Hello. My family will be in Dublin at the end of May. I have searched & searched for places to stay around the city center but almost every establishment is all booked up. All I need is 3 rooms but every website I go to says there is no availability. I even searched in Dun Laoghaire and it says the same thing. No rooms!!! Am I doing something wrong? What's going in Dublin that I cannot find 3 rooms for 3 nights at the end of May? Thanks.
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7036 posts
If you need 3 rooms there must be at least 5-6 of you. Looking at booking.com it does look like things are pretty booked up for end of May so there must be something/s going on then. Is there a possibility of staying in different hotels? Or are there children involved to make that not work? Have you tried looking for an apartment on VRBO, Airbnb, Homeaway, etc.? That may be easier to find than 3 hotel rooms. Not sure what your budget is for 3 rooms but I did see availability in some upper priced hotels but I just used dummy dates so not sure that is true for your exact dates.
Posted by
317 posts
Hi Kathy
Greetings from Ireland, I just looked on hotels.com for May 28th as an example, and there is plenty of availability. Problem is the prices are mental, and this is speaking as a B&B owner! End of May is going to be super-busy in Dublin, and in years to come it'll only get worse as tourist numbers boom and as the city is reckoned to be short 5000 hotel room vis-a-vis what it needs to cater for the demand.
Did you try Airbnb? Might also be worth going out a little more into Wicklow or Kildare. And if its Dublin airport you need to fly from, then Belfast (and cheaper hotels) is only 1.5 hours away by bus.
Adh mor ort/Good Luck
Stephen McPhilemy
Rick Steves Ireland Tour Guide
Dingle
Posted by
Boston, MA, United States
1806 posts
Did you look in any of the neighborhoods further out from the city center (like Ballsbridge) for hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses? What about Howth? It's an easy connection to Dublin via DART. You can try those areas for Airbnb/VRBO apartment/home rentals as well.
If you are really stuck, you might want to consider looking into hostels. While you might not find 3 private rooms available in a hostel, if you are willing to share a room, you might be able to secure a quad and a double. Many hostels are now converting more and more rooms into ensuite with their own bathroom/shower, and there is the added benefit of having access to amenities like free WiFi and more lounge areas so family members can stretch out and relax vs. a small hotel room. Hostels will also have kitchen access so you can save some money on meals by preparing some of your own, and often there are coin-op laundry facilities on site so everyone can pack a little lighter. Read reviews carefully on HostelWorld.com or other hostel review websites before you book.