InterContinental Dublin Review

The InterContinental Dublin has just been reflagged from being a Four Seasons property and is located in Ballsbridge, 3 miles south of Dublin's city center. The airport bus 'Aircoach' stops right outside. The building may remind you more of a large foreign embassy (of which there are many in that neighborhood) than a hotel. It's pretty, though.









Check-in was super-friendly, yet a little confused, and it took a while to find my reservation. It was 10AM and I wasn't sure my room would be ready since the hotel had posted room rates much higher than normal (indicating a near sell-out the night before). However, my room was in fact ready, while fellow guests who just checked in were told to wait until 3PM. Thanks IHG Platinum status, I guess...

The whole hotel is built in a retro-modern style; it looks like 'British elegance', but is actually brand new.







I thought my room hit that design mantra on the head; it was huge and stunningly beautiful and the attention to detail was breathtaking. Everything except the AC worked fantastic. The bed was soft and hard at the same time (just about perfect) and simply huge.







The internet was easy to connect to and fast and there was a Nespresso espresso maker that made great coffee.



The bathroom was simply regal - it felt like I was in one of those palaces I had visited in Europe before. I seriously felt that I had to keep it squeaky clean as it would be having visitors soon. The shower was as good as it gets - easy to handle, lots of shower pressure and a shower cabin that was marvelous.





The downside of my room was the loud noise from the street (especially during rush hour). Outside of these times it was quiet enough to keep the window open.

The pool and gym areas downstairs were small but equally well-equipped and well-kept. I could easily picture a GM going through those each morning and re-arranging every detail.



While breakfast was not included, I had a few breakfast items at the cafe and loved the scone (especially the jams) and the coffee. They were much better than the hotel food standard I would normally expect.

In summary, this hotel is fantastic. There isn't anything I can fault besides the location being a bit too far from the center. It's in a beautiful spot, though, and the train gets you to town in less than 20 minutes. The quality of the room was one of the best I have ever seen.

This quality does not come cheap, however, with rates around $300 a night and often touching $400.

I'd love to return!

You can book the InterContinental Dublin here.