You spot the prices, we ask the questions...
Breakfast fit for a king's ransom
Recently PriceWatch reader Kevin O'Rourke met some business colleagues for breakfast in the Mont Clare Hotel in Dublin city centre and was alarmed to be confronted with a bill of more than €13 for his less-than-hearty breakfast.
"My co-diners all had a full meal. I opted for a cup of coffee and a croissant," he says, "I was charged €13.49. I queried this, but was told that it was a standard charge for breakfast. Surely this is the most expensive coffee in Ireland?"
It is indeed a high price to pay for a continental breakfast, but closer study of the menu might have saved our reader the expense.
PriceWatch contacted the Mont Clare and was told that the hotel's breakfast service is made up of an all-you-can-eat buffet which has a set price of €13.49.
A coffee and croissant costs the same as five pastries, four plates of bacon and eggs, and 12 coffees might, so readers may wish to avoid the buffet unless they're feeling hungry.
What's more...
PRECIOUS MEMORIES...A number of readers have been in touch to alert others to the benefits of shopping around when buying digital camera accessories. Thomas Kinsella from Dublin was in the market for a 512 MB XD memory card and looked in four shops all within a mile of each other in Dublin city. For the same size card he was quoted €58, €75, €85 and €99.99 - or more than 75 per cent more than the best price in the city. The cheapest, he says, was John Gunn Cameras on Wexford Street.
Another reader, looking for the same product, went further afield and again he found Gunn's to be the cheapest in the city. He also found a number of outlets selling the 512 MB memory cards for €100. A third reader, Niall Cahill, says that in addition to shopping around in Dublin he looked into the prices in the UK and found that digital camera outlets routinely sell memory cards for between €50 and €60.
THIRSTY WORK...Chris Flynn writes to complain about the high cost of water at the UCI cinema in Blanchardstown. During the summer he says, the concession stand at the cinema was charging €2.75 for a half-litre bottle of water and similar prices for small bottles of soft drinks. "How are they allowed charge such high prices for these items? I don't buy any food or drink at the cinema now due to the high prices. Do any of your readers feel the same?" he asks.
