Find a Hotel in Dublin

Dublin room rates are high for what you get — the city has a housing shortage and hotel supply has not kept pace with visitor numbers. Two decisions change the bill more than anything else.

Check the fixture list first

A rugby international at the Aviva Stadium, a concert at Croke Park or the 3Arena, or St Patrick’s weekend will double rates across the entire city and fill it. Checking before you choose dates is the cheapest saving available.

January and February are the cheapest months and the city is perfectly good in them.

Then the neighbourhood

The centre is two kilometres across, so you can chase price rather than location more aggressively than in most capitals. The Liberties, the north quays, Stoneybatter, Rathmines and the Docklands are all walkable and materially cheaper than Dublin 2.

Temple Bar is central and genuinely loud until three in the morning at weekends.

The full comparison is in where to stay in Dublin.

Before booking

Ask for a room away from the street in the centre, and note that bin collections and deliveries start early.

Ask for the weekly rate if you are staying more than a few nights; it is rarely advertised.

Check whether breakfast is included — Dublin hotel breakfasts are expensive and the cafés are better.

Assume no parking. Almost no city-centre hotel has it and multi-storey rates make a car a serious mistake for a city stay.

Short-term lets

Ireland has tightened rules on short-term letting in rent-pressure zones, which covers Dublin, and enforcement has increased. Listings do get removed. Licensed guesthouses, aparthotels and the city’s very good hostels are the safer option.