolbar in the "Write Reply" box then when prompted give the link a title, click on "Send Reply" - and that's all you have to do.

Hello all,
I read your answer, I thought for a time and my conclusion was that I must write my experience to the tourist board.
In my opinion maybe the incident is not quite important to tell it to the police but I am sure the behaviour of Paul Chatenoud was not the behaviour of a honest B&B owner, so I' ll report it to the tourism authorities.
I'll tell you. Thanks for everything.

Unfortunately I didn't find this thread before I booked a room at the Green Gate because a very similar thing happened to me. I am a young, solo, female traveler.

I arrived at the Green Gate in Ardara, Donegal on May 16th and met my host Paul. He seemed very friendly as did all of my hosts at the B&Bs in Ireland. I went down to town to get dinner and he then showed up at the restaurant. He told me he recognized my car out front of the restaurant and since we didn’t have a chance to have tea earlier he figured he would catch up with me there. I thought he was trying to be hospitable. When I decided to leave, he then decided to leave. Upon returning to the Green Gate Paul was waiting for me to get out of the car and then told me to go to the edge of the parking lot and look at the view. Not wanting to be rude, I agreed. He followed and he then proceeded to kiss my cheek and try to take me by the hand. I found this behavior completely inappropriate! I quickly dismissed myself saying I was tired and ran back to my room feeling uneasy. Upon entering there were two cockroaches in the bathroom, not to mention dirt in the bathtub. I figured that was enough. I grabbed my things and went down to town and booked a different room at the Nesbitt Arms. The next morning at around 8AM Paul was banging at my door and when I called out “Who is it?”, he wouldn't even tell me who it was! He had lied to the girl at the counter and told her he was a good friend of mine and I was expecting him. He demanded payment saying he held the room for me. There were at least 3 other available rooms that evening so he certainly did not turn anyone away on my account. Even though I didn't even stay in the room for more than 5 minutes, I gave him the full amount (70 Euro). I really had no choice, I knew he wouldn’t leave without the money and judging from his behavior the evening before I didn’t really know what he was capable of. As he was leaving he proceeded to insult the fact that I was American and told me bugs are always in the countryside. I wrote negative reviews on all the websites and I contacted Failte Ireland (since the green gate is not registered with them they are unable to do anything about it) then I contacted the Health and Safety Board (also could not help). Then I contacted a public service group in Donegal that I was referred to (I haven't heard back as of yet) I saw a few people had mentioned signing a complaint with Garda. Does anyone know how I could do that? Thanks for any other info you may have

this just sounds more and more dodgy to me.....

#23 PM'd you with a suggested course of action that should move very quickly.