Review: The Dean Hotel, Dublin

Is The Dean Hotel in Dublin really noisy?

Thinking about booking a night at The Dean in Dublin but worried about the noise? Read on to find out about our experience (bank holiday weekend May 2018).

Booking your hotel just a week before you go on holiday really isn’t the best idea. I don’t recommend it. Prices are horribly inflated and inevitably you are left with the worst of the bunch. Or so I thought.

As I sat on my laptop, frantically googling “boutique hotel Dublin” and “hipster hotel Dublin” (yes I really googled that…and yes I’m disappointed in myself) I started to worry. There was just nothing coming up. Eventually I stumbled across a review of The Dean. It was upmarket, had a great cocktail bar, was listed as one of the best brunch spots in the city, was in a great location AND was decorated exactly how I’d decorate a hotel if I owned one.

It seemed too good to be true.

I merrily checked their website and low and behold there was a room available for our dates. Sure, there was a mention of the fact that at The Dean there is “no such thing as a quiet room” but I thought nothing of it. Hotels in the centre of cities are always a little bit noisy right? It just goes with the territory.

I forwarded the booking details to my other half to OK before I paid. Being much more thorough than me, within minutes he had uncovered a whole raft of complaints about the noise. It would seem that although The Dean was my ideal hotel, it also had a noise problem.

How noisy is “noisy”?

I brushed off the noise complaints because hotels in Dublin are EXPENSIVE (even the ones that haven’t been decorated in 40 years) and I was determined to stay at The Dean. It ticked all of my other boxes! My theory was it couldn’t be THAT noisy – how noisy was noisy anyway? Some of the reviews seemed like they were just being picky – probably trying to get a refund or discount off of their stay.

When we arrived it became clear why there might be some noise. The Dean is sandwiched between two of the most popular nightclubs in Dublin: Copper Face Jacks and Everleigh. They also have a set of decks in their reception area on the ground floor which doubles up as a trendy bar. At the top of the hotel you then have Sophie’s – another potential source of noise. You really are surrounded on all sides.

The reception staff were very good and explained we shouldn’t have too many problems because we were at the back of the hotel and at the end of a corridor, so for us the only potential noise source came from the outdoor terrace of Copper Face Jacks next door. It looked like we had gotten lucky.

Saturday night fever

The first night of our two night stay was a Saturday and so bound to be the worst of our two nights. We had been awake since 3am and I was praying that exhaustion and a fair few pints in the evening would mean I practically passed out when I hit the sheets.

When we made our way back to our room around 1am the party next door was in full swing, just like the receptionist said. Luckily, it was the only source of noise.

The Dean is kind enough to provide you with ear plugs. I popped them in, the noise immediately disappeared and I went to sleep. I’m pleased to say I didn’t wake up until late the next morning. Mission accomplished! The plan worked well.

Apparently the noise had stopped around 4am (that’s when the clubs next door close). If, like us, you’re planning on going out and having a few during your stay, it’s quite possible that you will only be crawling into bed in the wee hours of the morning anyway meaning you’re unlikely to find your sleep disrupted at all.

Sunday night is the new Saturday?

Much like any other big city, the party doesn’t stop on a Sunday in Dublin. Though it does finish slightly earlier than it does on a Saturday night. Yet again we found ourselves having a drink or five before bed. Sophie’s is a great place to finish your night, especially if you only have to take the lift and stumble a few steps before you find your bed.

The club next door was much quieter on the Sunday night and I almost didn’t bother putting my ear plugs in. Yet again I slept right through until morning, the noise hadn’t stopped me getting to sleep at all. Nor had the noise woken me up.

The morning after the night before

I’ve already mentioned that Sophie’s has a reputation for being one of the better brunch spots in the city centre and so one of the perks of staying in The Dean has to be breakfast/brunch the morning after the night before.

Jon was a huge lover of the cream cheese, avocado and asparagus bagel, so much so that he ordered it twice.

Now, I must admit, I was a teeny bit hungover on the Monday morning and so I didn’t make as much of the brunch menu as I’d originally planned. That said a couple of slices of wholemeal toast and the caramelised banana and coconut porridge really hit the spot. Hilariously it took some convincing the waitress that I really did enjoy the food as I ate so slowly and slinked off back to bed before Jon had even finished his bagel!

Unlike in “normal” hotels, they are more than happy to accommodate late risers and we noticed that even though we were heading up to breakfast around 9/10am both days, there were lots of “do not disturb” signs hung on bedroom doors and Sophie’s was nice and quiet. (Perfect if your head is a little sore like mine was).

Another point of view…

Now, I had to give you the other side of the story here… Another friend of mine also stayed at The Dean the weekend after us. They too hoped that by going to bed absolutely shattered they would be able to just pass out and ignore the noise. Sadly for them it didn’t quite happen. They found that there were competing noise sources with their room and the earplugs just didn’t quite cut it. Although they were able to get some sleep it was broken. The noise stopped around 4am and they were then able to get a good few hours but their flight was early and so they didn’t have the luxury of a lie in.

I tell you this not because I want to put you off of The Dean (I don’t, it’s a really good hotel) but because I want you to consider what’s right for you. This hotel won’t suit everyone. Our friends had had a busy few days with a friend’s wedding and one of them was pregnant. She needed a sanctuary rather than a city centre party hotel.

Sleep all day, party all night?

If you’re thinking of staying at The Dean I’d ask yourself – what do you really want from your hotel. Are you planning on getting early nights or are you going for a bit of a party and happy to have a lay in? If the latter then absolutely The Dean is for you! We aren’t party animals by any stretch of the imagination but we do like a couple of drinks, we might also have a tendency to order uber eats/deliveroo in the early hours of the morning, with that in mind it makes sense that The Dean worked well for us.