 |
Avalon House Hostel (Dublin)
by musicmad2020
After my horror of Swiss hostels earlier in the week, I was naturally apprehensive about staying in another one whilst on my week long travels around Europe. As many of my friends had booked to stay in Avalon House which is located in Aungier St Dublin, and as it was close to the venue we needed to be at for the show, I decided to book ... a room here.
It was a little frustrating that the only room I could book was a double room instead of a single room, as this meant I would be paying for two people. However as it is a hostel, this is still relatively cheap compared to a hotel and a 2 night stay ended up costing me £90. If I had managed to book a single room it would have come to £45. As I was close to where I needed to be and with many friends, I wasn't too bothered about this price difference.
This was to be my first time in Ireland, and so I was apprehensive about how to find the location of the hostel from the airport. Avalon have their own YouTube channel with video instructions comprising of a guy in a banana suit navigating the Irish bus system. "It's as easy as a banana!" they say in the video, and I have to say it did help us all out as we ended up on the right bus and found the hostel with ease.
When you walk into Avalon House, you instantly are relaxed as the main reception is a bright, homely area with benches to sit down on, information leaflets, free internet access and of course a huge open reception desk. The staff behind the desk seemed friendly enough, perhaps not the most talkative of people but they were just doing their job. When my swipe card for my room didn't work one night, they sorted it out for me no problem so no complaints there.
Given the horror of Zurich, I was worried about what the room would be like, but as I was staying in a room by myself which had its own bathroom, I was optimistic. I wasn't disappointed!
The rooms contain bunk-beds, which I kinda expected and since it was just me, I slept in the bottom bunk which happened to be a double bed, and a welcome comfort after all that travelling. I think it would have been better if they used plain bedding instead of patterned bedding, as it was a little like sleeping round at Grandma's or something - a little strange and too personal.
The Bathroom reminded me alot of my student accommodation, and wasn't bad at all considering it was a hostel we were staying in not a plush hotel. Although it was small, it did have a really nice fitted shower which looked as if it had only been recently installed. Slightly annoying that the water went off every minute or so, but I am guessing this is for environmental purposes, which in turn means no waste so it's not such a bad thing.
I would say that as the floors throughout are vinyl it means it can be hazardous as I certainly nearly slipped especially as the shower water can sometimes hit the floor, and there is nothing in the bathroom to really stop you slipping over!
Avalon House does offer free breakfast, however I didn't get to try this out myself as I was out very early in the mornings. But I think this has to be a great thing for people travelling to make sure they are full up in the mornings before they go out.
What I did warm to was how friendly people seemed. For young travellers in particular, the ambiance created is very warming and inviting which is ideal for those who may have not travelled much or left home before.
There is luggage storage and clothes washing facilities, and there is also a games room meaning you are never stuck for things to do here. There is also a lift as well as stairs, both of which are nice and I noticed on the stairs everyone opened the doors for each other, which was very polite.
I have also done a little research prior and since staying at Avalon, on what people on the whole have said about their stay here. I struggle to find anyone who rates this place below 4 stars, which is a fantastic credit to the Avalon chain, considering many hotels out there who charge astronomical rates can easily be rated poorly, when they are actual hotels.
My whole experience of Avalon House has totally changed my view on hostels. Although I would always prefer to stay in a hotel, in terms of value for money and ideal for large groups of travellers, this has to be one of my best experiences, as I struggle to fault this place.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Marlborough Hostel (Dublin)
by sun-is-shining
The Marlborough Hostel was one of the highlights of our trip to Dublin. In this overly rushed and expensive city we found a great hostel with clean rooms, friendly stuff and comfy couches in the common area.
Every wall is painted in bright colours and the whole hostel has a friendly and welcoming ... atmosphere.
--------------------
Location
The location is what appealed to us the most; just off O'Connell Street (the central road in Dublin) and 300 meters walking from the Spire the location of the hostel is amazing. You are directly in the heart of the city but as it is located on a side street it is still quiet and you can sleep at night without being disturbed by party-goers or traffic noise.
As I said it's 300 meters from the Spire, half a mile to Trinity College and 10 minutes walking to Templebar. Spar, Subways and BurgerKing are just around the corner.
Buses leave at O'Connell Street - the main bus stop area of the city. Buses from and to the airport leave/arrive there as well. The number 41 stops right in front of the hostel, it's a normal bus and it takes roughly 50min depending on traffic. (2.90 Euro)
The express bus is more expensive (6 Euro) but is quicker and runs more frequently.
Address: 81/82 Marlborough St.,
Dublin 1
--------------------
Room prices
The room prices vary on the season and if it is weekday or weekend.
These are the prices from now to the end of August, I guess it's getting cheaper in winter again so check their website for the latest room rates.
The prices are given in Euro - check www.xe.com for a currency converter.
