Jacobs Inn, Dublin

~What is Jacobs Inn~
Jacobs Inn is a Hostel, part of the Isaacs group and sister hostel to the Isaacs one which I have also reviewed here on Ciao. It is a three story stone fronted building, containing rooms which range from a two bed private room to a 10 bedded dorm.

~Where is it~
21-28 Talbot Place, Dublin 1, Republic of Ireland.
To describe the place where Jacobs Inn is pretty easy really, to your right ...
...the older way to book Jacobs Inn online, but they now have a new website: www.jacobsinn.com upon which you can book. A 20% booking fee is applicable, payable when you book. The balance, payable in Euro, is required at check in. For any additional nights, you must pay before 11am to secure your room for that night. I booked online, and the confirmation was sent pretty much straight away. So thumbs up so far.

~Check In~
When ... more

~What is Jacobs Inn~
Jacobs Inn is a Hostel, part of the Isaacs group and sister hostel to the Isaacs one which I have also reviewed here on Ciao. It is a three story stone fronted building, containing rooms which range from a two bed private room to a 10 bedded dorm.

~Where is it~
21-28 Talbot Place, Dublin 1, Republic of Ireland.
To describe the place where Jacobs Inn is pretty easy really, to your right is a police station, and to the left, a pub. Across the road to the right and into the next street is Busáras, Dublin’s bus station and also a stop for the LUAS (Tram Service), and across the road to the left and up a little, is Connelly station, a train, DART (Dublins InterCity trains), and LUAS station. So you pretty much have it all close to hand.

~Booking~
HostelWorld.com is the older way to book Jacobs Inn online, but they now have a new website: www.jacobsinn.com upon which you can book. A 20% booking fee is applicable, payable when you book. The balance, payable in Euro, is required at check in. For any additional nights, you must pay before 11am to secure your room for that night. I booked online, and the confirmation was sent pretty much straight away. So thumbs up so far.

~Check In~
When you enter Jacobs Inn, the reception desk is directly in front against the left wall. This is manned 24 hours, by at least one if not two people. Check in took us about 5 minutes, to which we received 4 receipts, one per person.
Rooms are availably from 3pm, and not before that time!

~Baggage~
If you come before three, you are able to rent out lockers in a room down the corridor to the right on the ground floor. Padlocks cost €1.50 each per 24 hours, along with a €10 deposit returned when you hand back the locks. The luggage lockers are quite large inside, but because there were four of us, we took two anyway. The baggage room itself was quite large, with four rows of metal cages. Ones without a lock were empty, and we easily found two without going too far into the room.
Safes are available, again for a fee, in which you key in a number on the keypad and store valuable items like passports and wallets, ideal if you are sharing a dorm with strangers.

~Lifts~
Our room was actually located on the first floor, but because of all our baggage we decided to get the lift that was available. It could only be called using the keycard which you were given at check in for your room, which to me was an excellent idea. To use the stairs, you also had to pass through a security door only accessible with a card. So the lift. It wasn’t the biggest of lifts, but was clean and fast, and the four of us fitted with our bags, even with a squeeze.
Our room was number 108, so just down out of the life, past the top of the stairs and a CCTV camera, passed a few doors and we were on the right. Keycard worked perfectly each time.

~Our Room~
We had decided to book a Quad (4) Private Room. On entering, there was a short hallway with a mirror, bathroom to the right, and then opening up to reveal a spacious room, with loads of light from a massive window. In the room was 3 bedside lockers, one chest of drawers, one wardrobe (perhaps not quite so big that I could fit inside), a set of bunk beds and two single beds, all kitted out in the same patterned duvet covers. The walls were a cosy terracotta colour, and the floor was a type of tough linoleum.

~Beds~
Now, first things first, ya need to check out the bed in which you will be resting you weary head, so I duly took the bottom bunk, although I first checked out the top one, but passed because of my sleep walking habits. The bed sheets were clean and dry, with an extra top sheet and duvet at the bottom, along with a towel and pillow. The pillow was a little flat, but by the time I got to bed, I didn’t seem to mind. The beds were nice and wide, and perhaps enough room for two ;)

~Bathroom~
On entering the bathroom, first thing I noticed was that it wasn’t a tiny, dingy thing which I expected. There was a step in shower, the door was flush with the wall. The toilet and double sink were also good, clean although the sinks could have done with a wipe down. The floor was clean and unstained, with a plentiful supply of hot water to both taps and shower.

~Cleanliness~
All round, I couldn’t fault the cleaners. All bed linen was clean, floors and counters swept and unmarked, and the room had the windows opened for airing. Radiators worked a treat, and both windows could open wide, ideal for Summer. Lock out occurs between 11 and 3 for the cleaners to clean all rooms.

~Views~
Oh what a view. Hehe. We had a back room, which overlooked the police station yard, carpark, and building. Behind that was the DART and train line into Connelly Station, although for myself and my friends, the noise was not a problem. The DART finishes up about 12 midnight, and starts at a reasonable hour, so we were not bothered about it.

~Noise~
Now, as I mentioned, both the DART and trains trundle through by the side and back of the building, which means a little bit of noise, although I found we were not affected by it. As with all hostels, you have the nuisance of sharing with many youngsters, perhaps out for a good time, a trip, stag, hen night, whatever. We found that we were straight across from a group of British ‘boys’, aged between 22 and 28, who were on some kind of trip with a club where they live. Not only did we have to put up with them in the evening, but very late into the night and pretty much anytime we used the door to the room.
They also liked to leave the door open so others in rooms nearby could come and go as they please, so we had to endure the excellent sight of one shaving his legs. About 2am everyone was awoken to them running up and down the corridor shouting to each other, doors banging and general drunken behaviour.
Maybe we were just jealous eh, I dunno. Apart from them, all was quiet!

