Dublin Downtown
by CraigT about Westin Dublin
We were on a company trip that planned our stay at the Westin Dublin. It is located downtown across the street from Trinity. Excellent restaurants and shopping are just a couple blocks away. The museums are within a few blocks. The location is excellent. I didn't see the bill as it was a group tour but I'm sure it's quite expensive. If money is no object, this is the place to stay for a flavor of Dublin. If you're looking for something less expensive - try to get near this location. I noticed a hotel just a block away down a narrow street on the way to the Temple area. Can't recall the name, but I will look for it on a return trip. Location, Location, Location. Rooms were very nice with all the extras you'd expect from a 4 star.
Good location but messive housekeeping
by A TripAdvisor Member
Just stayed there for a long weekend in late August 2004. Very good location, easy access to Temple Bar & other interest points in the city. Rooms are ok, but not as good as expected, I would say - just average hotel's room.
Service from Front desk and Concierge were good, but the housekeeping was a mess. Our room was on the 5th floor which is the roof top, the room was bright and view was good-overlooked the city. But we found the room was dusty and my wife bang her head many times due to a 45 degree roof angle. The bed was comparative small though it is a so called queen size bed. We moved to a room on 2nd level the next day. Similar snags were found, bed side tables and other amenities in the room were dusty. We never have such experience with other 5* hotels we had been stayed. We stayed there for 4 days 3 nights, no refill of bathroom amenities and milk/cream for coffee (coffee/tea facility is complimentary). Cups' size were not unique, one big and one small, look like the hotel was run out of cups. Tea spoons & mugs were not cleaned or replaced after we used it, just left it there as long as our stay. Obviously the house keepers didn't cleaned the room properly, except replaced the towels and fold back the bed linen daily. We have suggested the hotel management to re-train the house keepers if necessary.
Express check-out is fabulous, just press few buttons on the TV remote control during we were packing, then pick up the receipt from the front dest when we leave. Easy and smooth.
A Great Hotel!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
We just returned from three nights at the Westin Hotel in Dublin. The hotel was fantastic, and you should not even think of staying anyplace else if this hotel is in your price range. The location is perfect, and the service is as friendly as you'll find anywhere. The hotel itself is a reconverted bank, and the rooms are modern and spacious. We had a standard room and were afraid that it might be lacking in amentities. Actually, the standard room at the Westin would be a deluxe room anywhere else. Try to get the full Irish breakfast included in your rate, since it's expensive. The breakfast is excellent, and will probably hold you till dinner. The concierges were all great--we worked with David who was one of the friendliest and most helpful concierges we've ever met.
On a related note, we took a fly-drive package so we could tour the countryside after visiting Dublin. If you are considering this, I would recommend getting a ground transfer from the airport to the hotel and then having your rental car delivered to the hotel when you're ready to leave. We ended up paying for a car that we had to keep in the Westin's garage for a couple of days, and the daily rate for the car and parking was expensive.
Have a great time in Ireland! It's a wonderful place.
Not the best, but OK
by TripAdvisor Member alainef
I stayed at the Westin during the first week of October, 2004. I found a special rate (buy 2 nights, get 1 free) on the Westin web site. When I checked into the hotel, I realized that this rates puts me in a special category - for example, when I asked about turn down service, the person at the front desk told me that was for "special guests" only. When I requested it anyway, they merely placed a room service menu on my pillow. They also put me in a very small room, although it did overlook Trinity College which was nice. The room was lovely overall (except for the size) with a great big bathroom. The so-called heavenly bed was not heavenly and was in fact uncomfortable. The service was OK - not the friendly Irish service I found at the Westbury or Clarence though.
Great Hotel, Great Location
by A TripAdvisor Member
Fantastic location, 2 minute walk from Grafton Street, 5 mins from O Connell Street, opposite Temple bar area.
Smooth check in, 2 level suite fantastic
Lovely quiet bar area and great underground bar with food and drink at a very reasonable rate.
All in all a great hotel, great location....best in Dublin
Overpriced, small rooms, High Tea in Atrium was highlight
by A TripAdvisor Member
I booked a Delux double room as the normal rooms were fully booked. I got a twin room which was very cramped. The amenities in the room were not of a 5star level either. The room was very hot and stuffy also and the Fan did not make any appreciable difference. If this was a delux room I would hate to see the normal rooms.
When I arrived I was told that I should have reserved car parking space and that there would be a charge of E19 per night. I was not made aware of this in advance and the hotel car park was full. At more than E300 for a night the least I would expect is complimentary car parking.
The best thing I can say about the hotel is that the staff are friendly and High Tea in the Atrium is not to be missed.
Conclusion - this was definitely not a 5 star experience.
Perfect!
by A TripAdvisor Member
Stayed at the Westin in Dublin for one night in October. Could not have asked for more. Perfect central location, wonderful conceirge, beautiful lobby and common areas. Requested an early check in and late check out, done. Being a Starwood Preferred Guest, we were upgraded to one of their "Library Suites" . Nicely appointed king bedded room with a spiral staircase up to a spacious sitting area complete with TV, desk, couch, chairs and many books (hence "Library Suite"). Large bathroom done in tasteful marble. Separate shower and tub. Our room faced a busy street but yet we never heard any traffic noise. I'm hard to please when it comes to hotels and I recommend this one very highly.
