Stay Review: A charming Airbnb Cottage in Dublin

Dublin is a city with a living history. There are medieval castles and cathedrals alongside houses displaying 18th-century Georgian architecture. The city has over 1000 watering holes and is home to one of the world’s oldest pub, The Brazen Head, that dates back to 1168.

The Brazen Head: Ireland’s oldest pub

It’s one of the 6 UNESCO cities of Literature and has been home to Nobel Prize Laureates like James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw. And just walking around the city one can spot some pretty amazing street art.

So we figured out after roiling in some luxury, maybe we wanted to live like the locals when in Dublin. So we headed up to Airbnb to book a home in a local neighbourhood. We did not want to be hanging around with other people, so we looked for a whole home this time around.

Airbnb booking confirmation

After booking up, we connected with the host to fix up a time to meet via the Airbnb messaging system. While we had his phone number, we never needed to call him as texting was easier.

We rode in an Uber from the Intercontinental Dublin and arrived at the address late afternoon. The cottage was located off the main street in a quiet residential area on Kinahan Street. As the car pulled over to a side, I noticed a pretty blue house with a white door on the right. There was a chimney perched on top.

Airbnb cottage exterior

When we arrived our host was already waiting at the house for us. Stephen was a friendly Irish gentleman and a horse-breeder by profession. He showed us around the cottage, explained to us how to use the facilities and during our conversation suggested a few places in the neighbourhood to eat. There was also a folder placed in the living room which had maps, wi-fi login details, restaurant menus, details of guided tours and right at the end testimonials from people who had stayed at the home before us.

He was a friendly Dubliner who helped make our stay comfortable in every possible way and in return, we left him a small thank you note and hand knit memento from India.

The note and hand knit tiger we left for our host as a thank you gesture

The Cottage

The entrance to the cottage led into a cosy living room. The room was furnished with a two seater red sofa and a matching day chair. There was a fireplace in the wall. We had no use of it in the summers but I can imagine how welcoming it would be in the winters.

The Cottage : living room

The Cottage: Living room

As soon as we entered there was a dedicated place to hang our jackets and keys. At the end of the living room, there was a long wooden coffee table that had a view of the small patio outside the kitchen.

The Cottage: Bookshelf on the wall with dedicated space to hang our jackets

The Cottage: living room coffee table

The room windows let in ample natural light in the daytime and for the evenings our host had fixed multiple lights in the room. There were lamps in the living room, lights fixed on the ceiling, a string of heart-shaped led lights to add some mood lighting in the room as well.

The cottage : ceiling lights in the living room beam

Our bedroom was also located on the ground floor. There was a small bed perched on top wooden storage. The bed was quite high and it was a task for us climb on. Also, there were no safety rails at the end. The thought of falling off the bed on the first night made me feel a bit uncomfortable, although the bed was just enough for a couple to snuggle and sleep.

The Cottage : Ground floor bedroom

The Cottage: Ground floor bedroom

There was also a full-size mirror in the bedroom and there was a utility box in which essentials like body lotion, hair serum and hair dryer were neatly placed.

Utilities placed in the ground floor bedroom

The home had a small kitchenette. The shelves in the kitchen had all essential crockery and cutlery. There were also pots and pans placed inside in case we wanted to cook a full meal. On one side of the kitchen top, there was bread, tea, coffee, sugar and other essentials neatly placed. Even the refrigerator was stocked with juice boxes.

The Kitchenette

Bread and basics placed in the kitchen

The refrigerator stocked with milk and juice

The most beautiful section of the house was a small patio just outside the kitchen. There were lots of plants, candles placed on one side and a cushion to seat one person. We could also light up the patio in the evenings and it looked beautiful. It was just the perfect place to read a book in peace or sip on Irish Whiskey in the evenings.

The outdoor patio

The outdoor patio lit up in the evening

The outdoor patio

The bathroom was functional with a bathtub cum shower, a western style toilet and a wash basin all enclosed in one long space next to the kitchen. There was also a washing machine fixed in the house. It was a welcome change as we were on a long trip and really needed to do some essential laundry.

The bathroom

The first floor had another small bedroom with a double bed. However, it seems someone had left the place right before we arrived, so the bed was not done up. Hence, by default, it was decided that we will have to occupy the bed on the ground floor rather than having the choice to us.

Stairs leading up to the first floor

Second bedroom located on the first floor

With a large number of books in the house and the plants in the living room and the patio, it was quite apparent that our host quite a nature lover and a reader.

Location

Our cottage was located in a quiet residential area, just on the outskirts of Phoenix Park. It was a pretty neighbourhood lined up with similar looking cottages with colourful doors. Heuston station, which is one of the main train stations in the city was an easy 10 minutes walk. The famous Guinness Store was 15 minutes walking distance and our favourite hangout The Brazen Head, which is Ireland’s oldest pub was 20 minutes walk. I think we went there all three days of our stay here.

The neighborhood

Phoenix Park was 5 minutes walk from the cottage

There are also other eateries and takeaways in walking distance and on 2 days we were able to get some nice Chinese takeaway and fish and chips at shops that were open past midnight.

The weather was warm and sunny and we walked around the city everywhere right from Jameson Distillery to jaunting down the bustling Grafton Street to sauntering along the banks of River Liffey admiring the majestic Georgian and Victorian buildings.

Old Jameson Distillery

Wallet Effect

We stayed in the Airbnb home for a 3 nights stay and paid a total of INR 25,326/ USD 395 including cleaning fee and all applicable taxes. We were able to apply a promotion, and get a discount using our Citibank Card.

Bottomline

Staying like a local was a good idea in Dublin and I’m happy with our choice of location. It was in a quiet area yet easily accessible from the city centre. A few downsides for me were that the outdoor patio was unusable. Due to lots of plants, it attracted a lot of insects. Secondly, the bed was quite high and risky and the if we slept in the upstairs bedroom, one of us would have surely banged our head on the ceiling.

Overall we had a good stay in a cosy, little cottage in Dublin but I did miss my stay at Intercontinental.

Do you stay at Airbnb homes? Tell us about some of your stay experiences