After such a nice stay at a boutique hotel in London, I was excited for our Dublin accommodations, "Stauntons on the Green, the most exclusive Georgian Guesthouse in Dublin." Well that excitement quickly died with my first impression...the lobby wreaked like an old person's house, an old person that perhaps had died several weeks ago. Might I suggest a partnership with Yankee Candle Company? The period furnishings looked like they had, in fact, been used continuously for 200 years. Upon walking down the street, I could only assume the bums sleeping on neighboring door steps were Staunton guests that opted for the streets. It certainly did not help we arrived at night.
Things did not get better once we got to our room. The bedding, though clean, was horrific. Like many other hotels, Stauntons has seen the demise of the top sheet, which is fine except the comforter cover was ripped allowing you to see the contents were not in the best of shape. Ditto for the disgusting pillows. My husband chose to sleep on a barbie-sized travel pillow leaving me to fend for myself.
The room was freezing, and we couldn't get the radiator to come on. There was also an impressive display of insects as well. Mostly the flying variety, but also a big ole spider my husband stomped into the rug. Great, now I can't walk on the rug either. No matter, that rug was also past its prime. We realized the next day a window had been left open in spite of the fact there are no screens. The bathroom was very clean at least, with a heated towel rack. No wash cloths or lotion, however.
Now for the positive, the room was clean. The staff was very helpful. We were able to buy tickets for a hop on-hop off tour at the front desk. Although there is no on-site parking, they will park your car for you for €10 per day. You do need to give them about 40 minutes notice to retrieve your vehicle, though. The location was fantastic, right across the street from a large park in the city centre. Upon arrival, that park (which was locked up) looked like a scene out of The Shining, but when daylight came and it was opened, it was gorgeous! They even had a garden for the visually impaired. Very cool. And the furnishings in the other common areas were not nearly as bad as the lobby. Breakfast is included and was okay. Not great, but not bad either.
So I was debating during our stay how to rate this hotel. I felt like this was one of the times that Yelp failed me, but so did other travel sites. Not liking to be the bad guy, I was trying to talk myself up from a 2-star rating. Until my husband showed me the coffee pot. It was not that it was stained or hadn't been emptied. It looked like a science experiment. You think it couldn't have been that bad? Take a look at the photo.
Thanks to that coffee pot, I have to say "no thank you" for a return stay. However, new bedding and furnishings for the lobby would go a long way here. And throw out every coffee pot. They can't be saved. read more