Schoolhouse Hotel

A four-star hotel (and noted restaurant) installed in a Victorian school house in Dublin

The name is not just some whismy. This actually was built as a schoolhouse in 1861.

Since a 1998 refurbishment, however (and another in 2006), the classrooms have become 31 guest rooms decorated with floral wallpapers, pleasant modular furnishings, Victorian-styled power showers in the bathrooms, and half-tester curtains canopied over the heads of the king size beds.

Also on site are Olivier's Restaurant in a gorgeous vaulted hall serving French and modern Irish cuisine courtesy of Breton chef Olivier Quenet, and a pub with still more beautiful cross-vaulting (plus outdoor seating) that serves traditional pub grub and hosts a traditional Sunday Roast. (Wish my school had had its own pub.)

There hotel also offers free WiFi, free parking, and free movies (and Intenret access) on the rooms' interactive LCD TVs.

The location is the best of both worlds, just across the Grand Canal from downtown Dublin, as close as you can get to the center and still be in Ballsbridge. Its just a 10-minute stroll from Merrion Square, 15 to 20 minutes from Trinity College or St. Stephen's Green.

(It is also, conveniently, its own stop on the Air Coach bus from the airport.)

Schoolhouse Hotel
2–8 Northumberland Road (at Northumberland Place/Percy Place by the Grand Canal)
tel. +353-(0)1/667-5014
www.schoolhousehotel.com
Airport bus: Air Coach to Schoolhouse Hotel. Bus: 4, 5, 7, 7A, 7N, 8, 45, 63, 84. DART: Grand Canal Dock.
Price: €€–€€€
Reid's Rating: ★
Venere.com, Booking.com

» More hotels in Dublin (from €41)

» B&Bs in Dublin (from €35)

» Apartments in Dublin (from €62)

» Guesthouses in Dublin (from €39)

» Hostels in Dublin (from €9 per person)