Four Courts Hostel, Dublin

...home for the trip was Four Courts Hostel.

I don't really like hostels that much, but I can tolerate them when travelling in a group, and when someone else is paying. However even then, there are a few things I need a hostel to have in order for me to rate it highly. These include a decent location, safe storage facilities, reasonably equipped rooms and a few facilities. I'm not going to compare Four Courts with full service hotels, ...
...I was pleasantly surprised at Four Courts, though. The large dining room transformed into a self-service buffet from 7am - 10am daily, and included as much as you could eat…

- Orange juice, tea and coffee
- Cereals (choice of 3)
- Nice bread for toasting (not the cheap tasteless kind), plus butter and a selection of jams, all in nice single-serve sachets, rather than generic, crumb-filled tubs

If you've ... more

Another year, another ISTO. And that means another trip to Dublin, and another hostel. The Irish Student Trampoline Open, following a spell in Cork, was back in Dublin this year, and we went along for 4 days of bouncing, drinking and site-seeing. Our home for the trip was Four Courts Hostel.

I don't really like hostels that much, but I can tolerate them when travelling in a group, and when someone else is paying. However even then, there are a few things I need a hostel to have in order for me to rate it highly. These include a decent location, safe storage facilities, reasonably equipped rooms and a few facilities. I'm not going to compare Four Courts with full service hotels, because that is unfair, but I will compare it with the other hostels I have stayed in, particularly those in Dublin.

We got the bus from the airport and got off at O'Connell Street. From there we decided to walk to the hostel, which was perhaps not the best idea. With luggage, the walk took more than 20 minutes, though we later shaved 10 minutes off that time when we were just going back and forth to the bus stops sans-suitcases. Other than that, the location of the hostel is not that bad. It's on the south side of the river, right near the Temple Bar district which is full of bars, restaurants and shops. The cathedral is nearby, as is Dublin Castle, and the hostel overlooks the River Liffey. The DART train line is about 25 minutes walk, and you can use it to get from the hostel to the beach in under an hour. There are nearer bus stops too, which take you back to the main street in a couple of minutes, handy if you have a Rambler bus ticket which gives you unlimited travel. We didn't end up cooking in the hostel, but there were several supermarkets and convenience stores within easy walking distance.

We arrived around 9pm and checked in easily, though there was confusion over whether or not we had paid a deposit. We had, the hostel weren't aware of this, etc etc, but we had a print out from the booking website which supported what we were saying so they let us just pay the balance. When we checked in we got electronic keys (set for the whole stay, so we didn't have to get them re-done every day) and also security passes which had to be replaced each day, and without which you could not get into the hostel.

We had seen on the website that all rooms were en suite, which seemed quite swish to us. We were in a mixed dorm of 12, and took up 10 of the beds. The other two belonged to an American brother/sister couple who were charming and had no problem with us walking around semi-naked, talking about bouncing at all hours and, one night, dressing up in army gear and re-enacting dubious war scenes prior to our fancy dress social. However, one thing we hadn't counted on was the room next door, another 12 bed dorm. Though this room had a separate entrance, they shared our bathroom which was only accessible through our main room, which meant we had randoms traipsing back and forth at all hours. Essentially, this felt like we were in a 24 bed dorm since 24 people had access to our room, and this seemed a bit of a con given we'd paid for a smaller one. Also, the bathroom which seemed ok when we arrived soon proved to be rather small, as the two showers and two toilets suddenly had to serve twice as many people.

The rooms, though sparsely furnished (3 chairs and a mirror being the only inclusions beyond our bunk beds) were clean and comfortable. I especially liked the wooden floors, a huge step up from the manky carpets you often get. The only real downside was being at the front of the hostel, overlooking the main road and river, and having single-glazed windows which gave us a cold and noisy room at times. The bathrooms were cleaned daily but still got a bit gross quite quickly, and the showers only had attack-you-while-you-lather curtains rather than proper doors. The loos did not flush all that well, and we ran out of toilet paper too, but that could have been down to the copious amounts we used trying to remove the camouflage make-up.

The hostel prices included breakfast, though I've learnt not to expect much from this promise, as in one place we stayed in Dublin this consisted of a cup of coffee and a big fairy cake. I was pleasantly surprised at Four Courts, though. The large dining room transformed into a self-service buffet from 7am - 10am daily, and included as much as you could eat…

- Orange juice, tea and coffee
- Cereals (choice of 3)
- Nice bread for toasting (not the cheap tasteless kind), plus butter and a selection of jams, all in nice single-serve sachets, rather than generic, crumb-filled tubs

If you've not slummed it recently, this may not sound like much to you, but for a hostel it's quite impressive, and we went down every morning to stuff our faces.

The kitchen area was big and well equipped, with plenty of space to cook meals. The hostel had a few other facilities: there were safety deposit boxes for rent, a reading room (no books though!), a TV room (next to the reading room, and loud enough to be heard through the walls, rendering the former a little useless), and a games corner with a pool table etc. There was also a luggage store, useful for first and last days. In the dorms, there were cages for keeping your stuff in, but you had to provide your own padlock (or rent one of theirs for a fee), and there was only one for each set of 2 bunks, which was a bit odd. We didn't use these, but our stuff stayed safe nonetheless - I suppose it's luck of the draw, depends on who you are sharing with, and may or may not be a risk you wish to take. The safety deposit boxes were secure, but too small for more than a passport and wallet, and also cost €1.50 per day.

I was quite impressed with this hostel, found the staff friendly, the other guests not too rowdy and the rooms spacious and airy. The only downside was the location from the bus-stop, as we were schlepping ourselves to UCD each day, which is some way out of town.

I would recommend staying here, but I would ask when you book which room you will be in and who has access to it as that annoyed me a bit - and I think the other room got a better deal as they walked in and out of ours, but we never ventured into theirs.

It is an unbeievable bargain at less than 10GBP per person per night in our room, including breakfast, and when you look at it that way, it seems fantastic value for money.

Check in from 3pm, check out from 10.30am, not curfew.

Linen (quilts and sheets) provided, and beds are made up for you on arrival, so it actually feels like a holiday.

The hostel has a range of rooms from twins to 16 bed dorms, with prices from 15 EUR to double that per person per night.

http://www.fourcourtshostel.com/

Four Courts Hostel
15-17 Merchants Quay
Dublin 8
Ireland
Tel: 353 1 672 5839
Fax: 353 1 672 5862

 

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