After our early Aer Lingus flight from Toronto to Dublin, I decided that it would be worth spending the day in Dublin before continuing our 17 day summer trip.  I spent a semester on exchange in living in Dublin and studying at University College Dublin, thus it was a perfect place to spend 24 hours rediscovering my old stomping grounds. After the early flight, we wanted to drop off our bags and get going right away, luckily, the Aloft Dublin City was a perfect option.

Booking

As much as I love Dublin, it’s an incredibly expensive city.  Dublin puts Toronto to shame when it comes to rental affordability and supply. When I was there 5 years ago several of my friends on exchange from other European schools were not given spots in residence and had to live in AirBnB’s for several months. It’s even worse in the summer, when thousands of tourists descend on the city. Until recently, Marriott didn’t offer much of a selection in the city, with two high priced hotels available.

Luckily, the Aloft Dublin City opened earlier this year. At 238 Euros a night but only 25,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points, it provides fantastic value for points in this expensive city. It was simple to book right through the Marriott Bonvoy App. (Note: As of March 2020, this hotel will move to Category 5, costing on average 35K Bonvoy points a night)

The Aloft is located less 10 minute walk from the 747 bus, a 5 minute walk from the nightlife centre of Harcourt and Camden streets, a 15 minutes’ walk to the Guinness Storehouse and a 15-20 minute walk to Trinity College and the chaotic Temple Bar. In my opinion, this is a perfect location, as it avoids the craziness of the centre of town, but it’s close enough to quickly walk into the centre.

Arrival

Around 48 hours before we were set to arrive, the app allowed me to chat with the hotel. Based on Ricky’s experience I thought it was worth reaching out to them beforehand. I reached out to the reception on the app and they were happy to offer me early check-in. As we were arriving at 5:30 am off our flight from Toronto, this was a fantastic perk.

When we arrived, there were a few other North American tourists checking in beside us. They were on a large family tour of Ireland and didn’t seem to have status. Unfortunately, the agent had given away our room to these folks, even though there was a note on the account to save them for us.  We were pretty bummed out, as we were excited to shower, but the reception staff did offer to check us into a queen room instead. As we were about to take the queen room, the group next to us kindly offered us one of their King rooms as they were just planning to drop off their stuff. Although it was disappointing, it was still a huge perk that they were able to offer us a clean room at 7 am, regardless of the size, kudos to that family! The lady at checkin took in our documents and five minutes later we headed up to our room. As a Marriott Gold Elite member we were entitled to a late checkout and 10% off at the bar, but we didn’t use either. 

Room

Personally, this was my first stay at an Aloft branded hotel. I can see why they cater this brand to millenials, the brand seems to fit in perfectly with what I wanted for in a city like Dublin, a comfy bed, good location at an attractive price. This hotel fulfils those options perfectly for a leisure stay, and although there was a desk, I probably wouldn’t stay here for work. 

The hallways leading toward the room were clean and new looking, with Aloft trademarked orange and blue carpeting that I wouldn’t want in my apartment.

When we walked into the room, we immediately noted that it was small. The Urban King room was adequately appointed with a desk and a king size bed, but as you can see, there wasn’t room for anything else.

The bed was a comfy king size bed, perfect after our poorly timed flight without sleep.

Luckily, there was a coffee machine with individual pods to keep us caffeinated for the morning. Although the Aloft Dublin City was only a few month old, I already noticed that the place was showing some wear and tear, with wall marks and a broken shampoo dispenser in the shower. The shower and bathroom area were adequate, but nothing fancy. There was body wash provided attached to the wall, but there was a noticeable lack of shampoo and conditioner. Kath also said that the bath area had poor lighting for makeup, but I didn’t test that feature out.

Amenities

The hotel had a check in and bar area on the seventh floor, which meant that you had to take an elevator up to the lobby to check in. There was a bar there, with plenty of “cool” seating areas. Surprisingly, many of the people at the bar during the day were Irish, rather than tourists staying at the hotel. When we got back in the evening, the crowd was a mix of American tourists and locals.

There was a good view over the city and the Wicklow Mountains, as the Aloft Dublin City sits on a bit of a hill overlooking the city. There was also a patio, but unfortunately it was really smokey out there it was a smoking area.

I found the bar prices reasonable, but not outstanding, for Dublin. The 10% discount at the bar as a Gold Elite does help, but we chose to drink Guinness in the city.

There is also a gym at this location, but I didn’t check it out.

Breakfast

The breakfast was adequate for those who are looking for an energy boost in the morning but it didn’t look to be too special. It was tough to get pictures as it was busy, but they had a bunch of fruit, yogurt, cheese, bread and deli meats, but there weren’t really any hot options. The price for breakfast is 13 Euros except for Sunday when it’s 15 Euros.  

Instead, we went to a restaurant called The Fumbally for breakfast that was less than a two minute walk from the hotel. It was recommended by a friend and we knew it would be good when there was a long line. As you can see, it did not disappoint, I highly recommend going to The Fumbally from the Dublin Aloft Centre if you’re looking for a yummy, and healthy, breakfast.

The Bottom Line

The Dublin Aloft Centre is a great option for those looking to use points in Ireland. Although it’s not fancy, it provides a comfy bed within walking distance to all major attractions and nightlife without breaking the bank, I would recommend using your Marriott Bonvoy points at the Dublin Aloft Centre.