Where to stay in Dublin

The best hotels in Dublin, Ireland

Dublin's center has plenty of good, somewhat pricey, hotels, but you can find some great values if you look hard enough.

Many of Dublin's largest hotels are characterless modern affairs, fine for laying down your weary head but utterly charmless. My advice is to seek out one of the number of hotels converted from historic Victorian and Georgian buildings.

Ballsbridge: Lovely, historic-home hotels at reasonable rates just five minutes from Trinity College

Pub guesthouses
Several downtown tourist pubs offer simple guest rooms for under €70. They will be likely very noisy until very late—O'Shea's and Gogarty's host daily traditional music sessions, often until 2:30am—but for penny-pinching night-owls who plan to party until last call anyway, they can be perfect. The central locations are certainly fabulous.

• Inn O'Shea's Merchant
• O'Neills Victorian Pub & Townhouse
• Hostel Oliver St. John Gogarty

One of the nicest neighborhoods is southeast of the city center, the quiet, leafy, upscale residential zone of Ballsbridge, about a five-minute DART ride from downtown.

Ballsbridge is home to many foreign embassies, the Aviva rugby stadium, and the RDS convention center and concert hall.

Many Ballsbridge hotels are small (20–35 rooms) and converted from old homes (Georgian, Edwardian, Victorian). Most offer free parking (parking downtown starts at €15, often more). Plus, for venturing a bit out from the center, you are rewarded by getting a bit more bang for your Euro in terms of style and amenities.

Where to find cheap guesthouses in Dublin

Price categories
€ = up to €50
€€ = €51–€100
€€€ = €101–€150
€€€€ = €151–€250
€€€€€ = €251+The main drag in central Dublin for cheap guesthouses and hostels is Lower Gardiner Street, running north of the Custom House (and, more to the point, the central bus station) on the north side of the Liffey, just a few blocks east of O'Connell Street.

Favorite Dublin hotels: By neighborhood

Trinity College
St. Stephen's Green
Temple Bar
Christ Church/Dublin Castle
Ballsbridge

Hotels near Trinity College

The hotels are in the northeast section of downtown Dublin, around Trinity Colege and the National Museums.

★ O'Neills Victorian Pub & Townhouse - The O'Neill family has been running this pub across from Trinity College since 1885. Guest rooms are simple but comfy, with plain, homey furnishings and private bathrooms. No one would accuse them of being fancy, frilly, or overly large—but at €70 for a double in such a primo location, no one is complaining, either... 36–37 Pearse Street (Trinity College). €€ Venere.com, Booking.com

★★ Trinity Capital Hotel - This boutique hotel sets itself apart in Dublin for its vibrant modern look, prime location (across the street from Trinity College and five minutes on foot from Temple Bar), and low rates (doubles from €89).... Pearse Street at Tara Street (Trinity College). €€–€€€ Venere.com, Booking.com

Hotels near St. Stephen's Green

The hotels are in the southeast section of downtown Dublin, around St. Stephen's Green, Grafton Street, and the National Museums.

★★★ The Shelbourne - An imposing red-and-white facade on Dublin's most stately square announces this historic hotel. Built in 1824, it has been host to actors, writers, and the signing of Ireland's constitution. Crackling fires and Waterford chandeliers greet you in the clubby entrance lounges... 27 St. Stephen's Green (St. Stephen's). €€€€–€€€€€ Booking.com

★★ Brooks Hotel - You simply cannot get more central than this, bang in the heart of Dublin and less than a ten-minute walk from practially everything. The fact that its a comfy, modern, four-star luxury hotel with 98 rooms and all the amenities (including free WiFi and a pillow menu) makes it that much more attractive.... 59-63 Drury Street (St. Stephen's/Dublin Castle). €€€–€€€€ Booking.com

★★ Stauntons on the Green - Stauntons is a budget gem of of tall windows, high ceilings, traditional furnishings, and blazing fireplaces in a Georgian townhouse on Dublin's central square. One of the choicest addresses in town for less than half what the premier Shelbourne across the square charges... 83 St. Stephen's Green (St. Stephen's). €€ Venere.com, Booking.com

Hotels in Temple Bar

The hotels are in the trendy, pub-and-restaruant-filled northern section of downtown Dublin between Dame Street and the River Liffey.

