Zurich Flyer

From the airport, you have two options

bus to downton and then from there you take bus #78a (or 51b or 51c) to "Emmet Road", bus stop #1992. From there it's a three minutes walk to the hilton

OR

bus to "Heuston Station". from there you may walk (less than one kilometer) or take another bus (several busses go)

ColumbiaPete

I just had a stay there last week and enjoyed the property. The bottle of water, fwiw, was not "tap water" but instead was sparkling water. Unless they take tap water and inject it with gas or whatever before they bring it up.

Funny thing, it was my first day in Ireland and I had gone for a short nap. Woke up and was thirsty and just starting to wonder if there was a mini-bar behind the cabinet when the knock came on the door and there the guy was with a bottle of cold sparkling water. So for me, it was a good thing.

Clean, comfortable room. Good service from the front desk and the staff in the bar. Good (buffet) breakfast, they will cook eggs to order upon request. A 2 minute walk down the hill to get the bus to the city center..I liked the place and would stay again.

Zurich Flyer

hehe, right. compared to us hotels it might be nice here. compared to high standard european and asiatic hotels it's an absolute dump here.

front desk staff were even to dumb to tell me how to go from the hotel to the hilton dublin airport. i had to look-up myself on www.dublinbus.ie and google maps. only junior staff members around.

if you are happy with this dump here, i recomand you to visit the hilton warsaw, bucharest, evian, bangkok etc and you will see a huuuuuuuge difference. if you know what i mean

ColumbiaPete

I didn't say there aren't nicer properties in the Hilton chain. I'd take the Conrad in Dublin over the Kilmainham Hilton in a heartbeat, for example. But didn't want to pay their rates.

I've also stayed in more than a couple "dumps" along the way. I'm sorry your stay there didn't meet your needs. When I think of a "dump" I think of issues like rude or nonexistent service, dirty rooms, rooms with issues like broken plumbing or lights out, bad food, rooms not available, wake-up calls missed, problems with billing, or any combination thereof.
Since I didn't encounter anything close to that, I'll stick with my recommendation for the place, and you and I will just have to agree to disagree.

formeraa

As for transportation in Dublin, I found very few people who actually know how to take the bus. It is very confusing, particularly for a European city, and far less straightforward than most larger US cities.

Robt760

IMO, the ranking of Hilton in Ireland is:

1. Conrad
2. Hilton Dublin
3. Hilton Dublin Airport
4. Hilton Kilmainham


The best qualities of the Kilmainham are the hotel restaurant is EXCELLENT and pricing/packages can be a good deal, I would almost go so far to say as ranking it #1 in Food Service amongst the others.

I used the Public Transit during my entire IRE stay, and you can go many places, but it's not easy to understand. Getting to this Hilton on public transit was easier than leaving to go back into the city. I used the tourist/day hopper bus for better transport during the day to get places quicker.

GoldCircle

I have stayed at Kilmainham many, many times. It's my local mattress run property.

In so far as the Diamond amenity amounting to a bottle of water, I can agree - it's very far from acceptable; the rest is a matter of ill-set expectation, to my mind. A hotel like this is there to service your accommodation needs, not to be a 5-star Conrad affair, in high-service settings. This property is not a dump. It is a modern, clean, spacious 4 star property that provides a comfortable stay. The rooms are good - show me a nicer bedroom in NYC, or indeed Zurich, for the same cost. Service is a bit clinical for sure, but that's Ireland, I am embarrassed to say. It could be better - and it has DEFINITELY slipped in this property over the last 2 years.

Actually, I'm almost certain that's what they do. That said, water in Ireland is pretty tasty, so all they're doing is filtering it a bit - not unlike bits of Switzerland or northern Italy - so, the spring water comes on tap anyway. IT tastes just like home.

Can't agree, ZF. You're comparing apples and oranges. Next time you come to DUB, PM me and I will recommend a real dump in the same category and you can make a balanced judgement.

That's not acceptable. That's really poor.

