Don't Do It!!! - Kathryn Graham. Date of travel: Mar 2006
I was in a group of 6 visiting Dublin for a long weekend. We booked it because it was cheap. The hotel looks terrible from outside but the reception and restaurant area you see when you walk in look contemporary. Myself and my husband were first shown to room 118 which hadn't been cleaned so we were moved to 121. This room was right next to some kind of generator which was on 24/7. This meant neither of us got a decent night sleep which really affected our whole stay. Some friends we were with booked a twin room. The first 2 they were shown had just 1 single bed in so a member of staff took them into every room on the 4th floor (even those with people in) to find a suitable one. Our room was boiling hot and the radiator knob had no markings so we couldn't be sure if we were turning it up or not. There were bars outside the window meaning it couldn't be opened more than an inch. The bathroom needed updating. Although it was clean, the bath seemed small, the sink wasn't fitted properly and the grout between the tiles had gone brown. Other smaller things disappointed us - eg no milk for tea/coffee, tv remote control barely worked, noisy housekeeping staff at 8am on a Sunday. On the Saturday night, there was a band playing in the bar directly below the room. I could hear the music until gone midnight. We booked through Opodo and didn't realise it was room only meaning we spent an extra €60 on breakfast. Location isn't brilliant as it's halfway between the city centre and the airport and on a very busy main road. It's too far to walk into the city so you have to get the bus (about 20 mins). This hotel classes itself as a 3* but I have stayed in much better 2* hotels. Tour Operator: Opodo