Starwood Preferred Guest - Westin Dublin, Ireland 2007 onward [Master Thread]

I've had only one stay at this hotel, overall a nice one, but the rooms we had were facing an inner courtyard and with very little natural light.

Do all rooms at the hotel face in? What type of room should I try asking for in order to have some kind of outside view?

TIA!

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I've only had two rooms at the Westin. The Grafton Suite - very nice two room suite overlooking Trinity College and the Royal Bank. Very nice. I was also lucky enough (because of an oversell situation so don't expect it) to be upgraded to the College Suite aka the Presidential Suite. I think it was 7 rooms, 2 floors and a balcony that ran almost the full width of the building. Wonderful hotel, wonderful hotel staff, wonderful city. Can't wait for another DO there.

Do all rooms at the hotel face in?No, many face out too. However the views are not amazing and I'm not sure I'd want to pay much more simply for an outward facing window - although I did once have a room like you describe and yes, it was pretty uninspiring.

What type of room should I try asking for in order to have some kind of outside view?One with an outside view? :D The building used to be a bank, so was not designed to be a hotel - the rooms can have some funny shapes etc. In general, I like this hotel, it has a great location, the Mint Bar is novel, however it has increased in price hugely since it opened and I'm not convinced whether it is truly value for money.

Dublin is yet another example of a major European city with a very poor *wood presence - there is easily room for a Sheraton & a 4P to compete with the numerous other chains & independents.

I stayed in an outside-view room at the Dublin Westin a few months ago. It was an upgraded award room (paid 1000 extra points for it) but I don't remember the official name for it.

To be honest, the outside view wasn't anything amazing. We were on a higher floor so it was pleasant enough, but since it's a busy street below, I could see it being potentially noisy on lower floors.

Your best bet is to email or call the hotel (or SPG reservations) to find out. That way, you're sure to get what you want.

My wife and I have booked a deluxe room using points for mid-august. There were no standard rooms available so it will cost us 13,500 points. Rates for that night are 279 Euros for the deluxe room. For 80 Euros we can upgrade to a junior suite (regular rate is 439 Euros) or for 100 Euros (just 20 Euros more) we can upgrade to a deluxe suite (rate on Starwood's website is either 539 or 639 Euros--not sure which suite we would get). We have no status with Starwood (besides preferred guest) so we will not have a chance to get a suite without paying (which is certainly fair). Any advice from those who have been? Is it worth 100 Euros (roughly $140) plus 13,500 points for the deluxe suite? That seems a better value ($0.0449 per point) than just the room itself ($ 0.0285 per point). My first choice would actually be cash + points but we'll have to wait until the website is changed to see if that is available for our date. Thanks in advance for any input.

"Worth" is a relative measure, and only you can decide whether the extra room and comfort of the suite is worth the 80-100 Euros extra payment. If it was me, however, I would gladly pay the 100 Euros for the deluxe suite. You should either get one of the corner suites or a bi-level "library" suite, either of which will greatly enhance your experience at the hotel and Dublin in general.

Whatever you decide, have fun.

SG

"Worth" is a relative measure, and only you can decide whether the extra room and comfort of the suite is worth the 80-100 Euros extra payment. If it was me, however, I would gladly pay the 100 Euros for the deluxe suite. You should either get one of the corner suites or a bi-level "library" suite, either of which will greatly enhance your experience at the hotel and Dublin in general.

Whatever you decide, have fun.

SG
Thanks for the input.

Thanks for the input.

Ditto, on paying (or using points) to upgrade--well worth it. BTW, the hotel is lovely and the staff very helpful. We stayed there two nights last month and loved both the location of the hotel (central to everything) and the amenities there.

took

Heading to the Westin Dublin in December with the SO and was curious if anyone had any tips for securing a suite upgrade at this property? Paying with points, but no option to use them for anything other than a King room was available.

It's a make up trip since she got terribly sick just before we headed to our (upgradeless) Key West weekend just prior to her birthday so I'd like to try to make it a special weekend.

Just returned from the Westin Dublin; one of my best Starwood stays in Europe ever (and I have plenty). Stayed there for three nights on a "pay 2 stay 3" promo and was upgraded to a huge corner suite. Staff was excellent, room spotless, service quick, friendly and efficient. ^^^

The daily rate for the internet at the Westin is down to a less-stratospheric 15 euro a day, FYI.

