As we were just spending the one night in Dublin on this occasion, we opted to stay in the Westbury hotel, part of the luxury hotels of the world.
Check in was quick and efficient by the very friendly staff member. As we had originally booked the Balfes bar for dinner we asked if we could get a spot in the Gallery, as it had been booked out when I was making the reservation online. We got lucky and we reserved a table for 9:00pm. The Gallery is a delightful space, perfect for a relaxing drink and a casual bite to eat – more on that in a bit.
Our room was spotlessly clean with a large TV, mini bar, robes, slippers, safe, tea and coffee making facilities. As far as standard rooms go, it’s a good size space with a writing desk and a good sized wardrobe.
The bathroom is on the small size, but it has a full sized bath with shower combined, along with some nice toiletries. There are a few minor flaws, a chipped tile here and there, water damage on the paint, but overall it’s more than adequate.
The hotel has several dining options, Balfes bar, Wilde restaurant and the Gallery, our choice for the evening. Both the bar and restaurant offer a more substantial choice, whereas the Gallery had a more limited menu, which on this occasion was our choice for dinner.
The Gallery is a fantastic space, it feels warm and inviting, the lighting was perfect and the seating is very comfortable. There’s also some live entertainment which was a mix of soft Jazz, blues and crooning.
For dinner, I opted for the classic club sandwich and C went for the smoked salmon. The sandwich was tasty, came with fries and was very filling, my only gripe was the bread, just regular sliced bread, a sourdough perhaps, would have been more to my liking. The portion of salmon was a little on the small size, but it was tasty and came with very nice brown bread. We had a very enjoyable evening, a friend of ours joined us for a drink and the informal, relaxed setting is great for a catch up.
Breakfast is in the Wilde restaurant and if you would like to sit in the conservatory, you’ll need to request it in advance. They have the usual buffet selection of breads, pastries, charcuterie, yoghurts and the like. There’s also the menu option, with eggs benedict/Florentine/alexander, pancakes with bacon, the full-Irish etc.
C opted for the eggs benedict, I went with the pancakes. The eggs benedict were ok, the hollandaise lacked any real taste, it was like it came out of a jar, but the eggs were well cooked. I opted for the pancakes, which were a little disappointing, three small pancakes and a single piece of bacon. However, there was plenty of coffee and the service, while a little hasty, was friendly.
To finish. With a great location just off bustling Grafton St. the Westbury is a good choice if staying for a night or two in Dublin, the food is decent, the service very good and the rooms are comfortable.
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 