We have narrowed our hotel choices to either the Shelbourne or the Merrion. They are very close in price.

We can get the Shelbourne for 1393E for 7 nights, which includes breakfast.

The Merrion runs 1585E with no breakfast.

To compare apples to apples, how pricey is an irish breakfast?

Location-wise, hotel/room quality, can anyone comment on either? Preference? Downside?

An Irish breakfast in either of those hotels could be quite pricey! My opening guess would be €20: that could amount to €280 in a week.

Little to choose between them on location. I would marginally prefer the Shelbourne.

We wouldn't eat breakfast at the hotel if not included in the room rate.

We would find a cafe and have it there. Would the cost still be @ 20E?

Bear in mind that with the location of both those hotels, you will have plenty of options for breakfasting outside the hotel

If you want to compare apples with apples, there is likely to be a difference between a breakfast in a luxury hotel and one in a nearby cafe.

You could probably get a fairly good breakfast for about €10, a less good one for about €5-6 (rough guesses, as I don't eat cafe breakfasts).

The hotel breakfast will most likely be an all you can eat buffet style one, so unless you like to eat enormous breakfasts, it sounds like very bad value.

You should get a full Irish breakfast elsewhere for under €10, and a good coffee with pastry for about €5. Prices vary quite a bit though, depending on where you eat. If you head down Grafton Street, it could get quite pricey. Instead, head down Leeson Street/ Baggot Street towards the canal, and you'll get a ton of smaller cafes aimed at office workers

I have stayed in both.

They are both 5 star hotels, and both are excellent, and you would not be disappointed in either, but the Merrion is definitely my preference by far.

The Shelbourne is closer to town, but the Merrion is only a 5 minute walk. The Shelbourne is the 'in' place to be, and therefore the bar areas are very crowded and very noisy on a Fri/Sat night. The Merrion has a lovely bar and reception rooms, which are quieter and never overcrowded, but certainly still busy enough to create a nice buzz.

Any room I have had in the Merion was (slightly) bigger than any room I had in the Shelbourne.

The Merrion has a spa and swimming pool, the Shelbourne does not.

All the above points are just my personal views!! I hope this helps.

Angela

With the Shelbourne lower in price than the Merrion, and with breakfast included at the Shelbourne, sounds like a much better deal to me. I like the Shelbourne very much but have not stayed there since it underwent a major renovation which I would assume would only be an improvement on what was already a great place. It would be my choice.

The Shelbourne has a better location. The Merrion would be seen as a slighly more exclusive hotel I think. Plus if you feel like treating yourself, The Merrion has Ireland's only two starred Michelin restaurant, called Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud.

I have only stayed at The Shelbourne, and we loved it. Our stay was post renovation, in October 2007. The room was perfect for two. Our "view" was of an office building, but we weren't there for the view! The bed was comfortable, and we slept well every night. There was also a small sitting area with a table and two chairs and a desk. The bathroom was a decent size and has a heated towel bar which came in super handy when we got soaked on our last day and wanted to dry out our jeans before packing them for our return home.

Another great feature, for me, was the in-room safe - it was located at chest level so I did not have to crawl on the floor in a closet to lock up what we left behind each day. We also felt comfortable enough to leave our baggage and most of our clothing behind, when we ventured to London for two days in the middle of our stay(we put the "do not disturb" sign on our door).

We also loved the location. We will be back in Dublin later this month and will stay at The Shelbourne again. I would recommend the hotel to anyone, and my husband recommends the raspberry brownies they had at the reception desk (and hopes they'll have more when we arrive).