In my recent trip to Dublin, I stayed in the Intercontinental Dublin. I have to say when I look at the facade of the building, I thought this was actually built more than 100 years ago, as it looks classic British old buildings, but I was wrong, it was actually built in 2001 and was originally four seasons hotel’s property. IHG has since taken over the property in 2015 and had rebranded this hotel as Intercontinental.
The moment that I stepped into this hotel, I was really impressed by the opulence of the lobby. Although the lobby does not have a high ceiling, the design has successfully created elegance in a subtle and dignified way, And the lobby lounge continues to exude such kind of elegance. Not only was it a cosy and spacious, the Garden Terrace allowed lots of sunlight into the lounge, and is also a very good place to have some afternoon tea. This is one of the best afternoon tea that I had since I stayed at the Langham Hotel last year, and the highlight of this afternoon tea is the original and raisin scone, both of which are baked fluffy and warm. Even better are their homemade clotted cream and strawberry and apple spread, the former of which is creamy and tasty, while the latter are made from fresh fruit and is a winner both in the texture and taste department. As for the rest of the set, while the sandwich is typical British afternoon tea and the desserts standard affair, I do think their taste is better than an average five star hotel, although not as creative as the one that I have at Langham. For tea, I have ordered the house blend Assam tea, interestingly it was a little bit fruity and tastes more like earl grey tea, but otherwise it is quite good.
For the room, I have to say it is one of the best that I have stayed in years. I am actually quite disappointed in the design of Bulgari London when I stayed there in Feb, as the abundance of wood used in the room had actually made it looked dated. This room, although still had a few wood furniture, successfully created a sense of opulence that matched the ambience of its lobby. It is also spacious with workstation and mini sofa included. During my stay in this hotel, I had in-room dining on a few days, and I have to say sometimes I prefer dining in my room than in the lobby lounge, as the relatively low ceiling of the lounge means that it’s quite noisy when there were kids running around.
As for the bathroom, it’s equally impressive. While they don’t use as much white marble stones as the ones like Langham and Park Hyatt, It is still elegant without being too over the top. It is also well equipped with both shower and bathroom. As for bathroom amenities, Byredo was used across every Intercontinental hotel, and needless to say it is one of the best branded toiletries used by international hotels.
For gym and swimming pool, the gym in this hotel is spacious, well equipped with weight training machines, dumbbell and treadmill. All the equipment is new and well maintained. As for the swimming pool, it is beautifully designed with cues similar to hotels such as Park Hyatt Melbourne and Bulgari London. It is heated and you can also soaked in the jacuzzi attached to it.
For breakfast, it is a buffet style one and there is plenty of food choice such as cold cut, fruit, eggs and sausage and pastry. All of them taste good and reminds of the ones that I had at St Regis Singapore. You can also order a la carte like egg Benedict at an extra cost. Also the coffee they served is quite impressive, unlike many major five star hotels that are made with mediocre coffee machines. The lunch and dinner that I had at the lobby lounge was nevertheless not as impressive. Mind you, I didn’t say it was not good, but none of them are as good as the ones that I had at Intercontinental O2 hotel in London. Also in terms of variety, choices are relatively limited. For example, this lamb rumb and pan seared Atlantic Cod looks quite similar to the ones that I have at Fairmont Monte Carlo, which I think is a bit overcooked and sauce a bit too thick. For the Cod fish, I think it’s a bit dry. The only exception is this pasta of the day, which is Rigatoni in Green sauce. It tastes fresh and green sauce is well cooked. Surprisingly their in room dining is much better at serving comfort food like this club sandwich, this caesar salad and soup of the day, and with price just half of the ones served at the lobby lounge, I would recommend this to anyone.
Overall, my stay at Intercontinental Dublin is really impressive, whether it’s the overall service, or the quality of the rooms, it has lived up to Intercontinental hotels’ standard. Coupled with the fact that it is located in the posh area of embassies its proximity to CBD and it’s easy access to public transport like Dart train and Buses, I would recommend this hotel to anyone in a heartbeat.