I booked a standard 2-bed award room and was upgraded to a deluxe room on the 3rd floor facing the street in front of the hotel. The single beds in this hotel are super-sized singles, FYI. Almost a full size bed and extra-long. Not quite big enough for 2 people but a very nice size for one considering most european hotels only offer tiny twin beds.

The bathrooms here are terrific. I believe all of them have a tub and a separate shower stall - although in 4 stays I think I've had a slow shower drain in all four so far! :)

- T

I stayed at the Westin Dublin earlier this month. I reserved the cheapest available room the morning of my stay--it was 165 euros prepaid.

At check-in, I was asked if I wanted 1 or 2 beds. I asked if there were any suites available once it was obvious that I wasn't getting an upgrade. I was told that yes, suites were available, but that they only faced the courtyard--would I like that instead? Of course I said that I'd take the suite. Plat amenity posted promptly after the stay.

As for the room itself, it was a decent suite, not particularly large. I was in 523? I believe, it had a small living room, with a couch and two chairs around a round coffee table. The bathroom was very nice, with a large tub and large shower. The bedroom had a queen bed, but was a fairly small room in general. Both rooms had a ~32" LCD.

Valet parking is 25 euro--I found street parking around the back for 2 euros.

thinking of staying here on a points plus pay.
are there any better deals out there?

thinking of staying here on a points plus pay.
are there any better deals out there?

The hotel will be down to Cat 4 after 2/March - less points to book free nights.

Am not sure if the Cash and Points option is available at the hotel on the dates you want though.

Just a bump to see if anyone has recently stayed here or has a stay coming up and wouldn't mind posting back please.

I have just reserved a Westin Workout package for 2 nights in August. I like the fact the package comes with breakfast for 2 daily in the room or restaurant, sparkling wine and strawberries and the room description says Workout In Your Room With Spinning Cycle, Room Amenities - Pilates Workout And Equipment, In Room Dvd/cd Player so at least we can work off all the calories from breakfast and that sparkling wine whilst watching a DVD ;)

Stayed here for one night earlier in the month on points. My flight arrived in the AM and I was able to check in early for a room with two twins instead of a king. The room was very spacious and had an ottoman in the entryway and but only one lounge chair in the room. Staff was very friendly and attentive.

Bath amenities are in process of being switched from old to new so there was a mixture of both.

Internet is 15 euro per day and the standard breakfast buffet was 27 euro.

Great location, convenient to the buses and shopping.

I received an email prior to arrival offering an room upgrade for 25 euro which I didn't take.

My husband and I are staying next month for 9 nights. We do a big anniversary trip every year and while visiting the UK last year we both were saddened that we didn't have enough time to see Ireland. So now we're basing ourselves in Dublin and hoping to get around to other cities on day tours. I'd also LOVE to go to Cork overnight but am unsure as to how we'd get there since I doubt the hubby would want to drive, and have read that there might be problems finding a train from Dublin to Cork.

I'm curious about the suites. I've read on other sites about the bi-level suites and I've seen photos of the Executive suite (that's the one we've booked) but wonder which is the better? Also, if anyone's stayed there recently, what is the concierge like? It seems as if I either get a really good concierge or a really bad one, never in between.

My husband wants to know about the tv channels, if they'll have any American channels (I doubt it, it IS Ireland, not America!) and if they get any sports or news channels.

Do they offer bottled water everyday for Plats? Newspapers? I didn't see info on a club floor so I'm guessing we're on our own for breakfast and dinner.

If there are any more recent reviews, I'd love to read them! I saw on a Dublin website that this hotel is considered #1 in the city. I think it was about #13 or #14 on Trip Advisor.

I'd been planning on using the Platinum "gift" of 50 percent off a stay for our trip but as it didn't show up this year, we cut the trip shorter. But I did get a pretty good rate- buy 4 nights get 2 free, and then I used points for the other 3 nights. Considering that it was only 10,000 a night, it wasn't that bad. Not the free trip we'd counted on, but still, not bad!

My husband wants to know about the tv channels, if they'll have any American channels (I doubt it, it IS Ireland, not America!) and if they get any sports or news channels.