★ Temple Bar Hotel - Trendy Temple Bar's original hotel, 129 cozy rooms with stylish furnishings and modern amenities behind a Victorian facade. Full Irish breakfast and WiFi are included in the price, and ther are two pubs, a club, and a restaurant. The surrounding streets stay very noisy very late; Beg for a room on the quiet side... 14 Fleet St. (Temple Bar). €€ Venere.com, Booking.com

Harding Hotel - The Harding offers 52 comfortable if uninspiring rooms complete with free WiFi and coffee and tea, a bistro, bar/restaurant (Irish music at the weekend), and family rooms—all this on the edge of trendy Temple Bar, near Christ Church, and with some the cheapest hotel rates in central Dublin.... Copper Alley/ Fishamble St (Temple Bar). €–€€ Venere.com, Booking.com

Hostel Oliver St. John Gogarty - Simple, modern rooms from €38—and dorms from €12 (and full apartments from €99)—above one of the most popular tourist pubs in Dublin, famous for its non-stop live Irish traditional music daily from 2:30pm to 2:30am... Anglesea Street at Fleet Street (Temple Bar). € Venere.com, Booking.com

Hotels near Christ Church and Dublin Castle

The hotels are in the western section of downtown Dublin, around Christ Chruch Cathedral and Dublin Castle.

★ Jurys Inn Christchurch - Location, location, location. This bargain chain hotel is right across the street from Christ Church Cathedral, with functionally modern and unsusually spacious rooms big enough for three adults (or a family of four), and usually available for well under €100... Christ Church Place (Christ Church). €€ Venere.com, Booking.com

Inn O'Shea's Merchant - This pub-with-rooms overlooks the River Liffey, and while the 25 guest rooms are nothing special (smallish, with modular furnishings), they are definitely cheap (from €65 online), in a great location (just a five-minute walk from Christ Church Cathedral), and happen to be located above a traditional Irish pub serving Irish food and traditional Irish music nightly.... 12 Bridge Street Lower (Christ Church). €€ Venere.com, Booking.com

Hotels in Ballsbridge

The hotels are in the quiet, leafy, chic neighborhood of Ballsbridge, just southeast of downtown Dublin across the Grand Canal. Ballsbridge is filled with foreign embassies and several events venues (like the RDS and O2). Many hotels are in hsitoric townhomes, and your Euros go a bit farther here than in the center—and yet it's only a 4–8 minute DART ride from the central sights.

★★ Ariel House - In a posh residential suburb, Ariel House offers Victorian style and modern comfort (reserve early). The attention to detail is evident from the Waterford chandelier and carved cornices in the drawing room to the period furniture, fine paintings, and Irish linens in the comfy guest rooms... 50–54 Lansdowne Rd. (Ballsbridge). €€ Booking.com

★★ Hotel Merrion Hall - This Edwardian-style manor house has been turned into a four-star boutique hotel of 34 rooms furnished in an elegant, classic style. There is a light-filed glass conservatory for its award-winning Irish breakfast.... 54 Merrion Road (Ballsbridge). €€ Venere.com, Booking.com

★★ Inn Butlers Townhouse - The beds are cloaked in Egyptian cotton, some shaded by a curtained canopy in the 20 bedrooms of this Victorian luxury boutique hotel. Afternoon tea is served in the parlor, and a full gourmet Irish breakfast is included in the rates... 44 Lansdowne Road (Ballsbridge). €€€ Venere.com, Booking.com

★★ Aberdeen Lodge - With garden views, free WiFi, and an award-winning full Irish breakfast, this four-star Edwardian boutique hotel mere blocks from the bay in the exclusive Ballsbridge neighborhood offers all the benefits of being in Dublin without the hurlyburly of the city center (which lies just five stops away by public transport)... 53–55 Park Avenue (Ballsbridge). €€€–€€€€ Venere.com, Booking.com

★ Schoolhouse Hotel - This 1861 Victorrian schoolhouse has been converted into 31 rooms, its vaulted halls into a French/modern Irish restaurant and a pub (wish my school had had a pub.) Free WiFi, free parking, free movies... and all at the edge of Ballsbridge overlooking downtown Dublin across the Grand Canal, a 15-minute stroll from St. Stephen's Green... 2–8 Northumberland Road (Ballsbridge). €€–€€€ Venere.com, Booking.com

Landsdowne Hotel - Just across the canal in Ballsbridge, just 15 minutes by foot from St. Stephen's Green, the Landsdowne offer 40 large, well appointed rooms in what I might call a vaguely "countryside modern" style in a lovely Georgian neighborhood.... 27–29 Pembroke Road (Ballsbridge). €€ Venere.com, Booking.com

Favorite Dublin hotels: By price (per double room)

Under €50
€51–€100
€101–€150
€151–€250

» More hotels in Dublin (from €41)

» B&Bs in Dublin (from €35)

» Apartments in Dublin (from €59)

» Guesthouses in Dublin (from €39)

» Hostels in Dublin (from €9 per person)

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This article was by Reid Bramblett and last updated in September 2011.
All information was accurate at the time.

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Copyright © 1998–2013 by Reid Bramblett. Author: Reid Bramblett.