I am traveling to Dublin with some friends in May of next year. We are going to be in Dublin for two nights. Would anyone have any hotel recommendations?

It seems there are three main areas to stay - Temple Bar, St Stephens and Christchurch?

Looking for a good "base" for tourist reasons!

Thanks! 8-)

Davenport Hotel in the Merrion Square area -- a great hotel value and a great location

What is important to you: Low price, great location, quiet environs, hip pub, etc.? You won't get all of the above at one place

If you don't mind some street noise, but like a quaint place that used to be a Victorian house, right near Trinity College, see O'Neill's Victorian Pub - it was reasonably priced and had decent food downstairs, but the traffic outside never died down. Earplugs were great

Temple bar can be a nightmare at the weekends and unless you are in your early 20's I would pass that area. The davenport is quite nice and they usually have deals on as does the sister hotels the Alexander Hotel and another across the road i cannot remember the name. They are a 10 minute walk to Grafton street. What hotel in St Stephens green were you looking at? I live here and can give you a local's opinion.

Temple bar is a nightmare if you are a light sleeper, keep clear! St stephens green is lovely, with lots of hotels to choose from,( be careful of Harcourt Street, also very noisy) christchurch is a good base, Jury's Christchurch is good value, and very easy to reach.

Keep away from O'connell street, gardiner street, and pearse street and the surrounding areas, ( they are not so nice, - but cheaply priced)

I agree with centralmainer, - The Davenport is lovely and the area of Merrion sq is delightful

Thank you so much for the information! I really had no hotels in mind, was only looking at visitdublin.com and looking at the different areas. I will check these out!

8-)

Really loved the Westin Dublin. Not cheap but large rooms, fantastic location, and great service, ammenities and facilities.

I second GreenDragon. In fact, when I was planning a trip to Dublin this summer I stayed there based on GD's recommendation and was very pleased. (Thanks again Green Dragon.) The street is loud but it is good walking distance to anywhere basically, and is just so authentic--a real B&B. Check out my trip report if you want more details on O'Neill's. http://tinyurl.com/eocyw

I second Lucielou's and Siobhan's warnings about where not to stay.

I stayed at the Conrad on Earlsford Ter. and love it. Here is my post about the experience:

I was in Dublin last weekend and stayed at the Conrad hotel (Hilton Chain) on Earlsfort Terrace, just a short walk through Stephan’s Green to Grafton Street.

http://conradhotels1.hilton.com/en/c...tyhocn=DUBHCCI

The website bills the hotel as a “five star luxury hotel”, which I think is a stretch, but I would definitely classify it as a high-end, four-star-plus business hotel. I was really impressed by the service, the room was very nicely decorated (two large twin beds), spotlessly clean and the bathroom very large. The location is excellent, just opposite the National Concert Hall and within a few minutes of shopping, theatres, great restaurants and the museum and galleries.

Although the rooms can be expensive during the week (over 200 Euros) my Travel Agent got me a rate of 140 Euros per night (same rate as Expedia) as business hotels are often empty at the weekends. Similar hotels in the area were in excess of 220 Euros per night for the same period.

Highly recommended for a weekend getaway if you can get a good rate!

Regards Ger

This is great Ger! I am a Hilton rewards member and may just be able to stay for free with my points! Thanks!

Another loud vote for O'Neills. I stayed there in June 2003 and it was a great price, location, and room BUT it IS noisy. Have a great trip!