WHERE TO STAY IN DUBLIN – OPTIONS AND TIPS

Last updated on November 8, 2024

Many of our guests plan to spend a night or two in Dublin as part of their trip to Ireland. But easier said than done…

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Statue in the park of Christ Church Cathedral (photo by Ulrich Knüppel-Gertberg)

Intro

“Everything was already booked”, “there was nothing left to find”, “everything was far too expensive”, “we were outside, but it was further away than we thought”. These are typical comments that I hear time and again from our customers. And one of the most frequently asked questions is probably: “Don’t you have a recommendation for us in Dublin?”

To explain: We live a bit south of Dublin (second home) and know the city quite well. We are originally from Germany.

Our motorbike guests from all over the world usually arrive and depart by plane via Dublin and of course they also want to see the city – I can also highly recommend it.

Most of them don’t realise beforehand that Dublin is one of the capital cities of Europe – and yes, accommodation here is generally much more expensive than in rural Ireland. The price level in Dublin is quite comparable to cities like Munich or Hamburg.

And while you can easily walk around the centre of Dublin, the city around it is very large. If you stay on the outskirts of the city, you are really far out!

Personally, I would therefore always recommend looking for accommodation in the city centre and accepting the price level. You can then do without a hire car and explore the city centre on foot. Where is the city centre? Around the Temple Bar neighbourhood.

Unfortunately, I can’t give you one good recommendation or insider tip. This accommodation would already be fully booked anyway.

But I can show you a few options and give you a few tips for finding and booking your accommodation in Dublin city centre, which I hope will help you.

Let’s take a look at the options, in descending order of price:

Hotels in Dublin

If your budget allows you to relax, you can of course treat yourself to a good hotel in the city centre. And there are also fairly priced mid-range hotels. There are plenty of hotels in the city centre. I’ll list a few of them for you here, all with good ratings:

Examples of 4-star hotels:

Hardrock Hotel Dublin, see: https://www.hardrockhotels.com/dublin/.

Iveagh Garden Hotel, see: https://www.iveaghgardenhotel.ie/.

Hilton Garden Inn Dublin, see: https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/dubchgi-hilton-garden-inn-dublin-city-centre.

The Grafton Hotel, see: https://www.thegrafton.ie/.

Inn in Dublin (photo: Ulrich Knüppel-Gertberg)

Examples of 3-star hotels:

Harding Hotel, see: https://www.hardinghotel.ie/.

Wynn`s Hotel, see: https://www.wynnshotel.ie/.

Drury Court Hotel, see: https://www.drurycourthotel.ie/.

Staunton`s on the Green Hotel, see: https://www.stauntonsonthegreen.ie/.

B&Bs and guesthouses in Dublin

You will find charming, small, owner-run B&Bs practically everywhere on the island, but hardly anywhere in Dublin city centre. However, there are larger B&Bs, guesthouses and smaller city hotels or guesthouses. Here is a small selection:

O’Neill’s Victorian Pub and Townhouse, see: https://www.oneillsdublin.com/.

Fitzwilliam Townhouse, see: https://www.fitzwilliamtownhouse.com/.

Eccles Townhouse, see: https://www.ecclestownhouse.com/.

Kilronan House, see: https://www.kilronanhouse.com/.

Leeson Lodge, see: https://www.theleesonlodge.com/.

Hostels in Dublin

I have also had several guests who have had good experiences with hostels in Dublin. And contrary to what many people think, hostels don’t just offer mass accommodation for young people, but also single rooms for everyone, simple but cheap. Advantages: You meet travellers from all over the world, disadvantages: it can get a bit noisy. Some examples of good hostels in Dublin:

Abbey Court Hostel, see: https://abbey-court.com/.

Clink i Lár Hostel, see: https://www.clinkhostels.com/clink-i-lar/.

Jacobs Inn, see: https://jacobsinn.com/dublin/accommodation/.

Abigails Hostel, see: https://abigailshostel.com/.

Ashfield Hostel, see: https://ashfieldhostel.com/.

Hostel in Dublin (photo: Ulrich Knüppel-Gertberg)

Private accommodation in Dublin

Another option that is becoming increasingly popular is private guest rooms and accommodation, or homestays.

I won’t list accommodation here because availability is often low. If there is only a guest room, it will be booked out quickly.

Have a look at https://www.airbnb.com and look for private accommodation for specific dates. You can set filters, for example for the price range, or to select “Superhost”.

See what’s available, check the location on the map and really read the reviews. Again, mediocre reviews are actually bad reviews. But you will find many good examples and there is bound to be a nice accommodation for you.

Booking accommodation in Dublin – personal experiences and tips

Probably the best tip is to choose the right season:

If you want to do a tour of Ireland in summer, you are travelling in the most expensive season and the accommodation, not only in Dublin, is often fully booked long in advance and correspondingly expensive. In this case, I would recommend that you perhaps only spend one day and one night in Dublin and still try to find (expensive) accommodation in the city centre so that you can at least make good use of the one day.

Street in Dublin centre (photo: Ulrich Knüppel-Gertberg)

But if you would like to spend a few days in Dublin to see the city in peace, then I would think about the off-seasons. Dublin also has a mild climate in spring and autumn and frost-free winters. You can really do a city trip all year round. But in the winter months, accommodation costs half as much as in summer – and you have plenty of choice!

And then there’s always the option of trying out a hostel or an Airbnb homestay! I know people who did this in Dublin and were very happy with it.

Two booking platforms that are very popular in Ireland are https://booking.com and https://airbnb.com. We know both well and have had mostly good experiences with them. However, you should pay attention to the ratings of the accommodation: A middling rating is a bad rating! Look out for accommodations that have really good ratings and read through some of them.

I also use Google Maps a lot. You can also find most of the accommodation there and the booking platforms they use are listed with the daily prices. You can also find reviews in Google and the address of the accommodation’s website.

Be sure to check the location on Google Maps: Is the accommodation right on the main road, or in a (quieter) side street? Is it as central as I would like it to be? Are there motorways or railway lines nearby (which I don’t want)?

If the location is suitable, several reviews are good and the website makes a good impression, all you have to do is choose the best price or your favourite booking portal and you can book.

Conclusion

There is a lot you can do wrong when booking an overnight stay in Dublin – and you can also find nice accommodation at fair prices in a relatively quiet location in the city centre.

In any case, you should take your time, look at the options and then decide at your leisure.

I hope I’ve been able to give you a few tips in this article to help you with your search and decision.

I wish you lots of fun in Dublin!