I just stayed at Westin Dublin for 4 nights last week. Had a great stay. A very nice room. Everybody I encountered on the staff was fantastic.

The hotel is very centrally located and is just a few minutes walk from anything you could want in Dublin. It is situated across the street from Trinity college and Bank of Ireland. It's around 15-20 Euro for a taxi ride from DUB (depending on traffic).

They had CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Nick, and ESPN America. They also had SkyNews (UK) and some other channels.

I was there about 2 weeks ago. My wife and I received a nice upgrade to a very large room, more than adequate.

I remember paying about 30 Euros for the taxi back to DUB early Sunday morning, before the buses start to run.

Edited to add:
Water-Yes
Newspaper-Yes (The Irish Times)
There is no club. Temple Bar is acoss the street

There are many trains daily (hourly) from DUB to Cork. However, it is about a 3 hour ride (as is Galway, etc.). The Trains to Cork leave from Hesuton station. Plan on a taxi.
http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/printed_timetable_pdfs/2009/Dublin%20Cork%2009.pdf

The 10,000 points/night is one of the better uses of *points, given the value of the dollar and the prices of top hotels in Europe.

I did not like the duplex suite they offered to me. No windows in on the gound floor (a bit like being in a cellar), rather small and the top floor windows gave a view into nowwhere. I liked th O'Connel (the spelling is certainly wrong) which was quite spacious and gave a good view facing this main road. All in all: fantastic hotel. Water: yes, howuper there is a 7/11 (or similar) 20 yards from the hotel.

I had the College Suite once on an upgrade. It was the finest suite I have ever had. Two floors overlooking Trinity, private gym and steam room, two separate upstairs rooms, etc., etc.,

I had the College Suite once on an upgrade. It was the finest suite I have ever had. Two floors overlooking Trinity, private gym and steam room, two separate upstairs rooms, etc., etc.,

I had the College Suite as well - for the Shamrock Doo a couple of years ago. I felt like a visiting King. The balcony was the largest I have ever seen.

I don't think we'll get the college suite considering we're cashing in points for 3 of the nights and getting another 2 for free with their rate, but it sounds like a great place. I don't mind using the points and am surprised it's not more.

I'm thinking I might want to go overnight to Cork, so now I need to look into the Starwood there. I wonder if 1 day is enough for Cork or if 2 would be better? It's my 1st trip to Ireland- I have no idea what to do and see. Luckily the concierge is helping my hubby with inquiries into soccer matches and golf!

I'm thinking I might want to go overnight to Cork, so now I need to look into the Starwood there. I wonder if 1 day is enough for Cork or if 2 would be better? It's my 1st trip to Ireland- I have no idea what to do and see. Luckily the concierge is helping my hubby with inquiries into soccer matches and golf!

There are two basic things to do in Ireland if you are a golfer. Golf and drink. So if you don't golf, you won't have to worry about an agenda. ;)

I've never stayed at the Starwood near Cork. It's too far outside of town and it's fun to wander around the center and have a drink or 6.

Also, be ware of the great American rip-off that they have in Ireland these days. If you pay for anything with a US credit card, most all establishments will try to rip you off by charging you in dollars with an inflated exchange rate. I always tell them that I wish to be charged in Euros. Let Visa or Amex handle the currency exchange for you. Do not sign any credit card slip or machine without carefully reading everything. Usually somewhere in fine print it will say you are agreeing to be charge in dollars at a special exchange rate. :mad: :td: Note that I don't recall the Westin using this horrible practice, but most everywhere else I've gone in Ireland does.

Ah, we golf but neither of us is much of a drinker. But we do love the ambiance of a city, walking the streets, etc. If the Starwood hotel is way out of the city, maybe we should just do a day trip?

Good to know about the exchange rate charge! My hubby and I cut most of our credit cards out of our lives and use our bank cards (the debit/credit ones) for almost everything. We have CCs if we need them, but we save a lot of money by just having everything taken directly from our bank account. I'm wondering if I should call our bank about this charge?

I didn't notice anything like that in Europe last month or the UK last year, but I will be on the lookout! Thanks!

I didn't notice anything like that in Europe last month or the UK last year, but I will be on the lookout! Thanks!

