MikeBU

I stayed in both the Westin and the Shelbourne last month, and the Shelbourne is the right choice, hands-down, for all the reasons mentioned by the OP. Even my Starwood-loyal friend agreed on this.

The fitness center is not finished as of last month.

JimJ321

Great review - I am looking to cash in for a travel package and stay there for 7 nights this spring. Is the area around there lively? We're in our mid-twenties and want to be in the more "bar area."

ohmark

The hotel is across the street from beautiful St. Stephen's Green, a huge park. The hotel itself has some great bars. Within a ten minute walk, many very nice bars. About a 15minute walk is the "Temple Bar" area, arguably the liveliest bar/nightlife area. The hotel location, I think, is sort of the best of both worlds.

Here is Wikipedia on the Temple Bar area:

"After dark, the area is a major centre for nightlife, with many tourist-focused nightclubs, restaurants and bars. Pubs in the area include The Porterhouse, the Oliver St. John Gogarty, the Turk's Head, the Temple Bar, Czech Inn (formerly Isolde's Tower), the Quays Bar, the MEZZ, the Foggy Dew and Eamonn Doran's, Purty Kitchen, as well as the newly flourishing Bayfire."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Bar,_Dublin

deant

Does anyone have the e-mail for the Shelbourne in Dublin?

Trying to make award reservations for next July and it does not appear that they are loaded on the Marriott.com web.

Want to check directly with the hotel to see if they have availability.

Thanks.

FlyMan

I am at the Heritage Lounge right now and all I have to say is "Wow!"

Upon checking-in, the GM came out from nowhere to greet me in person. He thanked me for my return visit (I was here before the re-brand and renovation). I was offered a hot towel, a cup of apple cider, and some sweets. Actually three front desk personnel took care of my check-in. Once I was taken to my room on the 6th floor (Heritage whatever room), I found lots of welcome goodies like tons of chocolate truffles and a huge fruit basket. All the employees I met here are so nice.

As it was described by ohmark, the evening food in the lounge is very good and it could be your dinner, seriously.

They offer a free guest pass at Jackie Skelly for gym/swimming pool/sauna use - it is located on Clarendon St.

I wish any of the US Marriott properties could even try this service level...

HereAndThere

Stayed at the Shelbourne about a week ago and I concur about the high level of service. The Concierge Lounge staff were very professional, helpful, and willing to go out of their way to please customers. I noted one time that one of the staff went out of the lounge and down to the bar (or somewhere) to get someone a draft Guinness. There is quality food of some kind all day long.
There is also free wireless Internet service in the lounge.
The room I was in was on the 7th floor. It was on the backside of the hotel and the only view was out between the adjacent building, but was quiet and spacious. It even had a small outdoor patio (which remained unused due to the cool rainy weather).
The service (front desk and CL) is far more professional than US hotels that I have stayed at.
I thought the hotel was excellent.

Catbert10

Mrs. Catbert10 and I are currently staying at the Shelbourne, and we must sadly report that the accolades posted about the CL at this hotel no longer seem to apply. There are only 2 food presentations, one in the morning and one in the evening. There are no crab claws or shrimp to be found. The evening's hot food consists of 2 choices, such as pizza bites and chicken wings. There is also a small salad bar. There were no sandwiches presented for afternoon tea, and in fact, I had to wait about 20 minutes for the staff the refill the tea pot. Service is somewhat slow and dis-interested.

Otherwise the hotel is a very nice property and a great location, but the lounge is neither better nor worse than your standard CL at any other Marriott property.

ntamayo

I'd be willing to bet they've scaled back their CL services for the holiday week. Did you see any sign to that effect?

Our stay last Dec was top-notch and echoed the OP's sentiments ... glad to hear the soap stand is still around. ^

HankAAFlyer

planning to visit the Shelbourne using my European Hopper certificates - quick weekend trip to Dublin (since it's so cheap now from the US). I am hoping the reviews from 2007 still stand. Was looking forward to the Heritage Lounge. I'll post after I complete my stay. Here's hoping the Lounge has not become a victim of cost-cutting..

anyone else stay there in 2008 to provide some more context?

Thanks in advance,

Catbert10

I spoke with the lounge manager, and he indicated that the current spread is "the way it's always been". I asked specifically about the shrimp and crab, and was told that the kitchen has been very busy the last 2 weeks. I asked if the holiday season was the reason for the cutbacks, and he indicated that there were no cutbacks.

My interpretation of the manager's response is that the cutbacks are semi-permanent, at the very least. I hope I'm wrong, as otherwise this is a very nice property

HankAAFlyer

Catbert10, did you happen to have a chance to visit the Shelbourne's gym/fitness facility? if so, is it all right, or just a converted hotel room with some equipment? Any luck with asking for a pass to a health club down the street like in the posts from 2007?

Not that I'll have time to workout during my quick weekend trip, but curious to know what the options are. Thanks in advance,

ohmark

The "lounge manager's" misrepresentation just makes matters worse. From your description (which in essence describes the food presentation as typical U.S. Marriott); not only has it changed, but it has changed 180 degrees. When we visited, during the fall of 2007, the food presentation was, by far, the finest I'd ever seen in a concierge lounge, anywhere-anytime. From the breakfast, to the lunchtime, to the teatime, to the late afternoon/early evening, to the desert presentation. The lounge was always fully attended by staff, who's service was constant, friendly, and impeccable. The crablegs, jumbo shrimp, stuffed bulbs, vegetable tray, salad presentation, cheese presentation, and a changing variety of hot dishes (including crabcakes and swordfish sticks) were there every late afternoon. The teatime with egg salad (with caviar) sandwiches and scones was served each day. Your description of the current presentation is disappointing.

Hopefully, they still have the soap presentation and the comped wifi?

FlyingOnceMore

The owners of The Shelbourne are currently in dispute with Marriott over their running of the hotel and want out of the management contract.

Shelbourne owners seek court order against managers

Shelbourne hotel is in a shambles, court told

ohmark

Thanks for the info and links. The article make it sound like the type of dirty linen accusations one hears in a nasty divorce case. This is truly a shame as I can honestly say that, in my opinion, this is (was?) among the very finest Marriott properties worldwide.

Catbert10

WiFi was still complimentary, but I did not see a soap presentation. Also, I did not check out the fitness center, but it was on the second floor of the back section of the hotel.

Other than the lounge, which was OK but certainly not at the high standard that I was expecting, the hotel was a very nice property. The front desk staff was very nice and helpful, and we had a great stay. It was just sad to see that the lounge wasn't up to the standard reported earlier.