March / April 2013

We wanted to do something special for the Easter weekend, so we decided to have a night at the Westbury. It was our third stay.

The Westbury is located just off Grafton Street, opened in 1984 and belongs to the Doyle Collection, Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) and Leading Hotels of the World (LHW).

We made our way up to the first floor, where the reception is located. It was busy, and we had to wait a few minutes before it was our turn to check in. It was friendly and fast. We were advised we were as Leader Club Members upgraded to a Studio Four Poster Suite from a Deluxe Room.

We were also asked, if we wanted a free newspaper in the morning. The options were the Irish Times or Irish Independent

Room

Our room was located on the 2nd floor nearly directly opposite the elevators. At first we were slightly disappointed, because we had asked for a room on the higher floor and overlooking Grafton Street. The hotel has 6 floors. Our suite was overlooking the back, but we had views to St. Stephen's Green Shopping Center and Tony and Guy Hairdressers opposite.

We overcame our disappointment with view, because there are only 5 of the Studio Four Poster Bed Suites available, so what we received was very rare. And what is better - a real upgrade or simply the same room on a higher floor with the desired views? I know what I would like to have.

The suite was beautiful with a short hallway and a door leading off to the bath room. In the hallway was a wardrobe, the mini bar, Nespresso machine, tea making facilities and a safe. We had been also told at reception that in the mini bar would be free bottles of water. We completely overlooked them.

The suite was large with two sitting areas. One was furnished with two chairs, a huge ottoman - all upholstered in wine red velvet - and a coffee table with magazines. The other had a small dining table and two chairs. They were Art Deco style and covered with mint green leather. On the table was a welcome letter from the interim hotel manager. The welcome gifts, Jameson's Caramels, Caramel Cups and a box of Butler's Chocolate were also located there. They were all yummy. We appreciated the gifts and the handwritten letter.

We had a credenza with more storage space and a LCD flat screen TV on top. The channel selection couldn't have been better.

The king sized four poster bed was very high and huge. There was also a very large brown throw. We both liked the pillows with the flower prints. In front of the bed was a long bench.

Beside the bed to the right was a writing desk with a Leading Hotel of the World catalogue.

I didn't use the writing desk this time around, instead I worked at the dining table to have a nice view to the TV, because the desk was facing a wall.

We also had a large suitcase rack.

The curtains were green with a flower print.

Colors used in the suite were brown, white, beige, grey, green and red.

Bathroom

The bathroom was small with a bath tub and shower combination, a sink and enough space to store our cosmetics. The bath room amenities were by Aroma Therapy Associates and very good. We both enjoy using them.

A small gripe was that the tap was too short, so each time we wanted to wash our hands we banged them on the sink. It wasn't comfortable to use, but didn't cause any major problems.

Materials used were marble and granite.

The room and bathroom were very comfortable. When we had settled down, we received a call from Guest Relations to check if everything was okay. I mentioned the "missing" water. Joseph apologized and sent another member of staff up to deliver them. We expected two bottles, instead we received six. Thank goodness it wasn't also the usual and despised Deep River Rock, but Tipperary water. It was very generous and appreciated by us.

Service

Later we had in room dining with one hot chocolate, two minute steak sandwiches with fries, French pastry selection and a Berry Fool. It looked appetizing, was flavorful and tasty. We were really stuffed, when we were finished. In room dining gave us also a call to check if the food was to our liking. Three times you can guess what our reply was. I think we paid around 75 Euro (ca. 98 USD) including a 5 Euro Tray Charge.

Turn down service had arrived earlier. We found out where the water bottles had been "hidden", because the employee showed me.

We received a little box filled with a "nest", a medium sized chocolate egg and three smaller chocolate bonbons from Butlers.

When we requested an additional body wash, we received two nearly complete bath room amenity sets instead, only the soap wasn't included. We were pleasantly surprised.

Going to sleep was a slight issue for me, because there was some street noise, including singing and music from a nearby night club or pub. It might took me slightly longer than usual, but as soon as I was asleep the noise didn't disturb me.

Light sleepers might prefer a higher floor.

The wake up call arrived on time, and the requested newspaper was waiting for us.

Dining

At check in we had received a complimentary voucher for continental breakfast, which normally costs 15 Euro per person (ca. 20 USD). We showed the voucher to our hostess. She wouldn't take it and asked us to take a seat at the Gallery Lounge until a table was available. We had to wait around ten minutes.

The continental breakfast was served buffet style, including six different juices, cereals, yogurt, fresh fruit, pastries, fruit salad, cold cuts and much more. Some people would say the choice is too small, but there is also an a la carte menu available against a charge. One of us had the Pancakes, I had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. The portions were large, especially the salmon was generous.

There is waiter service for coffee/tea and toast.

We enjoyed breakfast and the view over Jack Wills and Bruxelles, a pub. One of us even managed to get slightly overeaten. When we left we asked our hostess for the bill. She assumed we simply had the continental breakfast and said it was free. We replied we had some a la carte items, so she quickly printed out the correct bill for us. It was 20 Euro (ca. 27 USD).

Checkout

Soon it was time to check out. There was a small queue, but the wait wasn't too long. Check out was with Joseph from Guest Relations. A nice touch was the offer of a free bottle of water for each of us. He already knew we don't like sparkling water, so it was automatically still, but he asked if we wanted it chilled or at room temperature. It reminded me of our check out at the Langham Hotel in Hong Kong, where we had limousine service to the airport and could choose a soft drink, ranging from water to Coca Cola to mango juice.

Overall

Our stay was really great. We felt valued and spoiled during our whole stay. The room, bathtub and bed were very comfortable. The staff was courteous, warm and knowledgeable. A flawless experience in this regard. This is definitely one of the best hotels in Dublin and the whole island. It deserves to be a member of the Leading Hotels of the World. As soon as our budget allows, we're back again.

Would we recommend this hotel to a friend? YES!

Would we return for more stays? YES!

For our photos:http://www.flickr.com/photos/uggboy/...7633155300399/