May - June
Mon - Thurs -- Fri - Sun
4 Bed Room 22.50 -- 28.00
5 Bed Room 22.50 -- 28.00
6 Bed Room 22.50 -- 28.00
8 Bed Dorm 22.50 -- 28.00
July - Aug
Mon - Thurs -- Fri - Sun
4 Bed Room 28.00 -- 28.00
5 Bed Room 28.00 -- 28.00
6 Bed Room 28.00 -- 28.00
8 Bed Room 28.00 -- 28.00
We paid 12 Euro per night on a weekday in march so I guess the prices will go down quite a lot in winter.
--------------------
Rooms & Facilities
In total the Hostel offers 76 beds in 4 to 8 bed dorms. None of them is en-suite but there are plenty of showers and toilets on almost every floor.
The beds were really comfy and not too small. There's a locker under each bed and you get a padlock for free - that was great as I forget every single time to bring mine when travelling.
Windows and central heating are in every room.
Showers are in the basement. You have cabins with a door between the actual shower and the place where you can keep your stuff save and dry.
Showers are clean and with hot water.
Toilets with wash basins are on every floor. They are clean and plenty, so you'll never have to wait.
The community kitchen in the basement is a great meeting place and every night full of people who cannot afford the horrendous prices in Dublin. The kitchen is fully equipped with oven, cooker, microwave, toaster and plates/pans/cutlery. You can take one of the provided baskets to keep your food in or store it in the community fridge.
Breakfast is served every morning between 7 and 10 am. You can get toast, jam and marmalade, cereals, fruit and coffee. It's basic but nice and we were happy about it every morning. Of course you can also prepare your own stuff and have baked beans to your toast.
Lots of hostels advertise with free Internet but you'll need your own laptop and you don't have connection in your room. Not so here, there are 3 modern computers you can use and you have WiFi in every corner of the hostel. Internet use is unlimited.
Community areas are plenty, a small TV room, a bigger room with comfy couches and a billiard table and another room with chair and vending machines for a quick snack. Board games are available from the reception.
Bed linen is free and you can hire towels and hair dryers for 1 Euro.
The reception is open 24 hours and there's no curfew.
--------------------
Where to book?
Booking a room is easy via the website www.marlboroughhostel.com or all major hostel search engines such as hostelworld.com. You can pay with Visa or Master card - 1.00 Pound service charge is added when booking online.
You can also just turn up and see if they have rooms left - but that's not really advisable as all beds were booked when we stayed there and that was in march.
--------------------
Staff
The staff was exceptional friendly and helpful. Upon arrival they gave us free city maps and marked all the highlights for us. During the whole stay they were friendly and answered ever question we had. They even let us stay for 5 hours in the common area after we already checked out - it was raining and we were running short on money so it was better waiting for our flight in the heated common area that sitting in a Mc Donalds for 3 hours.
--------------------
Downside
Aehm, I'm still thinking about it and in the unlikely case I find something I'll tell you asap - but I wouldn't wait for it :-)
--------------------
Value
We has a great time there, cooking every evening with people we met in the hostel, watching a DVD or playing 'Who wants to be the Millionaire' before going out for a pint of Guinness. The room was great with a comfy bed, enough space for all our stuff and with thick walls so we could sleep even though we had a stag-party in the room next door.
I'd chooses the Marlborough Hostel directly again - yes, there are cheaper option to stay but you wont get this friendliness, cleanness and comfort there.
For me it's a 10 out of 10!
--------------------
Read the complete review |
|
|
Dublin International Youth Hostel (Dublin)
by kinghead_s
We stayed in this YHA for one night in February as part of a longer stay in Ireland.
We booked online, which was really easy. We had to leave a deposit of 10% and paid the rest on arrival. This youth hostel is a converted convent, so the building has quite a few features including confessional phone boxes and beautiful ... stained glass windows. There are several differnet rooms on offer, including dorms sleeping 10+ people. We were just a couple and so had a basic room with bunk beds and a sink! It was fine, it did the job. We did find the room quite noisy, we were at the front of the building and there isn't any double glazing. I'm not used to much noise in the night, so I didn't sleep too well.
We did have some trouble finding the place, mainly as I didn't have a map - only the road name and a vague idea of where it was. The road was signed so it was a bit tricky. It's not situtated in the nicest area of Dublin, although it is only a short walk from the centre, so it made a good base.
We paid 50 euros for the two of us for one night, this included a continental style breakfast where you could have a selection of fruit, cereal, toast, tea, coffee and fruit juice. Cooked breakfast was extra. There was a communal kitchen and dining room, which was well equipped. You do need to leave a deposit though if you wish to use the saucepans! There were also vending machines for snacks and drinks.
The welcome was great, and it was run by really friendly and helpful staff. There was a games room and TV room where you could watch some films.
I'm not too sure if we would stay here again. It was a good cheap base for viisting Dublin, but the room wasn't the most comfortable and if you are just a couple then you may want more from your stay. It's probably great for students and those on a tight budget.
Read the complete review |
