Melissa5 - no problem, there's room for everyone. We're going in August, so I'll expect a full report from you when you get back!

We decided to stay in Malahide - it seems to fit our family's needs (2 teens, 2 adults) and traveling plans. Good luck with your decision.

maxpaste, you bet, you'll see my trip report before you go next August! Or at least, you'll see the beginning of my trip report...I may go on and on for months...

Melissa
If you have trouble sleeping, as I do, then you must be very careful about what hotel you choose and what street in Dublin. I would recommend you stay a few minutes walk out of the city centre, I would definitely steer clear of Harcourt Street, as there is quite a lot of noise from the clubs there, and its a bone of contention with Hoteliers in the area, in fact they are lobbying the government to have some of the clubs closed down because of complaints from guests in the hotels about noise. There is a lovely little guest house on Adelaide Road called Kilroran Guesthouse, its only a ten minute walk from Grafton street and Trinity college but far from the madding crowd. Regarding Dublin and July, well to be honest Dublin is always busy, there is no quiet time so to speak, I would go ahead and come for July, there will lots of tourists, but and the city will be buzzing, September might be marginally quieter, but not much. If there is anything i can help you with, give me a holler!
Kilroran web site is.

http://www.premierguesthouses.com/Gu...onan-House.htm

Good Luck
Lucie

I think that Lucie means Kilronan House as opposed to Kilroran. A bit of a typo perhaps? If so, this is the website: http://www.dublinn.com/

lucielou, thanks for the info on dublin! Kilronan house is just the place I had my eye on, as a matter of fact! So I will be choosing between Kilronan House in dublin, or Beechwood House in Malahide.

Thankyou Irish Eyes, a typo indeed, I try to type as quick as i talk, and it all gets jumbled up !!!

Guys

For what it's worth, my opinion on the King Sitric in Howth. Having looked forward to dining going there for ages, I dined there June 04 with my wife - I was not overwhelmed by the food. I found it, like many Dublin restaurants, expensive and the food so-so, the service though was good. Maybe it's changed since or we got it on a bad night.

In Malahide, Bon Appetit is nice - it's formal and expensive, but IMHO worth it. Also, The Old Schoolhouse in Swords is worth a visit. Similar price / standard to Bon Appetit, maybe a little less formal.

Bon appetit is very pricey but I hear always fantastic reviews. A friend of a friend used to know the owner and we had a cake made by them as a favour for a work event. very nice!http://www.bonappetit.ie/`

Gavan I never ate at the Kind Sitric and I am not a seafood eater but I hear Aqua in Howth is good.

If you want something a bit out of the ordinary and you LOve seafood try Hemmingways on Vernon ave in Clontarf. Odd place that is a fishmongers with a seating counter and they will cook any piece iof fish you choose any way you like it. They make me beautiful veggie plates and tortilla's Very casual and we just drop in with no bookings. Someone came in last week wiith a booking for 4 and to my horror they did have one and we laughed. They just did it for the night but I hoppe they don't make a habit of it. Great cooks and fun atmosphere in the evenings.

Thanks for all these tasty thoughts of Malahide and Howth areas!

Earlier this year dinner at Bon Appetit was 50 euro per person! The menu looked fantastic. But when spending three weeks in Ireland and having to eat out for the whole time, that just did not fit into my budget. Our B&B owner said it was good value for money. But not for my money! I always find Sale e Pepe very good and it costs less. Although that night we ate at Smyths for around 10 euro each. Eating out in Ireland has gotten extremely expensive since they changed over to the euro.