TRIP REPORT INDEX

SUMMARY

Near(ish) tourist sites. Plenty of restaurants and pubs.

After the long drive back from Doolin, we arrived back in Dublin in the early evening. With our flight in the morning, we had the remaining few hours already planned – dinner and a comedy show. We decided last minute to stay in Dublin instead of Athlone again and I was thrilled to be able to book a room at the Hilton Dublin using Hilton HHonors points.

LOCATION

The Hilton Dublin is somewhat walking distance to many sites. The Temple Bar area is 1.25 miles (2km), a 20-25 minute walk…so not exactly walking distance if this is where you want to go. Luckily, there are many restaurants and the Anseo Comedy Club within 10 minutes walk.

COST

Hotels in Dublin can be very expensive. The cheapest rate I could find for the Hilton Dublin was $370 including taxes. I paid 40,000 Hilton HHonors points, which gives me a value of just under a penny per point. Our only cash cost here was for parking (15€) plus dinner and entertainment.

BOOK A ROOM or STAY FREE

Want to stay for free? The Citi Hilton HHonors Visa is offering a 75k point sign up bonus for a Limited Time. Find the offer here -> then click “Hotel Credit Cards” and scroll down to find the Hilton bonus offer.

Book your stay at Hilton.com. They guarantee the lowest price — find a lower price and they will match it plus give you $50 for your trouble.  These are affiliate links and I may receive a commission if use these links — many thanks in advance if you do!!

ROOM

We got a regular room with two twin beds — a king bed was not available as I booked this last minute. It's a nice room – nothing amazing but no complaints.

The bathroom was clean, modern, and came with nice shampoos and soaps. Yes, somehow a few ended up in the suitcase!

Of course, a bottle opener in the bathroom to open your bottle of Guinness!

Not much of a view…

LOBBY

Plenty of seating both indoors and outdoors near the lobby.

CLUB LOUNGE

There is no club lounge, unfortunately. Instead, the Hilton Dublin offers this Nespresso machine and teas for all guests. Although I don't drink coffee, Nespresso makes the coffee pods look so sexy that I wanted to try it – they look almost like gourmet Vosges Haut Chocolate truffles.

GYM

The gym at the hotel has the basics – a few cardio machines and some weights. Some spider webs on a machine make it pretty clear that the gym needs a good cleaning every now and then (or as soon as possible).

A spider has been spinning its web here for some time. Can you see it right in the middle?

BREAKFAST

As a Gold member, we were given a full Irish breakfast buffet which was a nice perk! Do I really need to eat THIS much? No…but I did.  They provide many options including two types of blood sausage if you like that (I don't). All the food is cooked in large batches in the kitchen — so no omelet stations. This was definitely a proper and filling breakfast!

Scrambled eggs and mushrooms… I wish there was an omelet station.

Sausages and tomatoes

Heinz Baked beans (from a can?), Heinz mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup. Does anyone put mayo on baked beans? There is too much food from can/jar here for me.

Delicious fresh made breads and pastries. Who doesn't love a nice spread of fresh breads?!

Some juices

A few healthy options: yogurt, meusli, and fruit (I took a 4x serving of the fruit mix):

Steel cut oatmeal, cereals, dried fruit, seeds. I LOVE steel cut oatmeal!

Smoked salmon, cold cuts, fruits, cheese, and more yogurt:

The dining room:

ONE SHORT NIGHT IN DUBLIN

The main reason I switched our last night to Dublin instead of Athlone was to catch a comedy show which is only offered one night per week. After dinner at Green Nineteen, a cool modern cafe with very good food, we went to Anseo Comedy Club. The show by Aidan Killian and 2 other local comedians had us laughing and having a good time even if I didn't understand some of the local references. Check them out if you are in town. The cost?  Pay what ever you want!

In the bathroom they have an interesting sticker: “LEARN ON THE LOO. GAEILGE WHILE YOU POO”. A good read — especially if you're trying to find a friend for the night. Here is the full image in case you'd like to put this up in your bathroom.

My Cameras: These photos were taken using my Canon S110 Digital Camera (which has been replaced by the S120) as well as my larger Nikon D50.  I love the S110 – it’s tiny, fits in my pocket, and takes amazing pictures/videos.