Ireland is the only country in Europe where I've seen this. I think it would be the same with debit cards, but I've not tried it. Just make sure that you don't agree to be charged in dollars and you will be OK.

There are other nice hotels in Cork center. Jury's is good. The Monte Notte is nice and trendy, but you have to walk up a hill to get there.

Another Irish town with a nice city center is Limerick. The Hilton is very nice there, as is the Marriott.

Any good restaurant recommendations within a short walk of this property?

Any good restaurant recommendations within a short walk of this property?

Without the slightest hesitation I will recommend Gogarty's. This is a MUST for food on the top floor, and the music on the 1st floor. The most difficult thing about the restaurant is making a choice. The menu is loaded with great things to eat.

http://www.gogartys.ie/

I'd also LOVE to go to Cork overnight but am unsure as to how we'd get there since I doubt the hubby would want to drive, and have read that there might be problems finding a train from Dublin to Cork.

A direct train every hour each way is not enough?
Timetable at http://irishrail.ie/home/

My husband wants to know about the tv channels, if they'll have any American channels (I doubt it, it IS Ireland, not America!) and if they get any sports or news channels.

I don't watch TV in the US. The thought of going all the way to Ireland to watch crummy American TV just boggles my mind.

Any good restaurant recommendations within a short walk of this property?

Gallagher's Boxty House is just down the road and is really nice as well. Make sure to hit the tourist information center first to get a leaflet that gets you a free pint of Murphy's with the purchase of an entree.

http://www.boxtyhouse.ie/

Without the slightest hesitation I will recommend Gogarty's. This is a MUST for food on the top floor, and the music on the 1st floor. The most difficult thing about the restaurant is making a choice. The menu is loaded with great things to eat.

http://www.gogartys.ie/

Then, I shall try next time. :) Thanks, stimpy.

We checked in Friday morning after a night-flight and were thrilled that our room was ready at 9am! I'd requested a suite upgrade and we were shown to room 400, which is a lovely suite. It had a living room and a bedroom, with a marble half-bath on the far side of the living room and a good-sized marble bathroom in the bedroom with a tub and walk-in shower.

The key-card goes into a slot when you enter the suite to turn the lights, on, and THIS is what caused us trouble. There was no door between the bedroom and living room, so the hubby and I had dueling tv sets on. Then I work up earlier than he did and I turned on the light out in the hallway, which turned on the light in the bedroom, waking him up. If I'd been alone, room 400 would've been perfect. But we needed something a little different, something with a door between the rooms.

The next night we were moved to 220, the Westmoreland suite. It, too, is lovely, and while smaller than room 400, it has that door that keeps the unwanted noise and light to a minimum. There are a few steps up when you enter the room and there's a small living room with sofa, coffee table desk and tv area. A flat screen hangs on the wall.

The bedroom is smaller but again, separate, and the bathroom is a bit larger, with 2 separate sinks and the same marble floor with tub and separate walk-in shower.

I heard mention of there not being slippers to accompany the robes, but in both suites we had slippers in the drawer with the hair dryer. Since the floors out here are wood and the bathroom is marble, the slippers are nice.

The people who work here go out of their way to help. We mentioned to the concierge that my husband wanted to see a soccer game, and when there weren't any nearby, they found us a "Hurling' game, which was something to see! I dislike sports but this was hard to take my eyes off!

The concierge works so hard, and yesterday they had 2 men on the job trying to find us the game. Today they found us the exact tour we were looking for (we go tomorrow) and they're wonderful with ideas and maps. The desk clerks are great, as well. After they moved us into this suite the manager on duty called to be sure we were comfortable.

The only problem we're running into is that it's actually sunny today and the living room doesn't cool off. But they sent us a fan last night and it really helped. Also, we kept having to call for ice, which is annoying both to the one calling and the one bringing the ice. But the min-bar lady solved the problem today by asking us if we wanted to "use the minibar" as a fridge! I almost kissed her.

I think we've got a lovely suite, the people who work here are amazing, and the breakfast buffet was perfection. If we weren't adopting a baby later this month, I would already be planning a return visit!

Great stay so far, wonderful people, above and beyond. :)

I stayed at this hotel as a gold 5 years or so ago. I was really looking forward to my return as a platinum (which I have now been for three years). Imagine my surprise to find the front desk staff believing that I was a gold. Fortunately, I show my SPG card as a matter of course. I immediately got an upgrade to a junior suite.

