Dublin: Camden Court hotel
 

Has anyone stayed @ the Camden Court hotel recently? If so, please provide any helpful info.... Thanks

I will be staying at the Camden Court Hotel shortly. If your stay begins after I return (which won't be until after the 25th of July) -- I'll be glad to provide you with a report.

Thanks for the response. I won't be going until September/October. Looking forward to your report.

Chicago:

Stayed at Camden Court for 4 days in Mid-July. Nice hotel -- especially considering the reasonable price for Dublin.

Rooms were of good size -- not at all too cramped -- clean as well. Shower was amazing -- great water pressure and nice and hot which surprised me -- was anticipating a trickle as I've expereineced in many B&B's/Hotels in England.

Our room was relatively quiet -- just normal city noise in the am. Windows don't fully open -- and we were there in rather warm weather for Dublin -- which made the room a bit stuffy on some days, but not at all uncomfortable. Doubt this will be an issue for when you plan to travel.

Hotel is not in the center of the action -- but shopping, night life was all within a easy walk (20 minutes top to most of our intended destinations).

Staff was very nice and accommodating. We arrived well before the 2pm check-in and were quite tired. The clerk checked and they had a room available and allowed us to check-in immediatly. Make a huge difference as we were able to take a long nap and still have plenty of time to enjoy a Sat. night in Dublin.

Staff also brought our luggage down in a cart, arranged a cab for us on the am of our departure and checked our flight status for us -- which we very much appreciated.

Resident bar was very warm -- almost unbearable -- but just topped off our night there, so not really an issue.

Breakfast was a full Irish breakfast buffet (eggs, bacon/rashers, cereals, canned fruit, breads, sausage, juices, etc). Very filling.

One note -- after a certain time of night (not sure what time that is), you'll need to use the back enterance to enter the hotel -- and one night, we had to ring for the bell man to open up the side enterance. Just a security measure and not at all inconvenient -- just thought I would pass the info along.

I only have nice, complimentary things to say about the Camden Court -- I would definitely stay there again.

Hope this helps.

Hi Chicago,
We were in Dublin 2 weeks ago, splitting our time between La Stampa Hotel and Camden Court Hotel (due to Robbie Williams concert we had to move mid-stream). My husband liked CCH more than I did, and I thought it was fine, if not a bit too much of a cross between a Holiday Inn/Marriott.

We had a triple on the 2nd floor, which actually had 4 beds (2 singles and a double), plenty of space, and like the other poster mentioned, good water/shower pressure.

I'm more of a coffee and o.j. breakfast person, so the breakfast included in the price did nothing for me. The coffee was weak, so stick with the tea.

The highlights: comfortable, elevators, next to the Bleeding Horse pub, a grand 200 year old pub frequented by locals and students. The hotel pub was enjoyable, especially the heated chili nuts, which my husband was only able to find in Scandinavia -- try them! The leisure centre downstairs is phenomenal. Bring a swimsuit.

The downside: a longer walk to city center (you can cross the road and take the bus -- 80 cents adults, 50 cents child -- exact change necessary), but you can walk through St. Stephen's Green (highly recommended!) and get to Grafton St in about 10 minutes; ice machines on all floors are out of order (go to their pub, and they will give you ice). We were there when it was hot, so the ice thing was important. No air conditioning. If you face the front of the street and you keep the windows open, you will get pub noise traffic in the wee hours of the morning.

The worst part was the night we left our 14 y.o. in the room while we went on a musical pub crawl. A false fire alarm went off in the hotel -- luckily we were available by cell phone, but the noise scared him to death, he couldn't get hold of reception on the land line, so I had to call on my cell to find out what the hell was going on, where I was assured by reception that "we are well aware madam of the alarm" and someone was being called to turn it off. They did send someone up to the room to calm my son's fears, and I called him again and waited until the alarm was turned off. This sort of thing naturally only happens when you leave your kid! At least he had the sense to call and we were smart enough to leave him with a cell phone.

I preferred La Stampa, a boutique hotel over the restaurant of the same name. The major disadvantage of this hotel is that there is no elevator and if you're not into walking up a few flights of stairs, this hotel would not be a good choice.

Having said that, their reception and staff are great, the rooms are big and wonderful, air conditioning was perfect (and necessary when we were there). Big marble bathrooms with luxurious towels and bathrobes, on Dawson St. (can't get much better than this!), and cheaper than CCH. Except the Cosmos, which ran 9 euros, but the head guy there makes them to perfection. Very bohemian look to the place, and the breakfast is served in one of their restaurants next door. Superb coffee, strong and freshly brewed.

Located on a street with plenty of cafes and bars. Try Cafe En Seine (which they pronounce Cafe Insane) -- going inside for a look around in the evening is an experience in itself.