This is the second time my husband and I have stayed at this hotel. We booked direct on the hotel website and paid €199 room only for a Saturday night (26/7/08) which we thought was excellent value. The hotel itself, the staff, our room, everything in fact was of understated 5* quality. The valet parking service at €20 per night is very good value for the centre of Dublin. Our room was a good size and very comfortable. As breakfast wasn't included in the package we bought fresh pastries from M&S and just ordered coffee for 2 in the morning which at €13 was expensive but then you are staying in a luxury hotel so this is to be expected. There are lots of cafes in the area so if you wanted to go out for breakfast there are numerous options. We didn't eat at the hotel this time but we have previously dined in The Cellar Restaurant and the food was lovely and reasonably priced. The hotel is less than a 5 min walk away from lovely restaurants situated around St Stephen's Green where there is no sign of the Hen/Stag parties that Dublin is regretably famous for. We have stayed in a few different Dublin hotels over the last few years and this is undoubtedly the best. If you can get a good rate like ours and you want to enjoy a more "refined" Dublin experience then this hotel can't be beaten. If you want to be surrounded by rowdy, loud, late night party people then stick to a hotel in Temple Bar.

Well this hotel was perfectly located, it was booked for my partners birthday. I was disappointed however with the lack of facilities within the room. We were told that we would have a playstation, wireless internet, dvd player and much more, however this was not the case when we arrived. The wirless was an extra 50 euro, no playstation and no dvd player not that these were required.
The food was VERY expensive for example a tea was 7 euros, a full english breakfast was 29 euro, afternoon tea with a few pastries was 37 euro......, an evening meal for 2 was 150 euro.... hence eating elsewhere!!
The staff were very kind and helpful and couldnt do enough for you. The Spa area was fantastic, the pool and steam room were a delight and must be used by all. The gym was very small and very basic, but useable for a short stay.
We enjoyed our stay but would not stay again due the expense of food and drink and lack of facilities within the room.
My advice is only go to this hotel if you are live up to the status of someone of wealth...

My husband and I just returned from a weekend stay at The Merrion and what a great experience we had. From the moment we walked in, the staff was so helpful and gracious. The hotel itself is beautiful with gorgeous living rooms with fireplaces where you can relax and have tea. They also have a beautiful garden in the courtyard. Besides the beauty of the hotel, I can't say enough about the concierge. They went out of their way to make reservations for us and did it with a smile. Anyone who claims this hotel is too expensive, I say "you get what you pay for." I happened to get a great deal with Expedia however, I would have paid full price for a room at this hotel. I will definitely return to Dublin someday and when I do I will definitely stay at the Merrion.

We were delayed on our trip throughout Ireland, thanks to the airline who decided to slam on their brakes midway through takeoff (london to dublin), and then had to go back to the gate to refuel (turns out, the air traffic controllers thought the plane behind us in line was a wee bit too close, so canceled our takeoff... so, i decided to just head to Dublin and carry on the following day... so, we decided to treat ourselves to a beautiful luxurious hotel... and chose the Merrion.... WOW!! what a nice place to stay. the staff was wonderfully helpful and accomodating. they upgraded us to a very nice hotel room with a lovely view of the garden area.

My 6 year old son called housekeeping to ask why they didn't put chocolates on the pillow at turndown, and they replied "we just don't do that" then about 10 mins later, some delivered a WHOLE BOX of delicious chocolate truffles!!! we were blown away by that... it was entirely unexpected.

Then we headed to the pool.... what a beautiful pool they have... and so nice and warm. We didn't order any dinner (since we arrived so late)... oh yea, we got dinner around the corner at Hugo's... the concierge suggested it as a "casual kid friendly" place. it really wasn't kid friendly, but the hostess was so incredibly helpful and ordered some fun food for my son... and, as it turned out... was a waste of time since what i ordered was perfect for him. but, the Hugo was a REALLY good restaurant.... service, food (delish!!) but, fairly pricey for a "casual restaurant".. i think our check came to about $100 for one adult meal and one kid meal, plus a glass of wine.

but, back to the Merrion..... BEAUTIFUL, welcoming if not a bit dowagerish... my son and i were def the youngest people there... but, i appreciate the whole dowager thing.

only negative was, the bed was a bit cold at night with just a thin sheet/blanket (no down comforter, like the Parkcity in London and Marriot everywhere)

we'll stay there again on our way back home..... cheers....