I visited Dublin for the first time this year, and it was full of surprises. I’d gone for a race, of course, but my mum and I also enjoyed a little weekend get away too. We stayed at The Mont Hotel and I figured it deserved a bit of a write up.
The Mont Hotel in Dublin has very recently had a huge refurbishment. In fact, when we visited in the second week of August 2019 if had only been open for a week! We booked it way earlier on in the year, and hadn’t even realised it wasn’t open properly before our stay to be honest. But it meant that everything really did feel brand new.
The Location
Based right next to Merrion Square, it felt pretty close to everything. I initially chose this hotel because of it’s proximity to the Rock n Roll Half Marathon starting line, but a quick look on the maps showed it was also close to everything else. A win all around.
We got the airport shuttle and it stopped almost right outside the hotel. Made our journey very simple, and meant we weren’t lugging cases everywhere.
On the same road as The Mont you’ve got the Oscar Wilde house (can’t go in, mind), the Oscar Wilde statue, the National Gallery of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland (Natural History). All free things to do/see just a couple of minutes walk away.
A bit further on you have Grafton Street, one of the main shopping areas. It’s about a 10-15 minute walk depending on your speed. I think a lot of the main areas of Dublin are very walkable if you don’t have a problem walking for lengths at a time. All the main attractions are fairly close together, enough that you could just wander about. There are plenty of transport options too though. We actually had a hop on/off bus ticket and it was very useful to us. I will be writing a post on that soon enough!
The Staff
They definitely need a mention here – the staff we saw over the weekend were all absolutely lovely and on hand if ever in need. Always acknowledging you as you walked past reception, giving advice and recommendations and just generally being nice. I think they were all still a little excited about the opening with the hotel being so new, but it was nice to have such a friendly reception team!
The Rooms
Oh we were impressed.
The beds were really high up and a bit of a climb so not actually the best if you’re not so tall and have a bad knee (i.e my mum) but they were SO comfortable. The pillows a little too soft for my liking, but the mattress made up for it. I slept so well those few nights.
The bathroom had a massive mirror that didn’t steam up, and the shower had both a waterfall head and a lower one that you could hold – useful for a quick wash without getting water near the hair! It just felt so modern and clean, and obviously the place being new helped with that but yeah, the decor made it.
We also got a coffee machine, kettle and teabags, biscuits and water as well as a bag of sweets to welcome us in! Definitely had a little bit of luxury.
This hotel has something a little bit different than most.
It gives dog owners the option to bring their furry friend along because yep, the hotel is dog friendly. Shown of course by their very own adorable French Bulldog, Monty who can often be found hanging around in the reception area.
If you’re not a fan of dogs, you can rest with the knowledge that not all rooms are dog friendly so if you’re not travelling with a dog, you won’t have a ‘dog’ room. We didn’t actually see any other dogs there during our stay, but as mentioned above it had only been very recently opened.
The Facilities
The hotel has the Speranza Restaurant and the Sin Bin Bar as facilities you can use to eat/drink. Breakfast is served in the restaurant daily (can’t comment on it though as we didn’t book breakfast for our stay). The Sin Bin Bar is a lovely place to spend an evening, though drinks as can be expected in a city are pretty pricey. There are plenty of places to sit and relax during the day time and night time.
The hotel also has a gym attached that anyone staying can use. I believe it is also available to people outside of the hotel. It looked pretty big and had some good kit in there so good to have access to.
Verdict on Staying at The Mont Hotel
Overall, we were really happy staying at The Mont Hotel and would gladly choose it again if ever visiting Dublin again. The location was perfect, the rooms good and the experience great overall.
Have you ever been to Dublin?
Looking for more hotel recommendations?
– Village Hotel, Portsmouth