When I travel, I am definitely not one of those that likes returning to the same hotel because I enjoyed it - Instead I love to sample as many hotels as possible, because life's too short to stick to what you know! I always think there's bigger and better with everything and I love to see what other places have to offer. Therefore, I decided not to stay at a typical chain hotel, and go for something a little bit more unique.
I'm pretty fussy when it comes to hotels. If the budget can be pushed a little, I damn right make sure I get to sample a little luxury, and this hotel didn't disappoint.
After arriving at The Gibson Hotel at 11.30pm (9hrs later than expected...) and a very long day, I was definitely ready for my bed. We walked in and was presented with 2-3 huge escalators in front of us, a little pop up camper van in the corner, and a few lifts. We were already told by our taxi driver that the reception is on the third floor. We jumped in the lift and up we went. Check-in was a breeze and was over and done with within 1 minute flat. As we were waiting to be checked in, I couldn't help but look at the interior design of the reception. A huge bench opposite with brightly coloured seat cushions on gave it a slight Moroccan vibe. They had a huge clock that was really funky, and random yet quirky animal statues.
Our room was on the 6th floor which I was happy about.. I love a good view! All rooms have a balcony (with table and chairs) which was a luxury, although may I add that these balconies are shared with others on your row. I went outside on several occasions and no one else was on there, but that might have been because of the dreary miserable weather! I can imagine these to get used more in the summer months with people enjoying a glass of wine or two at sunset.
The room was both spacious and spotless. Lots of surface and storage space. It was equipped with a writing area, iron, ironing board, powerful hairdryer, tea & coffee making facilities and a fridge (although the fridge had nothing in it, which I was quite surprised about). They did however offer complimentary? water and magazines for our perusal. The décor was modern and stylish, staying safe with neutral earth colours. It also included a real plant! (How often does that happen?!). TV channels weren't the best, several of them had a lot of interference for some reason, so the picture wasn't the best. The bed was huge and super comfy, and even had lighting underneath! (The small things...)
The windows had automatic black out blinds which were switch operated, however we didn't feel the need to use this, however the option was nice.
The bathroom was spacious, and the shower was huge, with both a normal and waterfall shower to choose from (or both, if you're greedy like me!). These gave so much power which is something I look for in a shower. I don't do any of this low-pressure malarkey! The shower could have easily fitted 3 people in, although I wasn't sharing for no one! There was a large shelf inside the shower too which was great for storage and made it easy to grab shampoo's etc. There's nothing worse than having to store all your lotions and potions on one of those annoying small corner caddies in the shower! Also, even though the shelf was inside the shower, there was no worry of anything on it getting wet. Plenty of towels were to hand and complimentary 'Rituals' toiletries were provided. Any beauty buffs out there will know that having 'free' Ritual products to hand is rather generous, so these were greatly received!
The cleaning service was great - In every hotel we stay in I always pop the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door in fear that they will knock at 8am. By the time we left our room for the day, I think the cleaner had already been passed our room, but low and behold, they must re-check at the end of their duties for any removals of the DND signs. Coming back to a nice clean hotel room every night was always appreciated! They always replenished the Rituals products too, which were (obviously) greatly appreciated! (We may have took a few sneaky ones home with us too!)
The air con is controlled by both temperature and fan power, and if on full, this can get fairly noisy, but I've experienced a lot louder in my time.
The hotel offered free Wi-Fi too, which I never had a problem connecting to it either no matter where in the hotel I was, which is always refreshing.
We sampled the Hemidemisemi Quaver bar (what a mouthful but super good!). If you get a spare minute, check this out. We arrived at opening time on New Years Eve (12 midday), so they were just opening. Obviously because of this, it was hard to judge on the service due to very few customers, however I will say that the food is lovely. We had a traditional focaccia beef sandwich, and although it was done Gordon Ramsey style (i.e. it never had a 'top' on the sandwich!) it was still really tasty and flavoursome, ingredients definitely weren't scrimped on. The setting was really pretty too - we overlooked the gardens and the running water and twinkly lights made everything look all sparkly and festive, even on a blustery day, so I can only imagine what its like in the summer evenings. The photo below definitely doesn't do this are justice though! Prices were standard too for a hotel of this level.
Reception Floor
Distance wise, if you are visiting the 3arena, you couldn't get any more closer - its on your doorstep, literally. The center of Dublin is about a 15 minute tram ride away, however again, the tram is on your doorstep - straight outside the hotel doors across the path and you're there. Trams are very frequent, running on average every 10 minutes in the day. They lessen at night I think, but not by a lot. A standard full day adult ticket is approx. 6.50 euros. You can use this in all zones, as many times as you want throughout the day. We used the tram for 3 days and not once did anyone check that we had tickets, however its not worth the risk as I can imagine the fines to be pretty hefty.I loved spending my time here, and I definitely wouldn't hesitate recommending it to others! Prices start from approximately 160 euros per night (which is approx. £124 p/n). However with a little bit of research you can usually grab a room for around £90 p/n, which for this hotel, I think is a great little treat!
