Paddy's Palace Dublin

Paddy’s Palace Dublin

5 Beresford Pl, Lower Gardiner St. Dublin 1, Ireland

Cleanliness: 4/10

Cost: 7/10

Location: 9/10

Benefits: 7/10

Dani’s overall rating: 6.75/10

What originally caught my eye about Paddy’s Palace on www.hostels.com (a great resource for hostel booking, by the way!) was its closeness to the city center at such a low price (about $13 a night for one person). Oftentimes, when people book a hostel, all they care about is the low cost. But we travel to cities in order to see the city. Let me say this again: always pay attention to where hostels are located in their given region. You don’t want to be in a hostel that’s a half-hour walk from civilization!!!

Paddy’s Palace is the perfect spot for those who want to be in the city center. It’s less than ten minutes from the Temple Bar region on foot, the historical district, and close to many public transportation hubs, including the tram and many bus stations.

In terms of benefits, Paddy’s Palace offers a super sweet deal of a free tour to Kilkenny and Glendalough for groups of two or more people staying for at least two days. Jessica and I did this and had a blast exploring new regions of Ireland!! In addition, Paddy’s Palace offers free bus transportation to and from the airport to the hostel. All you have to do is hop on and you’ll get there! Free breakfast was nice as well, but be warned: it’s not very good. Coffee is stir-in and nothing that isn’t bread or cereal is available.

Now for the not so-bright side. While close to the city center and offering some awesome free gifts, Paddy’s Palace was pretty… grungy. Like, dark and kind-of-dirty grungy. The sheets, pillows, and free towels (note: sometimes hostels do not have any of these things so watch out when you book!) were clean (which are the most important things), but the bathrooms tended to need a little bit more care than they were given, and the building itself was pretty run-down. Whenever I climbed onto the bunk bed I shared with Jessica, it sounded like I was murdering a family of baby mice and I thought I might fall off and die at any point during the night. And, on top of the dirtiness, a con of being so close to Dublin is the hostel’s proximity to the street – traffic noise did tend to be loud at night.

Overall, I would recommend this hostel to those people who value closeness to the city and access to local cultural and transportation hubs. I would not recommend it to those who expect a ritzier, pampered get-a-away.