I'm a little confused by the word saor. Can you always tell if it means cheap or free depending on how it is used in a given sentence? For example, can this sentence:

an bhfuil an seomra saor?

mean "is the room cheap" or does it only mean "is the room free"?

Or how about:

níl sé saor

Does it mean both "its not free" and "its not cheap"?

In the dictionary they use the word - folamh - when describing rooms that are vacant, there's also - ar fáil - which means available. For free in the sense of not having to pay for it, you can say - saor in aisce. Otherwise it's a matter of context, as far as I can see.

I agree. Context is your best guide. Usually it will be pretty clear. For example, I can't think of any situation under which I'd ask "is this room cheap?" (if I were inquiring about the price of a room in a hotel, I'd usually ask how much it costs, not if it's cheap or pricey). That said, even though, as franc said, you would normally use "folamh" ("empty") or "ar fáil" ("available") for a room that is vacant, I would probably interpret "An bhfuil an seomra seo saor?" as having the same intention, even if it's Béarlachas, because "is this room cheap?" just wouldn't make much sense.

If you want to ask if there is no charge for something (for example, if you want to ask if those cookies are free of charge or if you have to pay for them) you'd use "saor in aisce," as franc said.

Redwolf

This is the page I was referring to -
www.focloir.ie/ga/dictionary/ei/free?q=free