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Hotels · Ireland

Where to stay in Dublin

Four Dublin hotels we have read the guest data on — two Staycity aparthotels, one by St Stephen’s Green, one Travelodge on Townsend Street — with the complaints written as plainly as the praise.

  • 4 properties reviewed
  • 3 areas covered
  • 2 head-to-head comparisons
  • Guest sentiment from our hotel data provider

Written by the TravelShifu editorial team · last checked

Desk assessmentWe have not stayed here. This verdict is built from the property’s own records and third-party guest reviews, read in full — including the complaints.

Check Dublin rates

We hold no live rates, so nothing on this page quotes a nightly price. This opens the partner’s own Dublin search, where you can put in your dates and see the real number.

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Should you book this Dublin stay?

Where to stay in Dublin — the verdict

Stay by Mary Street if Temple Bar and Connolly are the map; stay on St Stephen’s Green if Grafton and the park are the week; stay on Francis Street if the Guinness Storehouse is the anchor; stay on Townsend if service scores and value matter more than room size.

All four properties carry POI rows. Staycity Mary Street puts Temple Bar at 0.8 km and Dublin Connolly at 0.8 km; Marlin puts St Stephen’s Green at 0.1 km and Grafton Street at 0.2 km; Travelodge puts Bord Gáis Energy Theatre at 0.2 km and Temple Bar at 1.1 km; Staycity Tivoli puts Guinness Storehouse at 0.8 km and St Patrick’s Cathedral at 0.6 km. Those are four different daily maps.

Guest scores are high but not clean. Travelodge posts 9.4 out of 10 from 13,124 reviews with small rooms named; Marlin posts 8.8 from 16,631 with cold coffee at breakfast; both Staycity properties carry cleanliness complaints beside strong service praise. We cite scale, count and date — never as structured data.

Nothing on this page quotes a nightly rate. We hold no live rates — the CTAs send you to Booking.com, Agoda, Trip.com or Vrbo. Those are partners; the links may earn commission.

Best for

  • First-time visitors choosing between Grafton glamour and Mary Street practicality
  • Families who want aparthotel kit versus a three-star chain base with breakfast praise
  • Anyone comparing a 16,631-review Marlin sample against Travelodge’s 13,124-review headline

Not for

  • Anyone expecting huge rooms — small size is a named con at Travelodge and cramped multi-guest stays at Tivoli
  • Breakfast absolutists at Marlin — food and beverage scores 7.78 with cold coffee named
  • Readers hunting a quoted nightly rate on this page

Verdict last reviewed . Rates, refurbishments and management change — re-check anything time-sensitive before booking.

Best Hotels in Dublin

Dublin hotel choice is mostly which side of the Liffey and how much apartment kit you want. These four sit in three different centro pins on purpose — Mary Street practicality, Grafton glamour, Liberties Guinness walks, and a three-star Townsend base with a huge review sample.

4 properties reviewed by our editors · Last checked 6 Aug 2026

Filter Dublin hotels by price band or trip type
  1. Staycity Aparthotels Dublin Tivoli — supplier photograph 1

    Number 1: Staycity Aparthotels Dublin Tivoli

    4-star hotelUpscaleLiberties & Guinness Quarter

    A four-star Staycity aparthotel on Francis Street — Guinness Storehouse 0.8 km, location 10 out of 10 — with cleanliness during stay and cramped-group-room complaints beside strong value scores.

    • 0.8 km to Guinness Storehouse
    • 0.6 km to St Patrick’s Cathedral
    • Location score 10 out of 10
    • Parking garage listed

    our hotel data provider: 9.4/10 from 10,129 reviews — as of 16 Jan 2026

    Full review of Staycity Aparthotels Dublin Tivoli
  2. Travelodge PLUS Dublin City Centre — supplier photograph 1

    Number 2: Travelodge PLUS Dublin City Centre

    3-star hotelMid-rangeCity Centre & Temple Bar edge

    A three-star Travelodge on Townsend Street — Bord Gáis Energy Theatre 0.2 km — with flat-nine service scores from 13,124 reviews and small rooms as the named trade-off.

    • 0.2 km to Bord Gáis Energy Theatre
    • 1.1 km to Temple Bar
    • Restaurant and bar listed
    • 9.4 out of 10 supplier score

    our hotel data provider: 9.4/10 from 13,124 reviews — as of 10 Jan 2026

    Full review of Travelodge PLUS Dublin City Centre
  3. Building at Staycity Aparthotels Dublin City Centre

    Number 3: Staycity Aparthotels Dublin City Centre

    4-star hotelUpscaleCity Centre & Temple Bar edge

    A four-star Staycity aparthotel on Mary Street — Temple Bar 0.8 km, Connolly 0.8 km — with exceptional service praise and a cleanliness score that undercuts the 9.2 headline.

    • 0.8 km to Temple Bar
    • 0.8 km to Dublin Connolly Station
    • Fitness centre and family rooms listed
    • Parking garage listed

    our hotel data provider: 9.2/10 from 13,447 reviews — as of 16 Jan 2026

    Full review of Staycity Aparthotels Dublin City Centre
  4. Marlin Hotel Stephens Green — supplier photograph 1

    Number 4: Marlin Hotel Stephens Green

    4-star hotelUpscaleSt Stephen’s Green & Grafton

    A four-star on Bow Lane East — St Stephen’s Green 0.1 km, Grafton Street 0.2 km — with the largest review sample on this page and cold coffee at breakfast in the cons.