I agree on your definition of dump. I've stayed in a few. This property is a well-priced 4 star etc. etc.

Being local, I cannot understand this. But as I grew up with it, I'm not best judged to criticise.

I'LL OFFER:

1. Conrad
2. Hilton Kilmainham
3. Hilton Dublin Airport
4. Hilton Dublin

flashware

I've found this hotel on lastminute.com with prices MUCH lower than those offered via Hilton.com (90 pounds / night all in vs 235 euros / night); if I book this, being an HHonors Gold Member am I likely to still get guaranteed free breakfast for myself and my fiancée?

LordLoungeDragon

Yes, you get the perks but neither points nor stay credits

flashware

Would it extend to my +1 on the booking?

Edit: never mind!
AND choose ONE of the following:

Earn 1,000 Hilton HHonors® Bonus Points per stay.
Continental Breakfast.
You will receive complimentary Continental breakfast for you and up to one additional registered hotel guest each day of your stay.

LordLoungeDragon

If you hold a booking for one person, you can officially take your partner with you (spouse stays free). The benefits, in your case the free breakfast, is not granted per T&Cs. However, in reality I know only very few examples where the breakfast isn't extended to ones spouse. My advice: Expect the free breakfast also for your spouse but be prepared to pay for it if they insist.

flashware

I wonder if it's changed?

As per http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/about/gold.do :
Continental Breakfast.
You will receive complimentary Continental breakfast for you and up to one additional registered hotel guest each day of your stay.

LordLoungeDragon

This has nothing to do with the particular hotel but with general questions. May I suggest that we concentrate here on specific questions about the Hilton Dublin Kilmainham?

PS: As I said, most likely you will get the breakfast.

PurduExpat37

I write this as I wait for my EI flight to SXF (BER) at DUB...

Just completed a weekend stay (Fri and Sat nights) here. Paid 130 EUR all-in for both nights, incl. taxes. Price was 65/night with the advanced pre-paid rate. The hotel is pretty new/modern and fresh.

Booked a standard twin room, received an upgrade to a twin room with a view of the old Kilmainham Jail across the street. Room was very large, esp. compared to European standards. Bathroom was very nice and had a separate tub and walk-in shower. Room was spotless and had safe, kettle, flat-screen TV, the works. Beds were a bit springy for my tastes but the pillows were the best I've had in a while (at a hotel).

As an HH Gold, the full breakfast buffet was included for 2 people. We just told them our room number at the restaurant and that was it. Breakfast had all the "full Irish breakfast" fare plus the other European cold cuts, muesli, pastries, fruit, etc. I was very satisfied with the service and food at breakfast.

The hotel also has a gym/spa area in the basement. It has a nice (albeit small) gym, with a very nice multilevel pool and jacuzzi with water features similar to what you would find at an upscale thermal bath. There was also a steam bath and dry sauna, which were nice, but the steam bath needed a good cleaning on the inside floor.

The hotel really shined with its staff. Every staff member I came into contact with always greeted us (maids, management, everyone!) in passing. We had a million questions about the city and they were all answered with a smile. The hotel is a bit out of the city centre, but is very easily accessible by bus. The hop-on, hop-off tour busses also stop right outside of the hotel at the old jail. It's a pretty quiet area but there are a few pubs, a Spar, and petrol station all within a 3-5 minute walk from the hotel. I felt very safe in the area.

Overall, it's one of the best European Hiltons I've been to in awhile, and will definitely be back.

tkelvin69

I'd give this Hilton a 5/10 - nothing bad and nothing memorable. I stayed here on points. I was told I received an upgrade to a "nice room with a view". It turned out to be an accessible room with a view of a tree from the second floor. Back to the desk and was given a regular room on the fourth floor. Room was very basic and I'd say more Hampton than Hilton. Diamond amenity was 2 small chocolates of mediocre quality and 2 bottles of water. Breakfast was decent.

I'd pass on this place unless the other Hilton properties are prohibitively expensive.