Belvedere Hotel Dublin

I knew prior to arriving in Dublin that what North Americans considered a large hotel room wasn't what Europeans considered a large hotel room, so expect a small room with your basic necessities (a bed and a TV)but it didn't bother me at all considering I wasn't in the hotel often at all. The washroom was HUGE though. The largest bathroom of any hotel I've ever stayed at! The gentlemen at reception was incredibly nice, and after my traveling partner and I were stressing-out over not having the right number to call and confirm our seats on a tour, he actually called the tour for us and even booked us in! It was very much appreciated since I must've spent $15 on my calling card trying to call the tour up. Cleaning maids did a wonderful job, especially considering out hotel room was a disaster zone after we got through shopping. The hotel also offers breakfast and dinner (at an additional charge) and there were many options to chose from (fruit, cereals, breads, yogurts, eggs...). There is a bar attached to the hotel and although we never went in there it seemed to be busy with locals and it looked to be an up class atmosphere. I would definitely recommend this hotel because to get to the tram, Grafton st, Trinity College, pretty much anywhere, you have to walk down O'Connell St which is a perfect street for picking up some dinner/snacks on your way back to the hotel. Everything is very easily accessible from this hotel!

The Belvedere Hotel is a typical 3-star hotel. Nothing fancy but a place to drop your bags and crash if need be. It is near the O'Connell street area and takes roughly 5-8 minutes of casual walking to get to it. Since the hotel is in the city centre, you must rely on a taxi or bus to get you to the airport, unless you have a friend or relative that currently lives and works in Dublin who can hook you up.

Service:
- Service was okay. The desk clerk gave me a bit of a hard time when I did check out. He said I needed to pay for my stay there when I already prepaid the amount online when I made the reservation weeks ago. Somehow he didn't believe me after I showed him the print-out listing the amount and the confirmation number. I'm sorting this out behind-the-scenes now.

Lobby:
- An average-looking lobby. The carpet-covered wooden floors creaks loudly when you approach the front desk. There is a small lounge area and a computer to check your emails or surf the net if you need to.

Value:
- Dublin isn't cheap at all so naturally the value wasn't to my expectations for this 3-star hotel. But, you get what you pay for, right?

- Depending on what corridors you walk through you can smell a hint of smoke or a "sewer"-like smell. If you are a smoker and work in a water treatment facility I guess this shouldn't bother you....lol!

The Room:
- The room (for the most part was clean). The bathroom was very clean. I had no problems there. The room was very spacious for my needs...well, at least the room I was assigned to. I can't speak for the other rooms.

- I took a couple of pictures of the bed but for some reason they didn't come out good at all so I didn't add them to this review. The bed and its sheets, pillows, and duvet cover were clean. The bed was a little too firm for me but I slept okay.

- The room contains a color tv with remote and the typical basic channels you would expect to find in a hotel.

- There is no mini-bar (at least in the room I was in).

Amenities:
- There is a bar and restaurant located in the hotel. I didn't bother going there during my stay.

Nothing more to add. If I had a choice of staying in a hotel in Dublin, I may choose another hotel.