The Dublin Community Blog

I suspect everyone has a list of all those things they want to do before they die. Well, be it ever so humble, I managed to cross one of the items off my own personal list last week.

When I take a trip, my hotel is usually of the 3 star level. Many of them have been perfectly adequate while some have been downright horrible. To be honest I’m happy as long as the room is clean and the bed is comfortable, but I’ve always said that one day I’d like to see how the other half live and check into the best hotel I can find. You know, somewhere where everything works, the hairdryer isn’t glued to the mirror and the soap doesn’t come out of a dispenser.

So last week, to celebrate my husband’s birthday, I booked us into the Fitzwilliam Hotel beside St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin for a night. When doing my research online there were plenty of hotels in Dublin to choose from. A site that I have found to be a godsend is www.tripadvisor.com. It’s a site covering hotels all over the world and gives reviews from regular people who have stayed in the hotels. It’s up-to-date and very detailed. Through it I discovered for instance that although the Clarence is a beautiful hotel, and has the rock-and-roll name attached to it, it’s more of a party hotel, it’s a little too expensive for what you get and it can be quite noisy. So that one went off my list. After a little more research the Fitzwilliam stood out from the crowd and I was able to book online straight away.

We were not disappointed. We had bought a deal which included a four-course meal, breakfast and an executive room all for less than €300. One little tip is to register as a member on their booking site and you will be offered an automatic upgrade when you check in. We were upgraded to a Superior room which included a balcony overlooking St. Stephen’s Green. The room was gorgeous, there’s a CD player in the room with a library of CDs that you can order from and have delivered. There is broadband for your laptop, fresh flowers a huge King-size bed and a modern bathroom with an extremely powerful shower.

The best feature of all was the balcony; our room was on the fourth floor and overlooked the entrance to the park and the lake. We sat out there in the evening and again in the morning and while my husband drank his coffee I enjoyed a spot of people-watching. It’s amazing how nobody looks up. Early in the morning, I got up to look outside just as the sun was rising. The streets were empty and peaceful and the only signs of life were the ducks in the park. I’m only sorry I didn’t think to bring my camera…and I call myself a blogger!

Our meal was in the Citron restaurant in the hotel. I thought the food was one aspect that didn’t quite live up to the quality of the rest of the stay. I ordered the lamb and it was drowned in a strong-tasting mushroom sauce that just didn’t take my fancy. I would be tempted, if we ever stayed there again, to go to one of the many restaurants nearby instead. Breakfast however was delicious with the choice of a huge selection of pastries, fruit and yoghurt or a full cooked breakfast.

Overall, this hotel lived up to my expecatations and we came back refreshed and relaxed. I particularly enjoyed becoming a tourist in my own city. I won’t forget in a hurry the sunrise over the park.