Ballsbridge

Herbert Park Hotel and Park Residence

★★★★★

Herbert Park Hotel is the answer for families and drivers who want a quieter, greener base than the city centre, with easy access to it. It is a modern four-star in Ballsbridge, the elegant embassy district on the south side, and it backs onto Herbert Park, a lovely Edwardian park with a duck pond, tennis courts, playgrounds and wide lawns, which is a real asset for families with young children. The hotel has 185 bedrooms, all air-conditioned, which is unusual in Dublin and welcome in summer, along with the Park Residence, 43 studio apartments with king-size beds, open-plan living areas and full kitchens, available as Parkview studios overlooking the park or quieter Courtyard studios. Residence guests use the hotel's reception, concierge, housekeeping, dining and gym. Families are well catered for, with triple rooms and interconnecting rooms in the hotel, family apartments in the residence, complimentary baby cots in any bedroom, and extra beds in some room types for a fee. The Pavilion Restaurant serves a buffet breakfast each morning, the Terrace Lounge offers all-day dining from light bites to full meals, and room service runs around the clock. A TechnoGym fitness suite is open 24 hours for guests, with under-16s accompanied by an adult. The location suits events perfectly: the RDS showgrounds and the Aviva Stadium are a few minutes' walk away, which makes the hotel a favourite on concert and match days. For sightseeing, Lansdowne Road DART station is about ten minutes on foot, the Ranelagh Luas stop about fifteen, buses 4, 7 and 120 stop nearby, and the Aircoach stop to the airport is under five minutes away.

Parking and practicalities: the hotel has a secure underground car park, entered from Anglesea Road or Herbert Park Lane, with an overnight rate for residents, though spaces cannot be reserved and the height limit is about two metres, so larger vehicles should check before arrival. There are electric vehicle charging points. Check-in is from mid-afternoon and check-out at noon, with early and late options on request. Only guide and assistance dogs are allowed.

Who it suits: families who want space, a park next door and an easy drive in or out of the city; travellers with a car planning day trips to Glendalough, Wicklow or Malahide; concert and rugby crowds; and business travellers. It is less suited to those who want to stroll out of the door into pubs and nightlife, as Ballsbridge is quieter and the centre is a short ride or a thirty- to forty-minute walk away.

Making the most of it: walk through Herbert Park in the morning, take the DART into town or out to the coast at Howth or Dún Laoghaire, and come back to a quiet, air-conditioned room. Ballsbridge has a good selection of restaurants and classic pubs within a few minutes' walk. Compared with city-centre family options such as the Clayton Cardiff Lane, Herbert Park trades a pool for parking, calm and a park on the doorstep.