We stayed at the Shelbourne for five nights from October 20-25, 2022. I chose this place for a ton of reasons, but the number one reason was to use up a bunch of Marriott Bonvoy points that had accumulated over the pandemic. Because I was using old travel credits for the flights for this trip, I wanted the trip to be as free as possible, so I cashed out about 250,000 Marriott points to stay at one of the most historic and luxurious hotels in Dublin. The best part about using points at Marriott hotels is that you get the fifth night free. My original plan was to only come for four nights, but it would’ve been a shame to not use that fifth night perk so we stayed for five nights.

We arrived around noon following our overnight flight from Chicago, and the place was buzzing with tons of people attending a conference. Our room was not ready yet, so we took the opportunity to walk around outside through St. Stephen’s Green, which is right across the street. After getting some fresh air and a little bit of sunshine to help fight off the jet lag, we returned to the lobby to find that our room was ready and they would send up our bags.

When we got to our room, we found it to be an accessible room with almost no closet space, and with all of the handles and things in the bathroom. Unfortunately, though, the sink was very low to the ground, and the shower was only curtained off from the rest of the room, and the curtains did not reach the floor. When I went to roll out the shower mat, there were hairs in it! So gross! I was desperate for a shower, so I took one anyway, but the entire bathroom got soaked, and I could not handle it. I have never done this in my life, but I called reception and asked to change rooms. Even with a free room, it was a LOT of points that I spent on this, and the thought of having a completely soaked bathroom and a sink that seemed like it was on the floor was just too much for me to handle.

When I called, they were completely amazing and accommodating and did not even bat an eye at my request. They said there were no other rooms ready, but it was ok, because we were going to go have tea in the Lord Mayor’s Lounge anyway, so there was no rush. They took our luggage away, and we went to go have tea. I’ve prepared a full article about the tea which you can read about here. The Lounge was a swanky, yet comfortable place and we really enjoyed the tea service that afternoon.

By the time we were done, our new room was ready, and we headed up. I booked a King room and the bed was large and firm. It had feather pillows, which I typically hate, but they had some kind of firm core to them so that they didn’t super flatten out like usual, so that was fine. The amount of space in the room was good – pretty standard for a normal hotel room – not super small like a lot of rooms in Europe but not huge either. There was a ton of closet space which was helpful. The bathroom was a good size with a normal height sink and a shower in the bathtub – no water got out while we were showering which was wonderful. I would note that despite my Marriott Gold status, we did not get upgraded in any way, not even after the issues with the previous room, and we only had a view of the building and parking lot behind the hotel. Not a huge deal, since we didn’t spend a ton of time in the room, but it would’ve been nice to have a bit of an upgrade to a room with a view.

The only gripe I would have about the room itself is that the thermostat was not super controllable. It was either “cool, cooler, warm, warmer” and regular cool was COLD and regular warm was HOT. It was an old school dial which was cute, but not practical. They really should update to a more modern thermostat set up.

Much like with most big hotels, the service was a bit impersonal. I always prefer to stay at boutique hotels because of this, so I can’t really comment on concierge service or anything else, apart from the fact that when I asked to change rooms, they were super pleasant about it, and the housekeeping was excellent with turn down service every evening as well, which was appreciated.

There are a bunch of restaurants and bars at this hotel, all of which seem to be frequented not only by travelers but locals as well. I already mentioned the Lord Mayor’s Lounge where we had tea which was excellent. We also had dinner and drinks a few times at No. 27, which is also at the front of the hotel. The room is super nice with dark blue-green walls and ornate mouldings. The drinks there are top notch, and they offer a bunch of unique beers as well which are made exclusively for the hotel. We enjoyed the poppin’ vibe here and the service was always cheerful and prompt. We did not drink at the Horseshoe bar because it is primarily whiskey focused, and we are just not into whiskey at all. It was dark and cozy in there though, which would be a nice place a for a nightcap.

We did eat breakfast at the Saddle Room, which I would highly recommend that you avoid. It is 22 euro for continental breakfast and 33 euro for a hot breakfast. The continental breakfast was one of the saddest spreads of breads, cheeses, fruits, and cereals that I have ever seen at a hotel, especially one this fancy. The hot breakfast was buffet style and was also absolutely terrible. The scrambled eggs were the normal processed type. The sausages and bacon were like balls of salt, I have never had bacon or sausage so incredibly salty. The hash browns had potential, but had actually NO salt and tasted like cardboard. The pancakes, also with potential, were cold and tasteless. This breakfast was extremely disappointing and I actually walked out of there in a terrible mood, which is really sad, since breakfast is usually one of my favorite vacation meals since I never have breakfast much at home. Avoid this breakfast. The Saddle Room also serves dinner too, but we never came here for that.

They also have an outdoor terrace, which unfortunately was not open during our time there since it was already closed for the season. There are a ton of spaces to enjoy food and drink at the Shelbourne, and apart from the mega-disappointing breakfast that had so much potential, everything else we had was truly top-notch.

Finally, a word about the location. Nothing in Dublin is really super close, but the Shelbourne is pretty well located to check out most things that you would want to do in Dublin with a 20 minute or less walk. It is closest to the Archaeology Museum and the National Gallery as well as the two main parks in Dublin – St. Stephen’s Green and Merrion Square which are all 5 minutes walk or less away. It is also close to Grafton Street shopping, which starts just at the other end of the Green as well as Trinity College, about 8 minutes walk. Most other sites like Dublin Castle, the EPIC museum and the Cathedrals are more like a 20 minute walk.

This hotel is quite expensive, I think, because of the historic building, the name, and the amenities that they offer including a bunch of really nice restaurants and bars. I wouldn’t say that the room itself is that much more luxurious, though, than an upscale hotel like a Westin or a JW Marriott, and definitely not on the level of a Peninsula or St. Regis – although that’s how much it costs in dollars or points. I would recommend staying here if the in-house restaurants and bars are important to you, or if you want to stay in a historic place right on the Green. Otherwise, there are better bargains out there Dublin for sure.