Lynn K.
Yelp
Fantastic location; stellar service during our Covid stay
My husband and I planned to stay at the lovely Davenport for 8 days and then go on a two-week bus tour around Ireland. To our surprise, on day 6 we got Covid, and ended up spending 16 days at the Davenport. We could not have asked for a better place to stay! The hotel gave us wonderful service and treated us so kindly. We highly recommend this hotel for many reasons.
Originally we chose the Davenport because it is close to the Dublin museums and landmarks we wanted to see. The Davenport is a 2 minute walk to the National Art Gallery, 7 minutes to the National Archaeology Museum, 8 minutes to St. Stephens Green (a beautiful park), 10 minutes to the Molly Malone statue, 10 minutes to the Pearce Street train station, 11 minutes to the Grafton Street high-end touristy shopping and dining district, 12 minutes to the Book of Kells at Trinity College, etc.
The Davenport is in a quiet safe neighborhood. We are senior citizens, and we never saw any sketchy characters anywhere within miles of the hotel. We felt safe. The carved stonework buildings nearby do not exceed about four stories, and are pretty. We walked across the street to the Ginger Man Pub. Kitty corner from the hotel is the excellent Kennedy's pub, established in 1850, where we had several delicious dinners. Bordering Kennedy's is the Trinity College campus. We walked about two blocks to a good Italian restaurant called Il Caffe di Napoli. The hotel recommended these restaurants.
Our room had a king-size bed, two comfortable upholstered lounge chairs, another upholstered chair at the desk, a small refrigerator, bedside tables and lamps on each side of the bed, a safe, a nice- sized closet with hangers, a modern bathroom, etc. Our room had a Keurig-style coffee maker, an electric hot water kettle, along with tea bags, coffee and small fresh milk containers. We stayed in room 7432 which is on the fourth floor, although in the United States this would be considered the fifth floor.
The hotel has a pleasant dining room where (pre-Covid) we had several tasty breakfasts with many choices. The servers in the dining room were friendly and helpful. We also liked the spacious upscale bar/lounge, where we had drinks before we got Covid.
Once we suspected we had Covid, we self-tested positive using kits purchased from Dowlings Pharmacy. This pharmacy is a 7 minute walk away, in a district with non-touristy shops and restaurants.
Once we knew we had Covid, we alerted the hotel front desk. We knew we wanted to stay away from others so we would not spread germs. In a short while we received a very helpful informational packet from Colm, the hotel manager. Colm gave us breakfast and lunch menus from the Davenport, and a dinner menu from the Alex, a sister hotel across the street. Colm's letter informed us that we could order room-service by calling the front desk. We had already eaten at the Alex for two dinners, and knew it had good food. We had already enjoyed several great breakfasts in the Davenport dining room. (The Davenport will likely open its own dining room for dinner service once it gets up to full staffing).
Colm's letter informed us that hotel staff would not clean our room while we were infected with Covid, but would bring us supplies and take away the trash and dirty dishes. The letter asked that we wear masks while in the hotel hallways, try to use the stairs, and avoid being in the elevator with other guests. (We typically took the stairs down, but took the elevator up to our floor). We were in room 7432 on the fourth floor, which would be considered the fifth floor in the United States.
The hotel staff gave us truly great service. Whenever we called the front desk to ask for room service or drinks from the bar, someone delivered the requested items shortly. When we called to ask for towels, clean sheets, or more Kleenex, the supplies arrived quickly. Frequently a maid knocked on our door and asked if we needed any supplies. They were so helpful. The head of housekeeping periodically checked to see if we needed anything.
Colm's letter informed us that we were allowed to take walks outside, and did not need to spend all our time in the hotel room. We were overjoyed to get this news, because the hotel is in a lovely walkable part of town.
Colin, an assistant manager, suggested that we take walks in Merrion Park, a lovely city park a block away. We took several walks there, and enjoyed the beautiful flower beds, statues and park benches. We especially liked taking walks in beautiful St. Stephens Green.
Several times Colin offered to help us in any way we needed.
We recommend CityTest as a great Covid testing facility. It allows walk-in testing 7 days a week and will allow you to test there even if you are still self-testing positive. It is an 11 minute walk from the hotel.
When we visit Ireland again, we will stay here.