We spent the night at Wetherspoon's new hotel in Dublin City Centre.
It is probably not unfair to assume that we associate Wetherspoon's with a particular aspect of socialising in Dublin. We know that they serve food and drink for cheaper than most other outlets around the city, with costs kept down by trimming expenses other venues might incur, such as with music, TV screens, etc.
While that works perfectly for a bar and/or restaurant, already knowing in advance what you're going to be getting each time, we were very curious to find out how this might translate for an actual hotel.
Situated in a previously long-derelict spot on Camden Street, facing the Camden Court Hotel, the newly refurbished Keaven's Port Hotel is an 89-bedroom location, with a new Wetherspoon's bar and restaurant spread across the ground, first and second floor of the establishment.
The new bar/restaurant - also called the Keaven's Port - changes style from the interior, which is filled with small nooks and crannies to get some private time with pals or for your date night, before expanding out into the courtyard and atrium, where it becomes all about glass and steel and something much more modern.
Once you leave that part of the building behind, you'll find a beautifully designed reception area, and all the way up to your room, you'll continue to find that clash of old-school aesthetics with a very current slant.
When you get to your floor, the sense that this hotel is constructed out of several previously-segmented buildings becomes apparent, with the hallways zig-zaging left and right, up and down, before you get to your room.
Inside, the design is definitely busy, but once your eyes adjust, the pros of the room reveal themselves. The bed is big but doesn't suffocate the room (even if our "double" room was in fact just two single mattresses with a king-sized sheet on top). The top-of-the-line Smart TV and the large, modish bathroom provide the better end of the basics you'll be needing from your hotel stay.
The view from our room faced across the courtyard towards the window of another hotel room, with plenty of natural light able to arrive in during the day, while the thick curtains doubled as a sound buffer from the atrium below during the evening.
Location-wise, it is impossible to think of somewhere more central for tourists to Dublin to spend the night, with the full nightlife scene right at the doorstep, and plenty of hotspot tourist destinations all within walking distance.
Rooms are currently available for €85 (Sunday to Wednesday) and €125 (Thursday to Saturday), until September 26. Full details can be found right
here.
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