H aving just arrived in Ireland after a couple of days in Budapest, it was quite appropriate to hear Van Morrison “sha-la-la”-ing to Brown Eyed Girl through the speakers in the airport shuttle bus; but the lyrics of I Can See Clearly Now — the next song to play on the radio — suggesting that the rain was gone was rather ironic, as the wipers slapped out a tempo in vain to keep the windshield free of the chilly night rain.
All right, I know — Van Morrison is from Northern Ireland; but Brown Eyed Girl was the first song I heard in Ireland. I obviously had no control over what songs were playing on the radio in that shuttle bus — but perhaps a song by U2 would have better sufficed?
Anyway, Hilton Dublin Airport is located on Malahide Road in Northern Cross, which is not far from Dublin Airport; but it is not exactly close to it either.
I spent three nights at this hotel property, for which I paid 59.63 Euros per night for a total of 178.89 Euros in total — paid in advance.
My stay did not start off well: even though the airplane operated by Ryanair on which I was a passenger arrived approximately 20 minutes ahead of its original scheduled time of 23:40, I still was unable to catch the airport shuttle bus to the hotel, as the last pick-up scheduled from Zone 14 at the airport was at 23:40. The gates which serve Ryanair flights at Dublin Airport seem to be in their own county, as it felt like the walk was at least one kilometer — and then I still had to go through passport control.
There I was standing out in the cold, wet rain staring at the shuttle buses of other hotel properties still collecting and transporting their guests.
I went inside and told the person behind the information desk of my dilemma. She told me where the hotel courtesy telephones were located. When I tried to use the one for Hilton Dublin Airport, all it did was beep as though it was out of service. The person behind the information desk called the hotel property. After telling them of my situation, a special shuttle bus pick-up was scheduled — and we are now at the part of this trip at the beginning of this article where I was in that shuttle bus, thankful to be on my way to the hotel property.
When I arrived and was checked in, I was given two cold bottles of water and a coupon good for two free drinks in the bar. Because I am an elite member of the Hilton HHonors frequent guest loyalty program, I also was informed that breakfast is included in the restaurant, as there is no executive lounge. The person who checked me in was apologetic and would have probably done almost anything I requested.
By this time, it was well after midnight; so I retired to my room and worked on an article for The Gate before “crashing” for the night. The Internet Wi-Fi connection — which was also included — performed well; but the connection would drop every time a device would fall into “sleep” mode. Logging onto the Wi-Fi connection only took seconds of my time; but to have to keep doing it was a minor irritation at best.
There was nothing outstanding or special in this room, as it could have passed for a typical hotel room in the United States. There were two outlets included at the desk area: one for plugs designed to be used in the United Kingdom; and one for plugs designed to be used in the United States. An adapter was not necessary for electronics meant to be used in the United States, which was nice.
The twin bed — there were two of them in the room — was rather comfortable. There was a flat-screen television on the dresser. The work area had a desk with a mirror, the aforementioned electrical outlets, a telephone, a desk lamp, cubbyholes, and a drawer. Closet space — which included a safe — was generous. The bathroom was equipped with such items as a telephone and magnifying mirror; and it featured amenities from Peter Thomas Roth, which included shampoo, conditioner, hand cream, “deluxe” shower cap, soap — and body wash filled with microbeads.
At least the shower area had a curtain on a rod which curved outwards similar to those found in the bathrooms of hotel rooms in the United States — which meant no watery mess like those irritating partial shower partitions I kept finding in Budapest.
The buffet breakfast in the restaurant consisted a selection of such items as poached eggs; cheese; sausage, which included blood sausage; croissants and chocolate croissants; yogurt; fruit; pastries; assorted rolls and breads; cucumbers and tomatoes; sliced processed meats; potatoes; and juices, which included orange juice that seemed to be freshly squeezed — or, it at least contained a lot of pulp. I am not much of a breakfast person — but this breakfast filled me up every morning.
I apologize for not having more photographs available; but the room was not exactly presentable by the time I was able to take pictures.
Getting to the center of Dublin was rather easy by public transportation, as there is a bus stop at the Tesco supermarket diagonally across the intersection of streets near the front of the hotel. For 2.60 Euros, the bus — all of which are double-decker — on route 15 will take you there in approximately 30 minutes. Other bus routes will take you towards the center of Dublin as well.
If you rent a car, the M1 autoroute — which you can take south towards Dublin or north towards Belfast — is several minutes away. The car park at the hotel property will cost you five Euros per day.
The views from the room will not exactly win any awards:
My main complaints about this hotel property is that the Wi-Fi Internet service should be more stable in terms of keeping devices logged in; and that the schedule for the shuttle service really needs to be more flexible — including adding an extra shuttle or two late at night, and perhaps increasing the frequency at some times where the shuttle service is every 45 minutes.
Also, there is a cost of two Euros for the return shuttle bus service back to the airport — even though the service from the airport to the hotel property is complimentary. I personally believe that this charge is rather petty.
I also did not appreciate a charge of one Euro for a donation to the Hilton Foundation, which was automatically added to my statement.
Otherwise, I would recommend staying at the Hilton Dublin Airport if you want a lodging option which is at a lower cost than comparable options closer to or within Dublin.
