[Accommodation review] North Star Hotel, Dublin, Ireland

We stayed at the North Star Hotel in north Dublin for 3 nights. The hotel has been newly refurbished recently but still smelled old and unpleasant in some areas, e.g. the gym, the residents' lounge, and to a lesser extent, the bathroom in the room we stayed at. 

Location: 

• The airport link bus stop towards city centre was just across the corner within a 2-minute walk. 
• Connolly rail station and Luas stop are just across the road, and Busáras Bus Station is just down the road. 
• 5-minute walk to O'Connell Street, one of the main streets
• 15-minute walk crossing the River Liffey to Grafton Street, where there are also lots of shops but the area appears more high-end

Quietness: I requested a quiet room away from the main street and railway which was what we got. Occasionally you do hear trains pass but it wasn't that loud nor frequent. And trains don't pass during sleeping hours anyway.

Wifi: The wifi signal in our room wasn't brilliant so Mr B and I ended up having to go to the residents' lounge at times. There you could experience the whole floor vibrating accompanied by really loud train noises when trains pass.

The gym: One of the reasons I chose the hotel was because of the gym. There was a good variety of machines but none of them were switched on and I gave up on trying after a while. There were no staff around to help and I couldn't be bothered to ask the reception about it. The place also smelled very strongly of food in a bad way as the breakfast room was in the basement as well.

Breakfast: Buffet style. A good variety of choices from cereal to pastry things to full Irish breakfast. Found it bizarre that some guests were down for continental breakfast only and told they shouldn't take any of the hot food. 

The room itself: Very clean with tea making facilities. Adequate size.