Dublin Hotels

The Wilder. It’s south of St.Stephen’s green in a more residential area but still easy walking distance to Grafton St., Trinity College, etc.

My recommendation is that you do a Booking.com search to find options that suit your needs, price range and when you want to be there.

You can then compare prices for booking through them and for booking directly with the hotel options you choose.

Keep in mind that if you are looking too far into the future, there may not be many listings, so you might need to back up in time to get an idea of costs.

Personally, I'm working on Dublin lodgings for next summer before my RS Best of Ireland in 14 Days tour. I usually like to stay in the tour hotel, but they've raised their prices so much higher than they were in May 2020 that they've priced me out.

And considering the current situation, I'll be only considering places with breakfast included, free cancellation and no pre-payment needed. There seem to be way more of those now than I ever saw in the past.

Avoid Cassidy’s. We stayed here on a RS tour. Moldy shower tube, stained carpet, and rock hard
“ double” beds WAY smaller than a US queen size. Not to mention a weird hole in the bathroom that was open to the inside of the walls. Easier entry for the rodents that left their “ calling card” on the bathroom floor , I guess. 😳

Lo,

We are in the same boat. I am doing the RS tour in May and contacted the hotels for pre and post extensions. I was surprised at the cost. Guess we’ll move. Thank you for the response.

In the same area as the above recommendation -- south of St. Stephens Green, easy walk to Trinity College and Grafton St., around the corner from airport bus route -- is Harcourt Hotel in Harcourt Street. We found it clean and comfortable, and less expensive than many Dublin hotels we priced.

However, there was a lot of noise from bars from about 1 AM to 5 AM as we were there on a weekend when (for better or worse) the weather was mild and dry. People were out in the street enjoying themselves until dawn's early light. The hotel provided earplugs on the nightstands. At first we wondered why, then we found out.

The Davenport was very nice and a good location.

Avoid Buswell's. One of the most disgustingly filthy hotels I have ever stayed in.

In 2010 stayed in two different hotels in Dublin but preferred Albany House on Harcourt St. by St. Stephen’s Green. It was a basic hotel but very clean with a friendly staff.

That’s disappointing news about Buswells, Frank. That’s where my tour is staying next year. I’ve booked a night pretour and they are pricy! I would expect high standards for what they are charging.

Rossemary--my suggestion is when you get to your room, check your bed linens to make sure they were changed and the towels to make sure they are new. I don't mean just look at the towels, I mean actually unfold them. I didn't do this until I needed one after a shower and after unfolding it, it looked like the someone had used it instead of toilet paper. If you put out the "do not disturb" sign, don't expect housekeeping to honor it or even to knock before trying to enter at 8 AM.

That was my second room. My first room had flies buzzing all around. And this was in the end of October/beginning of November of 2018.

The hotel did send in new housekeepers to clean my room from top to bottom, offered me free breakfast which I wasn't supposed to get, and there was a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates in my room with their compliments.

Hopefully they have fixed their problem. The problem being one bad housekeeper and a housekeeping manager who didn't seem to believe anything I said.

However, the location is excellent.

You might benefit by looking at the system map for DART - the Dublin rapid transit system - and maybe stay a little further away from the center, especially if you'll already be staying there as part of your RS tour.
As is the case with most places, prices for accommodations start to go down dramatically the further from the center you're willing to go. The tradeoff of course is the commute into town, although sometimes that can be a good thing if you'd rather leave the bustle of the city center behind after a day's exploring.
There is, for example, a very nice Premier Inn out near the airport that offers rooms for less than half what you'll pay in the city center. The cost savings would more than offset the cost of the trip (about 30 min) back into Temple Bar. It's an especially cost-effective option for families.

We stayed at Hilton Garden Inn Customs House. It is along the river and the views from the room were excellent. The bus to/from the airport stops just outside the door and the tram is a block walk away. We walked the .5 mile to the "core" and enjoyed the walk, but we also took the tram when that seemed to be a good idea, such after a late performance of Riverdance.

It has plenty of restaurants nearby as well as restaurant in the hotel. I would stay there again. I felt it was convenient for all we needed. I have stayed at the Premier Inn out by the airport before a flight and it is very convenient for the airport, less convenient for Dublin.

Thanks for the tips Frank! I’ll be sure to do a thorough room inspection when I get there.

We loved Ariel House. https://www.ariel-house.net/

It is outside the center, but its a very short walk to the DART which can drop you near to Trinity University with a short ride. It's also very quiet.

We also found a lot to love in the nearby area of Beggar's Bush (pubs and such) that felt local and authentic.

A friend and I stayed at Ariel House in Ballsbridge in 1992 when we went to the Dublin Horse Show. It was nice then. I’m glad it’s still in business.

The Dart wasn’t built yet so we walked everywhere or took the bus.

I've stayed at the Jury's Inn on Parnell Street twice, and it was surprisingly quiet and convenient, though not small. We have also stayed at the Hilton Garden Customs House - had a great experience in 2016 and so-so in 2019. (In 2019, it was packed with bus tours so our room was not ready until awhile after the designated check-in time, we heard more noise from other guests, etc.) My husband and son stayed in 2015 at the Ashling Hotel and had a good experience, though it is a little farther from the city center but right on the LUAS. All of these hotels had very clean rooms and were in areas we found to be safe and walkable. We loved Dublin, and I hope you do too!