Dublin Hotels ... HELP!!!!

NJEmerald · Member

Dublin Hotels ... HELP!!!!

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Pertinent advice would require more information:

When?

Budget: Cheap, Moderate, or, "What's a Budget?"

Stay at END of trip, or begining?

What other interests? What does the rest of your itinerary include?

Lite sleeper?

Bob

NJEmerald · Member

Last week of September - Sat to Sat
3 or 4 star
I can sleep through anything (I slept through Twisted Sister live once ... in a club on Staten Island before they became famous)

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

The Merrion is considered to be THE best Hotel in Dublin city center.
The Westin and the Brooks are possibly/probably #2 & 3.

From www.irelandhotels.com using two adults, 1 room, 2 nights, Sept 28 & 29, I found:

IN Templebar (or, at least CLOSE):

www.theclarence.ie    From 309 Euro per night 4*

www.morrisonhotel     From 240 Euro per night   4*

www.templebarhotel.com From 200 Euro per night   3*

www.mercerhotel.ie   From 250 Euro per night     3*

Other possibilities: Dublin Citi Hotel, Grafton Capital, Shelbourne ...
Mostly, you would be looking for something in Dublin 2 area, SOME of Dublin 1.

A little further afield, but an easy, short walk to Templebar (only a 2*) is Jurys Inn Christchurch which is usually about 120 Euro per night.

Hope this gets you started.

Bob

Michele Erdvig · Host

Karen,

Welcome to the forum. Corey is a regular here so you will probably bump into him while doing your planning. His user name is yessiree.

Bob has provided his usual good advice with some sleuthing on his own looking up prices for you. He deserves a blue ribbon for that. wink

Generally, the most desirable area of Dublin is Dublin 2. It is right in the heart of things. A bit farther away (quick bus ride or 20-30 minute walk) is the more suburban Ballsbridge area (Dublin 4).

Besides the links that Bob provided, take a look at my "Lodgings" page too. Some places that have decent rooms without being budget busters are Jury's Inn Christchurch and Bewley's Ballsbridge. Otherwise the sky is the limit in Dublin.

BTW, Jury's Inn Christchurch is a 3-star hotel.

Michele

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Ooops, my bad! biggrin

Bob

yesiree · Guru

Karen,

Glad you found the message board. As you can tell, this is a very helpful group.

FYI - Noting your reference to music groups, the Clarence is owned by Bono & The Edge.

NJEmerald · Member

Hi everyone!! Thanks so much for your feedback!

confused

Question: What does Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 mean? My initial reaction would be certain areas of Dublin; however, I have no reference point for them.

Sláinte,
Karen

NJEmerald · Member

Hey there ... what do you think of the following hotels - all in the Dublin 2 area (whatever that means):

- Camden Court (Camden St)
- Drury Court (Stephens St Lwr)
- Grafton Capital (Stephens St Lwr)
- Mercer Hotel (Mercer St Lwr)
- Parliament Hotel (Lord Edward St, Temple Bar)
- Temple Bar (Fleet St, Temple Bar)

weirdface

Sláinte,
Karen

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Your first impression is correct. I lifted the following from http://www.iol.ie/~discover/dubroute.htm

Here's a rough breakdown:

Access to suburban city zones

(The zone number is shown on mailing addresses after the word "Dublin")

Zones 1, 2, 7 and part of 8 - downtown area roughly bounded by the Blue ring. The odd numbers are north of the River Liffey and the even are on the south side.

Southside

Dublin 4 - via Purple route to junction 51, 52, 53 or 54

Dublin 6 and 6W via Purple route to junction 55, 56 and 57

Dublin 8 via Purple route to junction 58

Dublin 12 via Purple route to junction 59

Dublin 14 via Purple route to junction 55 + R117

Dublin 16 via Purple route to junction 56 + R114

Dublin 18 via Purple route to junction 54 + N11

Dublin 22 and 24 - Purple route to junction 63 + N4 + M50 south to N7

Northside

Dublin 3 and 13 - via Purple route to junction 72

Dublin 7 - via Purple route to junction 67 or 68

Dublin 9 - via Purple route to junction 70

Dublin 11 - via Purple route to junction 69 + N2

Dublin 15 - via Purple route to junction 67

Dublin 17 - via Purple route to junction 70 + M1

Since you want walking distance to Templebar, the Zones I referred to are near. Bear in mind that the Irish concept of 'walking distance' has no direct correllation to typical US standards. yawn yawn yawn

If your host says, "It's a 10 minute walk', that MAY mean it is over a mile away!

Bob

Michele Erdvig · Host

Karen,

The numbers are postal districts. Like zip codes in the US. See this map for clarification: http://www.dublintourist.com/maps/dublin_postal_codes.shtml

Here are my picks:

Westin: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=1314

Merrion: http://www.merrionhotel.com

Westbury: http://www.jurysdoyle.com/

Berkeley Court: http://www.jurysdoyle.com/

Brooks: http://www.sinnotthotels.com/brooks/

Harrington Hall: http://www.harringtonhall.com/

Davenport: http://www.ocallaghanhotels.com/davenport/index.asp

Alexander: http://www.ocallaghanhotels.com/alexander/index.asp

Bewley's Ballsbridge: http://www.bewleyshotels.com/ballsbridge_hotel_dublin.asp

Stephen's Green: http://www.ocallaghanhotels.com/stephensGreen/index.asp

Fitzwilliam: http://www.fitzwilliam-hotel.com/

Buswell's: http://www.quinnhotels.com/buswells.html

Jurys Inn Christchurch: http://www.jurys.com/

Pembroke Townhouse: http://www.pembroketownhouse.ie/ (this one is a bit farther from the city center)

Michele

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

And here's a link to a Templebar /city center map:

http://www.fitzers.ie/x/Image/templebar_map.jpg

Bob

Michele Erdvig · Host

Bob,

You have added your photo! Very nice. A lot of members have been doing that lately. I think it adds greatly to the forum. Thank you.

