We booked our 4-night stay at the Dylan Hotel in Dublin as part of a 2 city trip (we started with 4 days in London) through Costco travel (great pricing!), and were absolutely delighted with our visit. After a short hop on British Airways, we landed in Dublin, grabbed our bags, and cleared customs very quickly. Our driver from Devine Chauffeurs (part of the package) was there to meet us and we promptly departed for the hotel, about a 6 mile journey. Upon arriving at the hotel, we were greeted curbside by 2 people from the front desk staff, who ushered us in to complete a seamless check-in process while they transported our luggage to our room. Notes on the room: 1. We stayed in a luxury suite on the first floor (which is actually the 2nd floor). Our room had a nice king-sized bed, and two comfortable chairs at the food of the bed with a nice view of the TV on the wall, and a small table between them. In addition, there was a small desk for working, along with another smaller padded chair to use here. On the wall to the left of the bed was a 2 door wardrobe with ample hangars, places for your shoes and other clothing items (which could also be placed in the drawers of the low boy under the TV), a safe to store your valuables (we left our passports and extra cash in here), and 2 lovely Terry cloth bathrobes with matching slippers for our use. The TV has built in apps for YouTube and Netflix, although as Americans, our Netflix logon will not work in Europe. There are also about 20 local channels available, but of course we did not come to Ireland to watch TV! The bed was just the right combination of firm and plush, included 4 king-sized pillows of varying firmness, and a lovely down comforter which was just the right weight. You also have access to set the climate control in the room. This was helpful as we like to sleep in a cool room in both summer and winter. Finally, the windows were huge and let in ample light, but also had black out curtains and shears for adjusting how much light you wish to let in. 2. There was plenty of lighting, including ceiling lights by the door, lamps on each nightstand, and a floor lamp next to the wet bar/coffee set up. There are multiple wall switches throughout the room. There were also plenty of electrical outlets, and USB charging ports built into the light switches next to the nightstands. (These were USB C ports, BTW, so fast charging of cell phones!). Since Europe runs on 220/240V, we had bought an inexpensive voltage transformer on Amazon which worked perfectly with our laptop computer. 3. The bathroom was larger than the typical European hotel bathroom, so my wife and could be in there together without running into each other, and included a toilet and sink (no bidet), a long narrow bathtub and shower combo, and a rainfall overhead shower. Hot water and water pressure were ample, although I did miss the handheld shower which we had in London. And for the life of me, I cannot figure out why European hotels use the half-glass shower door. So much water ends up on the floor that you go through a lot more towels just wiping up the excess water. The bathroom also had a towel warmer, great for drying off wet towels and wrapping yourself in the soft heat after bathing. It was a bit tricky, but we finally figured out there is a separate switch on the wall outside the bathroom near the floor that you must hit to turn on the towel warmer, the temperature of which can then be adjusted on the rack itself. Overall, the room was quiet (although we were there during the off-season in November and can't speak to what it is like when the hotel is full), the housekeeping is prompt and responsive, and turn down service is provided each evening. The entire hotel is nicely modern and appointed, and truly beautiful. We slept like rocks after each busy day of touring Ireland! Notes on Food service: 1. After checking in, we promptly headed down to the Eddison Bar off the lobby to grab our first ever pint of Guinness in Ireland, and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere. There were ample beers on tap, and a vast selection of wines and liquors. The bar has seating for about 8 at the bar itself, and numerous cocktail rounds and comfortable chairs surrounding a central fireplace. We saw quite a few people conducting business and relaxing on vacation here. Service was prompt and courteous, and a free copy of the Irish Times newspaper was provided each morning (I'm old school, so this was an unexpected and pleasant surprise!). 2. Breakfast each morning was included with our package, and we enjoyed a wide selection of traditional and Irish breakfast items each morning in the Eddison restaurant, located behind the bar. Table service was provided, so no standing in line at a buffet was necessary. All items were made to order, the coffee was piping hot, and the food delicious and served at the correct temperature. 