I was recently in Dublin to attend the
Shamrock Doo and spent the last night at the
Hilton Dublin Airport, figuring it would save a little time in the morning. It was also significantly cheaper that the Conrad and Westin, where I had spent the last few nights. In chatting with some of the other attendees, I was asked to post an updated review of this property so here are my impressions:
Arrangements
I initially booked a fully refundable 109€ rate (tax included) via Hilton.com but switched it to the prepaid 98€ rate on line a few days before I flew to DUB. I briefly considered using points but the hotel is listed as a
category 4 (30,000 points), which I considered a bit high. My plan was to take the
AirCoach bus from the vicinity of the Conrad back to the airport and then take the complimentary shuttle from the airport to the hotel. I contacted the Hilton in advance regarding shuttle pickup times and received a very prompt response from
Dan Howard, the reservations manager. The airport pickup times were fairly accurate:
9.00, 10.00, 11.00 12.00, 13.30, 14.00, 15.00, 15.30, 16.30, 17.30, 18.15, 19.30, 20.30, 21.30, 22.15, 23.45
But the hotel pickup times were not.
Transport
I arrived back at the airport from Dublin at approx 14:50 and contacted the hotel by dialing 101 from the courtesy phone located in the arrivals level. You can find the hotel courtesy phones in the back left region of arrivals as you view it from the street. I was told the shuttle was currently at the hotel and would be along in approx 10 minutes and was then given instructions and how to find the shuttle pickup area.
To do so, proceed out of the airport terminal, cross the street and then walk straight through the next building, which is the short term parking garage. Once outside again, veer slightly to the left and look for
this sign. The shuttle came along in about 20 minutes and picked up myself and another passenger. It took approximately 15 minutes to reach the hotel via lightly trafficked roads. During the journey, I chatted with the friendly driver, who shared stories about the various teething pains at the eight month old property. For example, the revolving door at the entrance continuously leaked water and required flying in an engineer from London numerous times over several months in an effort to diagnose the problem. They eventually located the source of the leak by pouring in dye on the roof and then tracing its source.
The hotel is quite isolated, with the nearest town being the coastal village of
Malahide, approximately a 20 minute ride, according to the driver. The Hilton provides a shuttle service that departs once a day a little after 19:00 and picks up in Malahide just after 23:00. There is quite a bit of construction going on near the hotel and the roads in the immediate vicinity of the hotel were crowded with heavy trucks and cars so this isolation may change in the near future. From discussions with the driver, I was left with the impression that occupancy was not quite what they hoped but business had been picking up of late.
Check In
During check-in, I was told I had been upgraded to a deluxe room and, as has been reported previously in this forum, complimentary breakfast was not offered. Given that I intended to leave the hotel fairly early in the morning, I opted not to press the issue but under other circumstances I would certainly have protested this very poor policy.
I was asked if I wished to make dinner reservations at the hotel restaurant but declined. I had already picked up some munchies at
Marks and Spencer prior to leaving the city. In addition, I noticed an enormous
Tesco, located diagonally across the street, which had evidently opened quite recently.
I reviewed the room rate with the desk clerk, which still showed the original 109€ rate even though I had changed it to a cheaper prepaid rate on line six days prior. I gave the desk clerk a copy of my confirmation for their records. Given that this was a prepaid rate, I was concerned about being billed twice but was assured that this would not occur. By the way, it is certainly my sense that this seems to be the norm for Hilton properties in the UK and its environs, i.e. rates listed as prepaid on Hilton.com are
never, in reality, prepaid at all. At least, that has been my experience at the Hilton Metropole in London and other properties on many occasions.
I also arranged for a wakeup all and an airport shuttle pickup time for the following morning. The shuttle schedule previously emailed by the hotel had indicated 6:45 and 7:15 but the actual time was 7:00AM, not a problem as long as this is known in advance.
The Room
Room
408 directly faced one of the very busy roads but sound proofing was excellent because I could not hear any outside noise at all. As has been reported by other FTers, the room was spacious, attractive and clean. Although the hotel web site had listed only doubles and singles,
the bed was clearly much larger.
An amenity had been prepared for me, comprised of two small bottles of wine, four bottles of water (two sparkling and two still) and two small boxes of chocolate. The television displayed a greeting message, attended by the face of an odd
virtual woman, whose facial expressions boasted semi-lifelike mannerisms. In the corner of the room was a
desk, equipped with accoutrements for making tea and instant coffee. Wired high speed internet was available for a fairly hefty charge; in contrast, the Conrad offered it free from their business center.
The morning wakeup call was delivered by the desk attendant (i.e. not a machine) on time. The
bathroom was small but clean and boasted excellent water pressure. However, during the sleepy, wee hours of the morning I could not figure out how to redirect the water from the tub to the shower.
Checkout was uneventful, although it seemed a bit odd that my credit card was required again, even through it had purportedly been imprinted when I checked in the prior afternoon. The shuttle departed right on time at 7:00 and we arrived at the airport within 12 minutes via a variety of back roads.
Summary
The accommodations were clean and attractive and all interactions with the staff were friendly and cordial. I would stay at this hotel again but only if I had no need to be in the city and the rates continued to be reasonable. Staying there the night before a morning flight is ideal and offers the added benefit of cheaper accommodations compared with more centrally located Hilton and Starwood alternatives.
The only negative aspect is the unfortunate and misguided policy of providing Diamonds either with breakfast
or an upgrade. The Conrad is able and willing to provide Diamonds with an upgrade, an amenity
and a great buffet breakfast and methinks it wouldn't break the bank at the Hilton Dublin Airport to do likewise. Many guests, myself included, are impressed when a property exceeds expectations. Perhaps business at the hotel would pick up even more if they were to follow the example of the Conrad.