Michele

NJEmerald · Member

Good morning everyone!! What are your experiences with driving in Ireland? I'm wondering if we should venture out of Dublin by car and stay in some local B&B's during the week.

Where is Liam's B&B?

We will be heading to the Portadown area of Northern Ireland to visit my great grandmother's cottage. My family has been fortunate to have found the family that used to own the cottage, and they have gratiously offered to take us there and to the family plot.

These two sites offer a lot of advice for driving in Ireland. The second link is an interactive guide book (look for the sheep-crossing sign!!).

http://www.discoverireland.com/us/experience-ireland/car-touring2/
http://www.ebstudio.net/irelandbycar/

What do you think about driving in Ireland (easy, hard, confusing)?? weirdface

CowboyCraic · Guru

Karen,

It can be all of those, easy, hard and confusing. You just have to have a mind set that YOU are on vacation and in a foriegn country. Let the Irish drivers go around you and don't give in to the "got to keep up" mentality that seem singrained in american drivers no matter where we travel. After a few days dealing with round-abouts, you will discover that they are not so difficult. Getting lost, think of it as Faery-Led, is a given and part of the grand adventure. Never hesitate to stop in and ask for directions. You might be given a suggestion for something "hidden" that is well worth seeing, along with directions on how to get where you are headed.

You don't need a car in Dublin at all. In fact, it is better to not pick up your rental until you are leaving Dublin.

How wonderful that you have the opportunity to walk family holdings! That is a goal of mine, one day. Portadown is a great small town. Thomas Street has some great architecture. An interesting thing to note, as you venture in and through Portadown, is the street art. We call it graffitti here in the states and it is a scourge. They celebrate it there and it is a bright array.

Since you are up into NI, why not stay in a B&B up there and explore the sites of NI? It will give you an appreciation of how far she has come since the Troubles.

Have a most excellent adventure!

Slan Beo,

Bit

yesiree · Guru

Liam's place is near Nenagh in County Tipperary. His place isn't set up for one or two night stays though.

It can take several hours to adjust to driving, but most people manage quite well. If you're a competent driver in the US, you should be able to manage Ireland...just keep reminding yourself that this driving thing is pretty simple...you just have to get used to it and be open to "relearning" a few things.

NJEmerald · Member

Thanks Bit and Corey!! I'm so glad I have time to decide what to do. Sometimes I think I plan too much!! Oh well ... my husband Jim and I are going back and forth as to what to do (we'll probably end up sleep in a tent in St Stephen's Green).

(I LOVE these icons ...)

Jim had an idea and I was wondering what everyone thought about it. If we took trains to Cork and Londonderry (examples) with the intention of staying overnight, do you think the hotel in Dublin would let us leave our luggage with them if we planned to return? My first reaction is yes if we continued to rent a sleeping room with them, but I may be thinking too American.

Also, does Ireland have public lockers you can rent for a day? I remember when Manhattan had them (a LONG time ago); however, you can't find them there anymore.

Anyone ever travel Ireland by train?

Corey - Have you and Liam ever thought about doing a series similar to the Dublin iWalks?

Michele Erdvig · Host

Karen,

Since you want to visit Portadown, I think your best option will be to rent a car when you depart from Dublin. It is really not as scary as you think. Also, there is the M1 a very good highway going from Dublin Airport all the way up to Dundlak just south of No. Ireland. Since it is a divided motorway it will make driving easier for you. You can probably be up there in a couple of hours.

A car will give you the freedom to do as you please and go where you will. The train will mean sticking to schedules and will have to be supplemented by buses and taxis.

As for luggage storage, Dublin Airport has a "left luggage" facility where you can store your luggage: http://www.dublinairport.com/at-airport/facilities-services/Left_Luggage.html

If you decide to rent a car, getting an automatic may make the transition easier because you won't have to deal with shifting with your left hand.

Michele

NJEmerald · Member

Hi everyone!! Looks like Clontarf Castle might be the place we're going to stay. After MUCH deliberation and angst, we decided to look to the area just outside Dublin City Center. The reviews of Clontarf Castle on TripAdvisor are INCREDIBLE.

We decided that we're not going to be at the hotel much and we'd probably get a better sleep being just outside the city. Also it's easily accessible to public transportation (and probably taxis) so we can get around pretty good.

Have any of you stayed at Clontarf Castle?

BTW - Corey, please ignore my question from my last post since that is exactly what Irish Fireside does (d'oh)!! You'll have to forgive me, I'm part of the retail innovation team of Johnson & Johnson and I'm used to spurting out ideas and brainstorming. Me bad ... weirdface

Michele Erdvig · Host

Karen,

Some of my cllients stayed at Clontarf Castle Hotel and enjoyed it. You will need to take transportation, since it is not in walking distance of downtown...unless you really like long walks.

Michele