Hotel Gratuity - Dublin
 

Hi! I will be staying in Dublin with two friends at the Eliza Lodge in September. We are 22, and sadly, have never stayed in hotels without our parents before. lol.
What are the logistics of tipping hotel personnel? Who do you tip? When do you tip them?
Also, if anyone has any insight about the Eliza Lodge, I'd love to hear about it!
Thanks!

I looked at their website, and it tells me that it is a family-run guesthouse. That makes a difference. It is not the norm to tip the proprietor of a business, and that generally extends to members of the proprietor's family. Neither is it *expected* that you tip for breakfast service, whether provided by the proprietor's family or by staff. I might give a modest tip -- say 5 or 10 euros -- to staff who serve breakfast if they have looked after me well for a few days. Logistics: when leaving after the last breakfast, slip the note quietly to the server you want to reward, saying "thanks for looking after us".

I would do it at the end of my stay, as I don't subscribe to the "tip early to ensure good service" school of thought; I trust that I will get reasonable service anyway, and I am rarely disappointed.

If you take lunch or an evening meal, it is customary in Ireland to give a gratuity of the order of 10% of the price.

I don't know the Eliza Lodge, but the location is fairly good, on the edge of the Temple Bar area. You will miss most of the late-night revelry noise, but you might have to endure a lot of traffic noise.

Might be worth searching on tipping in europe threads. Fodors is full of them and generally Europe does far less tipping than USA. So while withoutwings can be right I would be less generous and even then only if they HAD looked after me.

Its a culture thing but read some of the other threads and come to you own opinion

I stayed at Eliza Lodge last October and I'm booked again this year. The location is really incredible. So close to everything.

I really wouldn't describe this as a family-run guesthouse. It really seems more like a small hotel. Breakfast is in the Eliza Blues Restaurant which is on the bottom floor of the hotel. Strangely, not only are they serving hotel guests, but they are also serving the public. Let them know you're a hotel guest and they will seat you in the appropriate area.

Quick tip: you have to be buzzed in to the hotel when you first check in. It's not uncommon to be standing there for quite a while waiting for someone to let you in. Go into Eliza Blues restaurant and let them know you're trying to check in and they should let you in. Once checked in, you'll be given a key card that will open the door for you.

I wasn't bothered by the street noise but was rather annoyed by the door buzzer. As you enter or exit the hotel, the buzzer sounds and I could hear it (all night) up in my room.

I have to be honest, I didn't tip any of the staff. Can't say I saw any other guest at breakfast tip the staff either.

Thanks so much for all the info!
kmg21,if you could share anymore details about the Eliza Lodge, that would be great! How was your room? How was the view at night? This might sound strange, but did you meet a receptionist named Mona? I booked through her and she was SO nice!
Anyway, yeah, thanks again!

Unfortunately, I had one of the single rooms at the back of the hotel. No scenic view for me. I'm upgrading to the penthouse single this year!

There's a lounge on the second floor for all the guests - it's one of the corner rooms with TV, couches, stereo system, books, etc. plus the great view. I even think it's got a whirlpool tub in the attached bath!

Not sure if I met Mona or not. To be honest, there were at least 4 people working the reception desk at various times when I was there. Not sure who was who!

I hope you have a great time in Dublin. I'm back there the first week of October (for my third trip!) so it looks like we won't cross paths. I think Eliza Lodge is a great little budget hotel. I hope it works out OK for you too.

Don't stress over the tipping thing. If breakfast is included and buffet a tip is not expected and you can leave some change. Tip someone if they take you bags upstairs but that is it. Its a small hotel not guesthouse and a good fun area for 22 year olds.

Don't tip for breakfast. Honestly.