Jessica S.
Yelp
Third hotel, third city. We did have a few issues with the hotel before checking in (we were in Munich when I got a message from the hotel through the booking app, telling me that they were about to cancel my reservation as they couldn't successfully run the card I had on file. A few frantic phone calls later, it turned out to be an error on their part, which they never once apologized for or explained. That definitely left me second-guessing our stay, but it was too late to cancel, and given the holiday timing, hotels in the city were either sold out or incredibly expensive.)
The exterior of the hotel is incredibly appealing. The whole area is quiet and quaint, and the look of the building is welcoming and oozes charm. Our cabbie helped us drag our heavy bags up the steps to reception, where we interacted with the only friendly person to work there.
We checked in and made our way to the designated elevator, dragging our luggage and ourselves along in a single-file line to make it down to our room. The hallways are tight, folks.
The room itself was large and comfortable, with one queen and one twin bed, a small desk and chair and an armchair positioned in front of the one window. The bathroom was a bit tight - you can't open the door without hitting the toilet - but the shower had great water pressure, and they kept the toiletries filled during our stay.
I have two very large gripes about the hotel itself. The first is the WiFi, which performed about as well as a dial-up modem did (am I dating myself?) There were moments where we'd get decent connection, but it never lasted.
The second is the paper-thin walls between the rooms and the hallways. I get that hotels don't use the best in sound insulation, but people, the walls here are awful. Getting a full night's sleep can be a challenge. Let me paint a picture.
We went to bed on our first night at a decent hour but were awoken after 2 am by a group of they-really-should-know-better-adults walking down the hallway towards their room. They were in the middle of a very loud, very angry-sounding conversation when they hit our floor, and it persisted all the way down the hallway. For several minutes. Then one of the ladies couldn't get her key to work, so there was much more swearing, followed by a guy telling her to give him the goddamn key already, and storming off in search of a receptionist, I'd wager.
They stood in the hallway long after the guy returned with a functioning key (or functioning brain, not sure which). They sounded like they had no intention whatsoever of moving on, and like they were nowhere near winding down for the night.
Enter my new hero, the grumpy old man across the hall.
He opened his door and yelled out, "What do you think you're doing? It's late, and people are trying to sleep. GO. TO. BED." Like they were unruly children. I loved it.
One lady tried to apologize, and he bit out, "NO, you don't apologize. You're all loud, inconsiderate and rude. Shut up!" before slamming the door.
It was all I could do to not cheer and applaud the man.
Other than that, the beds were comfortable, and we really did love the area around the hotel. It's a quick and super easy walk from the hotel to the closest train station (Landsdowne Road). If you're taking the train to Dublin, cross the train tracks and walk up the ramp (look for the coffee shop; if you see that, you know you're on the right side.) Coming back from Dublin, you'll be on the opposite track. Easy peasy.
It's also a quick and easy walk from the hotel to the cute little town down the road. That leads on towards Dublin Bay, which offers a lovely walking path, park, and some shops and restaurants along the way. Everything is very easily walkable in that direction.
They also have a good restaurant/bar within the hotel (Lineout Bar), as well as another, higher-class option that we did not get a chance to sample. They do breakfast - again, we passed - and have several small sitting/relaxing areas dotted around the building itself.
We would stay again, if the price was right. We'd just pack ear plugs to ensure a good night's sleep.