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• Review: Holiday Inn Express Dublin Airport
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We spent our last night in Dublin at the Holiday Inn Express, Dublin Airport. We had an early morning flight to catch we weren’t sure of the frequency of public transport facilities system at that daybreak, so we figured it’s best to spend the night at an airport hotel. Also, there was the Accelerate promotion which was on our head. Ajay’s Accelerate promotion needed two nights to complete, so we were biased towards IHG on this one.

The Holiday Inn Express is IHG’s mid-priced hotel chain and offers limited services to travelers. The hotel shares its walls with the Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport, which is the upscale brand operated by the same management, and both hotels share facilities including parking and restaurants. One could actually bill at both hotels and settle the bill at the hotel they are staying at.

The Lobby

We arrived at the hotel around mid-day. We hauled our bags inside through an automatic door that opened into a small reception area. There was a very courteous gentleman at the reception counter on the left who helped us with all check-in formalities. He was also the shift manager and the only front office staff on duty at that hour.

As a part of our IHG Rewards welcome amenity we had choice of IHG points or a drink at the bar in the lobby. We opted for the drink voucher, and the manager gave us two while he had to only get us one.

The manager also advised us of what we knew, about the ability to go to Crowne Plaza for a meal as well and bill it to our room in the Holiday Inn Express.

The Room

After completing the check-in, we headed to our room on the third floor. The hallway leading up to the rooms was furnished in dull brown carpets. Our room though was reasonably spacious and well furnished.

On entering the room there was a passage with a bathroom on the right. On the left, there was a full-length mirror and shelves where the sparse room amenities were placed. There was a hair dryer, an ice box, a kettle and tea/ coffee sachets. Space to hang clothes along with an ironing board and iron were placed behind.  There was no complimentary drinking water in the rooms.

The room had a king size bed with a comfortable mattress. The bed linen was clean and the orange cushions added brightness to the room which was done in pale shade of brown.

There was a blue sofa cum bed placed by the window. Some rooms have them and some don’t but we picked a room with the couch to hopefully get some extra space for ourselves. The work desk was placed right across a wall fitted flat screen television around the corner.

The bathroom was clean and functional. There was shower cubicle and a separate slide in enclosure for the toilet. The amenities were Dove & Lux which is a standard Unilever brand. This is the first time I’ve seen soap from these brands being placed in the rooms of a chain hotel.

Overall the room was spacious, practically designed and had everything we needed to spend one evening.

The hotel was comfortably connected to the rest of the city via buses as well, which appeared every 5 minutes or so and we managed to get one from a bus-stop about 5 minutes away from the hotel. Wasn’t going to drop cash on another UberBlack!

Dining

The hotel has a bar at the lobby level which is open for drinks and bar bites In the evening, we got back in early to repack, so we thought of putting our vouchers to good use as well. We arrived in the lobby and brought our vouchers to the bar, which is adjoining to the reception. Someone came to attend to us, and offered us a choice of drinks. We went with some wine and spirits.

There was also a small dining menu, although everything was takeaway, so you could place an order from the room and collect it from the reception, or sit in the lobby and collect from the reception. We ordered for a pizza, which was brought to us from the neighboring Crowne Plaza hotel.

We had an early morning flight to catch and we were aiming to take the airport shuttle at 06:30 am. Breakfast at the hotel starts at 6am and we were able to catch a quick coffee and croissant. Holiday Inn Express hotels offer continental breakfast to all their guests. Around here, it was a continental spread.

The buffet spread was quiet alright, but can’t complain for the price we paid. There was juice, fruits, cereals and bakery items. Hot items included sausages, scrambled eggs and baked beans.  There was a self-service beverage machine where one could get a cup of tea, coffee and hot chocolate.

Facilities

Right next to the lifts there were two vending machines, one stocked with eatables and the second one was for beverages. There was a table next to the vending machines stacked with maps and various guides for visitors. I did grab some of them although since we were heading back home the next day they were of little use to us.

The lobby level also had a common work area that was equipped with computers and printing devices. One could do small printouts such as boarding passes from here for no extra cost.

Apart from this all Holiday Inn Express hotels have breakfast included and there is free wi-fi as well. We also used the free airport shuttle that left every 30 minutes from the door of the Crowne Plaza hotel. The Dublin airport was a 10 minutes ride via the shuttle. We made it to the 6:30 am one, and it wasn’t very crowded. The shuttle first heads to Terminal 1, and then to Terminal 2. Blissfully unaware, we dropped out at Terminal 1, and then had to wheel our bags to the other terminal.

Wallet Effect

A one-night cost us 120 EUR/ 9,100 INR/ 142 USD, which was booked in an IHG sale.

Bottomline

This was my first ever stay at any Holiday Inn Express hotel and though I was skeptic about what a no frill hotel would offer me,. after my short one night stay I was happy to note that this is a modern airport hotel that is practically designed and offers all the convenience to business travelers and  short-term stay guests.

 

The Pros

+ Clean & comfortable rooms
+Close to the airport
+ Good connectivity on wi-fi
+ Reasonable breakfast spread
+ Free airport shuttle

The Cons

- No cutlery in the rooms to consume any take out food

Rating