Extremely unimpressed
by A TripAdvisor Member
We are writing to complain about our stay this weekend at the Westin in Dublin. On arrival Friday night, we asked what time we could eat in restaurant, only to be told that the restaurant was shut to hotel guests for both Friday & Saturday night for private functions!!! We were directed to the Mint Bar downstairs as an alternative source of food. However being Friday night it was absolutely heaving with people and it was not the ambience required by us after a 15 hour day and flight. I have to say that our idea of a 3 course meal at a 5* hotel does not include burger, or associated bar snacks as per the Mint menu, nice though I'm sure they are! We were told we could go out, but again, what we wanted was a nice meal in a 5* hotel not fight our way through the weekenders out for a wet Friday night in Temple Bar!! So on Friday night, we ended up sharing a sandwich and a cheeseboard in the Atrium bar. Saturday morning after excellent sleep in lovely bed (one of main reasons we go to Westin hotels), came down to find we had to wait in a queue for 20 minutes to even be allocated a table-not exaggerated- we timed it!! When we went to get our cooked breakfast-there was no sausage or bacon left, so my husband had mushrooms and potato, and i had a croissant! The pregnant woman in the queue by us was none too happy at this state of affairs either. Anyhow, we went into town, came back at 3.30 pm to have a lie down to find the room had not been cleaned nor the bed made!! At this point, we asked to speak to the duty manager. He came out to talk to us and he informed us that rooms are cleaned any time between 9am and 5pm!! We have stayed at a number of 5* hotels over the past few years and have never walked in at 3.30 pm to find the room untouched!! We then asked him why we could not eat in the restaurant on either night, and was informed that someone had booked the whole "Exchange " restaurant for a function- he said 120 people, and that as this was good business sense then they got the booking. He said it was better to have 120 people eating in the restaurant like that, than 30 or 40 people, which is what they might normally get from hotel guests!! We asked what about the other residents staying in the hotel-surely it is not good business sense to turf them out if they have paid good money to stay in a 5* hotel?- hardly likely to be singing the praises of Starwood hotels as a result we would think! Firstly, why should we have to go out to eat? The Westin prides itself on being a premier hotel-how can it possibly call itself this when the facilities that are on offer on the internet and its advertisements, are not actually available to guests staying at the hotel?!! We said to him that although we thought Dublin was lovely, there is no way we would consider staying at the Westin there again, and we would not be recommending it to our friends and business colleagues either- we were appalled at how the guests were treated-in a 5* hotel, there should be no reason to complain. Anyway the room was then cleaned within about 40 minutes and we carried on. We booked a meal at another hotel,(Morrisons Hotel) which by the way, cost us 8 euros each way in a taxi and prior to going, my husband went down to order us a cocktail in the Atrium Bar, to find that not only was the Exchange Restaurant shut, so was the Atrium Bar for "a private function!!!!", although the sign outside the Exchange Restaurant stated that although it was closed the Atrium Bar was open!! So now, we have no nice quiet cocktail bar and no restaurant!!!! The Mint Bar was as usual, heaving and not we came to the Westin for-peace and relaxation!!! We had a lovely meal at the other hotel,and were given some names of quality hotels in Dublin by the taxi drivers, for when we return. This morning (Sunday), we queued yet again for breakfast, and after 10 minutes we were offered to go through to the Banking Hall for breakfast as an option rather than stay in the queue. There was a limited breakfast selection there, and when I asked if I could have some fruit, I was pointed in the direction of 8 slices of watermelon and half a dozen berries!! (The previous day, when we were finally seated the choice of fruit and compotes etc was excellent, which at least part made up for the lack of bacon and sausage- which did eventually turn up but not until we had even seated for about 10 minutes, by which time, we had assumed no more was forthcoming).
On arrival we had asked if we could keep the room later on Sunday as our flight back was not til the evening. The hotel had said we could stay until 4pm free of charge, which was fine by us. We therefore went out Sunday morning, and on return at 3pm, found a message on our TV reminding us we should have vacated at 12pm. I phoned down to say that we had arranged this on Friday night, and the receptionist asked me(bearing in mind we had dealt with this on Friday) "Was I a Starwood Preferred Guest and if I was, what level was I?"! I replied that yes I was but could not remember what level,as I had not taken my card. She then asked "Have you a name?" which I presume referred to who I spoke to on Friday-her whole manner was again inappropriate for any hotel-let alone one of this supposed calibre.
Although we had a lovely time in Dublin, the whole weekend was marred by this stream of petty annoyances from the Westin. We maintain that if someone has booked a function for 120 people, surely they should be using the Banking Hall, and leaving the Exchange Restaurant for the other hotel residents? Or as happened in other quality hotels we know, if the main restaurant is booked for a function, then an alternative room is turned over to a restaurant for residents instead?Surely although we all acknowledge coroprate business is important,it is equally important to look after your "bread and butter" customers who return year after year? The Westins are hotels we hold in high regard, and we would hope that is not indicative of the change in standards in general.
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