Bonnington Hotel & Leisure Centre in Dublin

We stayed at the Bonnington Hotel for two nights during a trip to Dublin for a concert and to celebrate our anniversary.

Before arrival, I contacted the hotel to ask whether they could provide a small complimentary treat (even something simple like a slice of cake) to help make our anniversary a little more special for my wife. Unfortunately, nothing was arranged. Instead, we found an A4 printout on the table saying “Happy Birthday,” which was both confusing and impersonal.

We arrived around 4 PM after an almost three-hour drive and were hoping for a quick check-in so we could rest before the concert. We were given a key card for a room on the 5th floor, but after making the long journey upstairs, the key did not work. I returned to reception, and an employee came back upstairs with me to confirm the issue. He apologised and told us he would provide a much better room as compensation for the inconvenience — however, this upgrade never happened. Based on the dismissive attitude of an older manager during check-in, it very much felt as though this promise was refused by management.

Instead, we waited approximately 30 minutes, sitting on the floor, before he returned with a working key card for the exact same room.

Because of this delay, we never got the chance to nap before the concert as planned. Exhausted by the delas, we ended up cancelling our dinner reservation and pub crawl plans and came back to hotel.
We were also told by employee that there had recently been a fire on that floor caused by electrical issues and that this was why key cards sometimes failed. This information caused my wife significant anxiety for the remainder of our stay, especially with the air conditioning constantly switching itself on and off — trying to relax while worrying about potential electrical fires is extremely uncomfortable.
Hotel:
- smell of mould
-carpets stained
- windows dirty
- jacuzzi appeared unclean and seemed full of sweat from people coming directly from the gym. I have never experienced salty-tasting water in a pool or jacuzzi before — we immediately returned to our room.
- walls are as thin as other reviews claim

Hotel policies felt overly restrictive. Guests are not allowed to bring their own food or drinks into the room, yet the hotel does not provide even a single complimentary bottle of water.
Housekeeping was another disappointment. Despite leaving the door tag requesting room cleaning while we were out, the room was not serviced — the bin was not emptied and towels were not replaced. We only received clean towels the following evening after requesting them at reception. The manager I spoke to (the same one who checked us in the day before) was very dismissive. Although towels were eventually replaced and the bin emptied, the bed was still not made. Ironically, there is also sign encouraging guests to reuse towels during their stay.

On the second day, we decided to have dinner at the restaurant. We stood at the entrance for about 20 minutes waiting to be acknowledged while 4–5 staff members walked past us without offering assistance. We returned later, after 10 minutes we were approached by the front-of-house staff member, whose attitude was dismissive. He informed us there were no tables available except in the tea room, but he still appeared unhappy that we wanted to dine there.

The food was below average. The soup was extremely salty, and the wings did not seem fresh. The presentation was poor, and they were served with double cream and a single stick of celery rather than the blue cheese dressing typically served with wings.

Overall, this stay was disappointing from start to finish and far below what we expected from a hotel marketed as four stars. Between poor service, cleanliness concerns, dismissive staff interactions, and a lack of attention to guest comfort and safety, this was not the relaxing anniversary experience we had hoped for. I hope management takes this feedback seriously and addresses these issues so future guests do not have a similar experience