The Camden Court hotel is located about 10 mins walk south of St. Stephen's Green. I have now stayed there on a couple of occasions, and on my last visit, I walked into the spacious reception area somewhat overwhelmed by the cigarette smoke, although the incoming smoking ban at the end of March should serve to eliminate that problem soon enough.
First impressions are that the Camden Court is a four-star hotel, and considering the rate from €125 per room inc. breakfast, that's a reasonable assumption. The style of the hotel emulates a cheaper version of a Marriot, with the woods, paisley lobby carpets, etc. Not exactly chintzy, but definitely on the conservative side of the decor spectrum. Given my preference for modern, more minimalist, the Camden Court is actually a bearable conservative option, in comparison to some of the overtly 'trying to be a club house' I've experienced.
Unfortunately, the promise of the reception area is not carried on throughout
the rest of the hotel. Admittedly, rooms (I was in a standard with queen bed) are very spacious, as are the ensuite bathrooms. Colour scheme was pale walls, green carpets, dark wood furniture. However, the overall look is 'worn', and of a hotel that needs some extra maintenance work doing on it, with things beginning to look rather threadbare. Although the style of furniture was traditional, its weight and quality undermined this and is one of the reasons why the hotel fails to pull off the air of quality it is seeking to do. The bathroom was fitted with the usual, basic white fittings, all of which were kept clean, with no overt signs of wear and tear. All rooms were well-serviced, clean and tidy.
I will say this: on no account bother with room service. The quality of food can only be described as vile, and that's a label I reserve for any dish that I feel I could create better myself. It's fairly simple logic: if someone earns a living from feeding others in a respectable establishment, then they have to produce something that I don't think I could have marched down to the kitchen and created myself. Otherwise, there isn't really much point in being asked to pay for it. Although Grafton Street and surrounding bars/restaurants is within walking distance, it is a good 20 mins to have to schlepp, which we found was a pain in the butt after a long day at work. What surprises me is this added an extra degree of effort that the hotel fails to recognize as an opportunity to fill its own restaurant in the evenings. Unsurprisingly, I never saw the in-house restaurant looking remotely busy, with inhabitants baring it for breakfast only. I was advised by colleagues that the hot breakfast was actually quite good, although I stuck to the continental breakfast, which was a little restricted in choice of pastries/croissants/etc. It was one of those breakfasts that I nibbled through with the objective of getting away quickly, rather than wanting to linger and just bear getting to work later instead.
The additional element which is a surprise for what I'd say can't be rated more than 3-stars as a hotel, is the leisure centre. Both fitness room and aqua area (swimming pool, steam and sauna rooms) are available. There is a swimming cap policy enforced, with caps available at the leisure centre's reception if you need to buy one. From what I saw, bikes, treadmills and rowing machines were all available, although a full list of equipment is available on the hotel's web site. I stuck to the pool side of the centre, and got my lengths in. The pool was slightly over-chlorinated but I was happy with this on the grounds that at 7 p.m. in the evening, it was basically empty, other than for 2 people. Probably the maximum number of people you could comfortably get in the pool doing lengths would be 5 or 6 at a push. I did ask if the pool got busy, but according to the staff, the queues tend to build up in the fitness room instead.
During my stay, the sauna was out of action, but the steam room suffered no such problem. Clean and well-maintained, this was perfectly adequate. The changing rooms were fairly small, with 3 or 4 showers (individual cubicles) available, and to be honest, they could have been a little cleaner underfoot, with prints all over the shop from people wandering around wearing shoes. Although I did not have the time to enjoy it, beauty salon facilities were available, with treatments that looked cheap in comparison to London prices (€60 for a one-hour facial, that kind of thing).
Would I go back? In all honesty, no I wouldn't (and I haven't). Bearing in mind it's possible to stay in places like the Fitzwilliam for 30 quid a night more, I'd recommend upgrading to a better hotel, than enduring the Camden Court, unless you managed to get a stonking deal there. The hotel's web site promises much, but the reality is that the Camden Court underperforms on pretty much every aspect and I would have felt far more forgiving if the sales pitch wasn't so overblown in the first instance. I'm still travelling to Dublin, but I'd rather forgo the fitness facilities and stay in a nicer environment/location for little more than the cost of staying here.
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I pick up in the taxi at this hotel all the time (Radio company I rent my two-way from have their account)...Glad you put me right on the food, 'cos I was actually thinking of having a meal in their restaurant with my wife one evening...It seems OK from the reception, but I haven't seen or used the rest of the hotel, so can't really comment...Ken
smileybabe 27.02.2004 23:10
Good review:o)
robert_parnham 23.02.2004 16:01
I staid there a few months ago, and it could only be decribed as average. I thought it was rather like an expensive travelodge. The stupid decking they have fitted at the rear seems to take up over half the car park, meaning parking was always a tight squeeze. Never ventured to the pool, can't be doing with swimming caps! The biggest problem I had with the place was trying to find it. The dublin one way systems seemed to thwart me at every turn - I could get 1 block away and still be long time from getting on the right street to get in to the car park! Great review. Rob
Advantages: situated near centre, but far enough away not to be too noisey at night. Disadvantages: 10 -15 min walk to busy centre could put some people off
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