Check out: three Dublin Airport hotels — so handy for starting your holiday a little earlier
Holiday Inn, Dublin Airport. Picture: Ryan & Robert
We’ve all been there when you live somethere other than the capital: an early morning flight from Dublin Airport appears on the holiday agenda and so you’re faced with that dilemma of either grabbing an ungodly hour Aircoach or splashing out on an overnight stay at an airport hotel. Cork Airport may have been out of action for the past few months (and fortunately, for just one more week!) but overnight stays at Dublin Airport hotels remain very much a travel mainstay for non-capital dwellers. So what are the current options? As I embarked on my first international flight in almost two years earlier this month, I checked out the newest of them all, the Holiday Inn Dublin Airport, to see if it’s worth the overnight.
Every airport hotel is only as good as its location, and preferably that location is within a jet engine bellow of the terminals (a sound-proofed bellow, that is). The Holiday Inn fares pretty well here in that respect, being located just off the M50/M1 interchange and just across the road from my reigning favourite airport hotel (the Clayton). I arrive here by car, opting to avail of the hotel’s very own long-stay car park plus its handy bus shuttle service to the airport. The hotel actually sits the very same distance from the airport as the official long term blue car park, so a 10-minute scoot should get you door to door.
Ireland’s first purpose-built offering from the chain, Dublin Airport Holiday Inn just opened this summer, and outside it does have that fresh, if almost clinical, new-build look. But once inside, the hotel offers a surprise, funky interior in an explosion of rainbow colour pops. The hotel’s official press brief refers to a design ode to 1950s Americana but it all feels more Scandi than Route 66. But in a good sense. Beyond the minimal reception desk area lies its trademark open lobby with lounges and sofa nooks all spruced with bright furnishing, funky lighting fixtures, and so much texture and candy colour, I imagine kids would have a field day exploring here.
Elsewhere, gallery collages pepper the walls, all localised with colourful Dublin prints from James Joyce to cheeky 'what’s the craic?' quotes. It’s all highly curated but even as one of the chain’s 1,200 properties worldwide, I still manage to find a guest sense of place here.
If you expect American chain hotels to have a cookie-cutter look, you’re in for a treat with the property's deceptively staggering 421 rooms. My room is pretty standard in size but it makes novel use of its space, not least with an L-shaped sofa which doubles up as a sleeping bed. Elsewhere there’s a cosy double, a work desk station, flat-screen TV and fridge and views of T2 on the horizon to whet the wanderlust.
The bathroom is a compact, but attractive subway-tiled affair and as someone who is all too frequently flummoxed by hotel shower operations, I’m won over by the one-button switch! All in all, it’s a great base with no niggles — and with that colourful palette, I’m already in the holiday mood.
I head downstairs for dinner in the bustling open lobby restaurant: the mood is lively, the lighting is vibrant and with the contemporary décor, the space almost has a luxury university cafeteria vibe. Menu options range from vegan burgers to the house favourite, daube of beef with fondant potatoes.
And while many airport experiences can feel like fleece central, mains are reasonably priced from €13. Breakfast the next morning features a decent range of buffet and continental fare (if a lack of apparent gluten-free options) and I appreciate how the fruits and yoghurts are served in individual glass mason jars rather than the plastic containers which are so pervasive in these Covid times.
Uniquely, the hotel also houses the novelty of its own Starbucks outlet — although it was closed until 11am on the morning I was checking out — no pumpkin spice latte for me.
This was my debut visit at the Holiday Inn but after a fantastic overnight stay, I definitely expect us to be travel buddies in future. Most noteworthy for the punter right now is that the hotel appears to be positioning itself among the stiff competition with rates currently from an excellent €89 per night. There are also decent parking and dining deals and it's worth checking out the chain’s Kids Stay & Eat Free policy. All of these aspects could really take the heat off that extra night splurge so maybe allow your holiday to begin a night early?
For more, visit ihg.com/holidayinn
Tom was a guest of the hotel for this review.
It may be the pre-holiday buzz but there’s always something about the atmosphere in The Clayton Dublin Airport that feels a little festive. Even in July. The four-star hotel offers classic but well-kitted rooms as well as having 1,500 car parking spaces — also available to travellers not looking to book accommodation.
I always find the food, and in particular the service here, first class and the hotel offers three dining options; The Italian Kitchen restaurant, The Playwright Bar and the Red Bean Roastery Coffee Dock.
Super rates too from €80; claytonhoteldublinairport.com/
I’ve had a mixed bag of luck with Maldron Hotel stays in Ireland this year. My stay at their Belfast City Centre was excellent while a room I recently booked at their Newlands Cross location was one of their pre-revamp rooms so a little disappointing by comparison.
All of the rooms at their Dublin Airport hotel have been refurbed with the chain's trademark new grey and yellow look. And if proximity is a top criterion, the hotel bills itself as the closest hotel to Dublin Airport — at just 273m from T2. You can expect to pay a little more for the convenience with rates from €119;
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