My intent getting to the country was clear, had all the necessary legal documentation to get into…read morethe country for a business reason, but the interviewer who doesn't have the knowledge about the nature of my job, rejected the visa. When I asked what was the reason, they gave me a pamphlet that had no specific reason mentioned. Timid character, nativity and they didn't want people attending the interview to challenge or question them. What I understand about these people are: they went in and designed the rules but the rule of law is not the same for everyone and each citizen in the u.s can interpret and use it differently.

This big blocky brute of an Embassy was a very popular place to queue during the '70s and '80s…read more Thankfully, times have changed and the queue's only really stretch out around J1 season. It's very strange, on the inside, to find a fully US uniformed security guard with a thick Dublin accent. It's also disappointingly boring looking. Apparently the blocky facade is in order to make it bomb proof. I'm no scientist but I presume the logic is that bombs make circular explosions which won't fit into the squares. Very clever.

Place is so blatantly corrupt and it's so badly managed it's embarrassing. There's never any…read moreappointments available, they don't take appointments by phone which as a public service funded by public funds is a disgrace. It's so difficult to get an appointment that people even sell their slots. A friend was charged €80 to get an appointment. How has this not been investigated by regulators?

The place where Visa application process is a managed is pathetic- dirty overflowing toilet with no…read morelights / tissues, no chairs for people to sit while waiting, long waiting line both times while applying and collection, finger print machine wasn't working. Felt bad for the staff as well since they seems overworked. Would never like to go back there.

Got burnt by this embassy in my quest to get Schengen visa to travel around in Europe over summer…read more They are a part of Schengen region but they don't mention on their website that they mostly give single entry visas. We got to know this the hard way. Had to fork up 60 Euros for a single entry visa for 10 days. On the positive side, it's easy and quick to get appointment, process is straightforward and the visa decision is fast. You get your passport back in a weeks time. Only go here if you are planning to enter Schengen region via Belgium.

This was an incredible spot to rest after just getting in from an overnight transatlantic flight…read more We walked around the neighborhood and then napped with the windows open in the beautiful airy suite. The pool and hot tub are so romantically and beautiful appointed, be sure not to miss them!

Beautiful hotel in a residential area of Dublin. Bit away from downtown so taxi or train there…read more The room is big and suite style, seperated living room and bedroom. I wish the fridge is not filled with liquiors. Most of the time it is quite, but one time when the hotel was fully booked, they put me in room 164 and it was very very noisy all day...avoid this room.

Bang in the middle of leafy D4, and across the road the US Embassy you get plenty of bang for yer…read morebuck. Used to be Jurys Hotel before bein bought for a ridiculous amount of money for redevelopment. Now the bubbles burst its back to its old roots and flyin. €79 gets you a room...and as we requested a family room we got a double and 3 single and enough room for a dancefloor,DJ,conga etc; elected! Pub grub is good value down in the bar; fuel the fire for the night...theres also a supermarket on the site; its the hotel that just keeps on giving. The only slight downside is €10.50 charge for overnight parking but its Ballsbridge, where parking is as rare as a solvent developer!

The Good Things The…read moreBallbridge has a great location a few hundred yards from over 20 restaurants. Their breakfast buffet was great and not overpriced at 15 Euros (about $18). It had all sorts of cold meats and cheeses, ham, bacon, sausage, eggs, pastries, cereals, fruits, and Irish Breakfast staples like black and white puddings, beans, mushrooms, and roasted tomatoes. Our room was very nice and the free WIFI worked great. The Inexcusable Thing But the Ballbridge really got off on the wrong foot with us and it tainted our stay. After flying all night from Connecticut, our tour company dropped us at the Ballbridge at 7:00 AM. The front desk told us rather definitively that no rooms would be available until 3:00 PM. They suggested we could sleep on a sofa right in the lobby if we wanted to. So we did. I checked the desk 2 hours later, and was told "well maybe around 12:30". A few hours later I checked again and hurrah! They had an open room. What really annoyed us was that the Ballbridge had zero protocols and zero procedures to deal with what has to be a very common problem for their tour program guests. There was no list, they didn't take a cell phone number for a call or a text, there was nothing in place to share information with us. Had it not been for my constant inquiries, who knows how long we would have been waiting. I thought this lack of a strategy, and the appearance of indifference made for a terrible customer service experience. And that cost them a 4th star.

The hotel is decent, and not in a bad location. It's situated in the upper class section of Dublin…read more Downtown is about 20-25 minute walk or you can take the bus # 7 to the city. My room had a nice bed, and the rooms had a nice selection of teas. Unfortunately, my iron didn't work! It had one of those medieval smoothing irons that took forever to heat up. I do appreciate that the bathroom has a blow dryer, but the one they have in there seemed like it came from the 70s! April showers bring May flowers, but they can also bring bad hair days. Don't let the hotel blow dryer dampen your hairstyle, be sure to pack your own. Update: 2/19/15 they finally upgraded the iron and added a more modern blow dryer. I have changed my rating to 4.