3. On Tuesday afternoon, we had a reservation for High Tea in the Ruby Room. This is a very cozy and quite elegant room just off the Eddison Bar area. They serve craft cocktails in a luxuriously appointed room each evening. Our tea service did not disappoint. It is really a feast fit for a king. There are ample tea options available (I had the Gunpowder and Mango option), and the tea sandwiches and various pastries and desserts were magnificent. We added a bottle of Merlot as well, and it was just a spectacular meal, and we had to work to finish all the food! 4. On our final night, we had booked dinner in the Eddison restaurant, and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. The filet I had was perfectly cooked and came with a lovely red wine reduction sauce. My wife and father in law enjoyed one last night of fish and chips which were piping hot and delicious. and my mother in law enjoyed the salmon. We had also shared a bread selection and baked Brie appetizer that was lovely. A great bottle of Merlot accompanied our meal, which we topped off by sharing a warm brownie with vanilla ice cream. Note: There is also a lovely outdoor patio on which to dine during the warmer weather periods. As we were enjoying our dessert, Patrick, the Food and Beverage GM/Sommelier/everything man (who we are convinced works 24/7/365!) stopped by our table to chat for a few minutes. We told him how much we had enjoyed our stay, the food, and the top-notch professional hospitality from every single member of the team at the Dylan. He was very gracious, shared some war stories of his many years in the Food Service and Hospitality industries, and thanked us numerous times for staying. When we mentioned that we had a 5:30 AM pickup for the airport in the morning, he immediately offered to have coffee and pastries available for us even though breakfast was not served until 6:30. We politely declined, but were again blown away by this example of the way 5-star hotels should treat their guests. To Patrick and your team, we say a hardy thank you for such excellent service by you and your team, and can say that whatever they are paying you, it is not enough! Notes on location: 1. The Dylan is located in a quiet cul-de-sac, a short walk to an area that is mixed use business, residential, and retail/restaurants. As this is Dublin, there are some 700 pubs to choose from, so it's easy to run into both tourists and locals wherever you choose to eat and drink. I won't review those establishments here, but will summarize by saying we were never disappointed regardless of our choice. It's a safe and secure area, and we enjoyed nightly strolls through the various streets trying to walk off our meals. We even got caught up in the huge swarm of humanity who were walking to the stadium one evening to see the Irish National Football team play a friendly vs. New Zealand. European football fandom is every bit as zealous as that for American Football in the states, I can tell you that! 2. We bought a 24-hour pass on the Big Bus Hop on, Hop off tourist vehicle. The nearest stop was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel which was quite pleasant. The full loop takes you through all the major tourist attractions, and takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete. It's a great starting point to get the lay of the land, and then plan out your visits. We took it to the Guinness plant at St. James Gate, and then rode it back to the National Art Gallery Stop and walked home after visiting the museum. The next few days, it was actually more affordable and faster to take an Uber/Taxi to our destinations and then walk to nearby attractions. Conclusion: We highly recommend the Dylan hotel. It is a beautiful place, filled with beautiful people in a beautiful city in a beautiful country. To the staff at the Dylan: thank you so much for making our stay so magnificent. Every 5 years we celebrate our milestone wedding anniversaries with a big trip. For our 10th, we went to Oahu for a week. For our 15th, we spent 8 days in Rome and Florence. Our 20th was this trip to London and Dublin, and we were not disappointed. While London definitely has a big city vibe, Dublin, being much smaller, felt like home to us. Our taxi driver, born and raised in Dublin said: "We like our police, we like our government, and we like to drink. It makes it a great place to live." It also makes it a great place to visit! We will be back to Dublin sooner than later, and will definitely be staying at the Dylan next time. P.S. While I did not include photos in this review (my wife took all of those!), I can tell you that those I have seen online posted by the hotel on its website and by other reviewers are accurate. …
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