~Security~
Security at Jacobs Inn was good, keycards was needed to go anywhere but reception, and also to access the rooms. After 11pm, they placed burly guards on the door, to which you needed to show a receipt to gain entry again. All round, excellent work.

~Staff~
There seemed to be staff everywhere! They really stood out, as they wore large orange t-shirts with STAFF emblazoned on the back. They were all very helpful, and eager to answer questions. They even called us a taxi when we needed one!

~Kitchen~
Jacobs Inn is a self-catering kitchen, and so go out of their way really to help you in your quest to make your own food! Although the kitchen was smaller here than Isaccs, it was still extremely clean. There were plenty of crockery and cutlery that you needed, and ovens with hobs. A small ish table was also in the room, so you could eat there or take it down to the ‘restaurant’ area.

~TV Room~
Just down past the kitchen, was a type of sitting room, complete with pool table (which you had to be very quick to get or else the boys tend to hog it) and a lounge place with plenty of easy chairs and a TV. I believe this used to be a smoking room, but since Irish law has a no smoking ban, you have to stand outside the front door for a fag, as with everywhere else!!

~Restaurant~
Boca J’s is the name of Jacobs Inn’s restaurant. They seemed quite cheap and the food seemed really nice, although we didn’t actually avail of it. There was a large price board behind on the wall, and a large seating area, with extra seats upstairs. All round, it was very clean and comfy. Breakfast is also served here, with tea/coffee and toast complimentary as part of the price of the room, between 7.30 and 9.30. For an extra 60c each, you can choose from sausages, bacon, pudding, egg or beans, or else opt for something else listed on the board.

If you got the munchies, along the corridor was vending machines, selling from bars of choccie and crisps to cans of soft drinks.

~Other Facilities~
Along the corridor, attached to a wall was an ironing board and an iron. Fairly basic but good if you needed something done in a hurry. There was also a storage area for your bikes, and a bureau de change. There was also an area to use the internet, but at €1 for 15 minutes, you were best to use the café down on Talbot St for €1 per 45 mins.
They also offer a free bed to any musicians that will play for a couple of hours, to entertain the guests, or else you could watch the free movie that is played nightly. Sadly, we missed this ;)

~Disabled~
I think this hostel would be good for the disabled, although there are no rooms on ground floor level. There are no steps, and lifts go to all floors.

~Prices~
Of course, that’s the most important thing. As with all hostels, the more of you that there is, the less you will have to pay.

10 & 8 Bed Room : €16 - €22
6 Bed Room : €18 - €24
4 Bed Room : €25 - €31
Triple : €27 - €33
Twin/Double: €31 - €38

~Close amenities~
As I have mentioned, you have a lot close to you.
- Connelly Station. This is one of Dublins main train stations (Heuston being the biggest).
- The DART service also starts from Connelly, with the line running par all to the side of Jacobs Inn. The DART runs from Howth on the North side of the city, to Bray on the south, with many stops in between.
- The LUAS is Dublin’s new tram service, which runs along from Connelly to Heuston, with stops along the way, including Busáras (which would be closer to Jacobs Inn), Abbey Street (for O’Connell St), Museum and The Four Courts. This is a great service which costs about €1.25 single for that trip, ideal if you want to save your legs, or have luggage.
- The Police Station. For me, this is a bonus. You may be alarmed when you first hear the sirens, but for me it felt a very safe area. The station was a large one, with plenty of Gardaí around the place, all the time.
- Busáras. This is Dublin’s bus station, where all Bus Eireann services operate from or to. If you come to Dublin by Bus Eireann, this is probably where you’ll be getting off. Jacobs Inn is just pretty much in the next street from here, which is also ideal if you have any plans for a bus tour.
- Shops. There are plenty of mini supermarkets on Talbot Street, which is the main road to the left of the hostel. SuperValu and Centra have large shops which have ready meals, hot food counters, plus all your basic provisions, ideal since Jacobs Inn is a self-catering hostel.
- City Centre. O’Connell Street is about 10 minutes walk from here, simply walk along Talbot Street, which feeds onto Abbey Street and then O’Connell St. Alternatively, take a trip around to the right, pass Busáras and along by the massive Custom House, walking along the banks of the River Liffey and along down to O’Connell Street. Add another 10 minutes, and you’ll be along to Grafton Street and Temple Bar.

~How to get here~
- The Airport. From here, simply take the Airlink service bus that will terminate at Busáras.
- Dun Laoghaire Port. From the ferry port, simply hop onto a DART to Connolly Station.
- Heuston Station. Take the feeder bus to Connell Station, or else use the new modern Tram service, and get off at either Busáras, or spend an extra couple of minutes and walk from Connelly Station.
- O’Connell Street. Ok so you’re on O’Connell Street, and fancy a walk. Walk to the Spire monument across from the GPO, and walk up along until you get onto Talbot Street, about 5 minutes away, and near the top, to the right is Talbot Place. You will see the flags flying for Jacobs Inn next to O’Malleys pub.

~My Opinion~
I know a lot of people would rather pay a little extra and stay in a hotel, but I love the atmosphere in a Hostel, and the Isaacs Group is by far my favourite. In Jacobs Inn, all rooms are comfy, well decorated and extremely clean. You can mingle with so many people, even cooking your own food allows you to do that. For me, it is a cheaper way to enjoy Dublin. I love it here, and will recommend it to all!
Thanks for reading, Go raimh maith agat,
Marian x

(Ach go raibh maith agat eile do mo chara Ailran) 

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