    • 0.1 km to St Stephen’s Green
    • 0.2 km to Grafton Street
    • Restaurant and bar listed
    • Parking garage listed

    our hotel data provider: 8.8/10 from 16,631 reviews — as of 16 Jan 2026

    Full review of Marlin Hotel Stephens Green

Where to stay in Dublin: best areas by trip type

Pick the area before you pick the property. In Dublin the walk out of the front door decides more of the trip than the room does.

Dublin at a glance

Best area for families:
City Centre & Temple Bar edge — best area for families in Dublin
Best area for couples:
St Stephen’s Green & Grafton — best area for couples in Dublin
Best area on a budget:
City Centre & Temple Bar edge — best area on a budget in Dublin
Best area for a first visit:
City Centre & Temple Bar edge — best area for a first visit in Dublin

City Centre & Temple Bar edge

Typical nightly rate: Midrange three-star through upscale four-star aparthotel per night

Best for first-time visitors · families · tight budgets

North-side practicality — Mary Street and Townsend Street pins with Temple Bar, Dublin Castle and Connolly within about a kilometre on our figures.

Trade-off: Temple Bar noise is nearby even when you are not sleeping in it. Staycity names check-in confusion and cleanliness gaps; Travelodge names small rooms despite 9.4 headline scores.

Getting around: Walk to Temple Bar and Connolly from Mary Street; Townsend sits closer to the theatre strip and the south-side quays.

Close to: Temple Bar, Dublin Castle, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin Connolly Station

  • Temple Bar access
  • Connolly
  • Central practical

See 2 hotels in City Centre & Temple Bar edge

St Stephen’s Green & Grafton

Typical nightly rate: Upscale four-star — parking costs are a named con per night

Best for couples · first-time visitors

South-side shopping and park calm — St Stephen’s Green as the front lawn, Grafton Street a block away, and the strongest location story in this sample for park-side evenings.

Trade-off: You pay for the pin, and breakfast is the weak category — cold coffee and food and beverage at 7.78 despite spotless-room praise.

Getting around: Walk Grafton, the Green and Trinity at 0.4 km; Temple Bar is 0.9 km — fine on foot, not silent at night.

Close to: St Stephen's Green, Grafton Street, Trinity College Dublin, St Patrick’s Cathedral

  • Grafton Street
  • Park side
  • Upscale four-star

See 1 hotel in St Stephen’s Green & Grafton

Liberties & Guinness Quarter

Typical nightly rate: Upscale four-star aparthotel — strong value scores in guest data per night

Best for couples · families

Francis Street and the Storehouse belt — Guinness at 0.8 km, St Patrick’s at 0.6 km, and a flat 10 out of 10 location score at Staycity Tivoli with cleanliness caveats.

Trade-off: Rooms run cramped for groups, and cleanliness during stay is a named con despite friendly staff and good amenities scores.

Getting around: Walk the Storehouse and Liberties; Heuston is 1.1 km for day trips west.

Close to: Guinness Storehouse, St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol

  • Guinness Storehouse
  • Liberties
  • Aparthotel

See 1 hotel in Liberties & Guinness Quarter

The full guide

Read the full Dublin guide

Neighbourhoods, transport, what a day costs, when to go and what to skip — the long-form guide behind these hotel picks.

Read the full Dublin guide

Straight comparisons

Hand-picked pairs, not every possible pair. Each of these exists because it is a decision readers in Dublin genuinely have to make.

Popular Dublin searches

Dublin hotels — common questions

Which area of Dublin is best for a first visit?
St Stephen’s Green and Grafton if shopping and the park are the week; Mary Street if Temple Bar and Connolly matter more; Francis Street if the Guinness Storehouse is the anchor. Townsend works if you want a three-star with a 13,124-review sample and accept small rooms.
Is Temple Bar too noisy from these hotels?
You are close enough to hear it on foot — Temple Bar is 0.8–1.1 km from the Mary Street and Townsend pins. Marlin is 0.9 km away on the Green side. None of these is a silent suburban base; pick the pin for the walks you want, not imaginary quiet.
Should I book Dublin hotels direct or through a booking site?
It varies by property and by date, which is why we never quote a nightly rate here. Check the partner link for your dates, then check the hotel’s own site before you confirm. Booking.com, Agoda, Trip.com and Vrbo are partners; those links may earn commission.
Why do you show guest scores but never a star-rating snippet in search results?
Because the scores are not ours. Every review number on this site comes from a supplier’s aggregate. We show the supplier score plainly, attributed and dated, and we never emit it as structured data.
Are aparthotels worth it in Dublin?
If you want kitchen kit and family rooms, yes — both Staycity properties list family rooms and mini-apartment setups with strong service scores. Read the cleanliness cons first: Mary Street scores 8.34 on cleanliness; Tivoli names unclean areas during stay. Marlin and Travelodge are conventional hotel rooms without full kitchens.