The suite was large enough to be considered a full suite. For ventilation and light purposes, it has an opening to the bedroom, as otherwise it would be entirely interior. From the front hall, the bedroom was to the right, and the bathroom was to the left. Others have written that all bathrooms here have walk in showers. That was not the case for this room. There were a few steps up to the living room. It was sparsely furnished, with a sofa at one end, a coffee table, then a dresser/minibar at the other with the TV on top. There was a desk to the side. Others have noted that the building was a conversion from a bank, so there are few rooms with exterior views. We had a large window that looked out on an interior service walkway, a side wall, and then blue sky above.

The bedroom would benefit from a curtain to draw close between the living area and the bedroom. It is light from 5am til 10pm at this time of year. The curtains were not blackout, and there was considerable light seepage into the bedroom. Further, if anyone is at the desk with the light on, it is immediately across from the opening to the bedroom.

We had some service issues the first day, and had superb recovery by the Assistant Front Desk Manager. He certainly made us feel that those hiccups were an anomaly. The staff is very international, from the warm and friendly head of maintenance to the absolutely delightful head of food services who was filling in at the restaurant during breakfast. The doorman was outstanding, carefully helping my husband with directions to drop off our rental car.

Spent 3 days here in late May 2009. 2 nights award, 1 night paid. Spent 1,500 points extra per night for the junior suite (1 paid night was cheapest room, but they upgraded me on that night to same junior suite room… which was my plan all along ;)). No further upgrade offered at check in.

Overall I enjoyed my stay and would return. The location is perfect for Dublin. Extremely central. I think this is the hotels best attribute. Many in this thread state this is one of their favorite Starwood hotels anywhere, that it is fantastic with superb service, etc. I have a difficult time going that far. Again, nice, but not spectacular.

As previously mentioned entire staff not Irish. Don’t think I met even one Irish person on my entire trip! :D

Room: At the end of the hall on the 2nd floor overlooking Trinity college (and main road). Odd shape. Always a risk with junior suites… hotels love to make left over weird spaces into junior suites. Sometimes they are great, sometimes they are horrible. This one was just OK. I almost decided to ask for another room, but did not. Clever reception desk clerk comment that this was his “favorite room in the hotel”, probably influenced me :rolleyes:. Spacious marble bath was the nicest part of the room. However the separate shower was awkwardly located behind the main entry door to the bathroom… and was about 6” too small in width and depth. Kept thinking I was going to bang my elbows into the glass wall. New Westin toiletries from Canada. OK, but asked housekeeping if they still had any Molten Brown … and they brought a round up for me (very nice). Nice bathtub. Bed was on the soft side. I think a boys rugby team had practice on it before my arrival. After the first night it was bad enough that I again almost tried to change rooms… but did not. Sofa also not very comfortable. With the exception of the hardwood flooring in the entry area (very scratched up), the room was otherwise in very good condition (fabrics, paint job, etc.). One good thing was due to the room location about 40 miles from the elevator, I was not bothered by hallway noise or door slamming. Was not bothered by other guest noise either. Traffic noise from major road (300 buses per hour) was fairly well subdued by the double glazed windows, but I did sleep with ear plugs.

Food: Had dinner in the main restaurant one evening. They had a special that was a good value. The meal was excellent and the service very pleasant and attentive. It was not very busy. Did not eat breakfast at the hotel as rates were ridiculous.

Service: I don’t consume much in the way of hotel services other than checking in and having my room serviced… so can’t really say too much about it other than staff was pleasant. However, my room was not cleaned one day when I came back to the room at about 4:30, which I thought rather late (could be that my room being 40 miles from the elevator gets cleaned last). I double checked with the front desk to make sure they did not think I was checking out (due to 2 night award, 1 night paid). Oh yeah, turndown not provided on the first night.

Summary: Good solid hotel in a great central location. Ok rooms, nice bathrooms.

Does anyone know if there are any non-suite "family rooms" here that would accommodate 2 adults & 2 kids? I am only seeing rooms with 2 twins or 1 double bed on the site. I can e-mail the hotel but just wondering if anyone has stayed here with their children in the same room.