Portmarnock Vacations from $1,072

I booked RIU Plaza The Gresham Dublin for my husband and me during our Ireland trip (August 19-23, 2026). The location is excellent, but our stay was overshadowed by poor communication, inconsistent information from staff, and a lack of accountability when issues arose. At check-in, we were told we would receive a call or email when our room was ready. No notification was ever sent. When we returned later that day, we were simply told the room was ready. My husband is a cigar smoker and fully respects a hotel's non-smoking policies. The issue was not the policy itself but the conflicting information we received about outdoor seating and terrace access. Different employees gave different answers, and when concerns were raised with a manager, the response felt defensive rather than helpful. We were also concerned when my husband and four other guests became trapped in an elevator for several minutes. The emergency speaker system was difficult to understand because of excessive rattling. The Wi-Fi registration process was unnecessarily complicated compared to every other hotel we stayed at in Ireland. On our departure morning, we asked a buffet employee if we could sit just outside the buffet entrance so we could remain with our luggage and were told yes. Later, two employees loudly confronted my husband for bringing food outside the buffet area, despite the permission we had already been given. Thankfully this was the only one of five hotels in Ireland that was bad.

Nice dim lighting, cool vibe, big rooms, excellent roof top bar/restaurant, great gym, can walk to train and shops and Stephen’s green park