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If you exclude the Mr & Mrs Smith properties (because they’re not traditional Hyatt hotels), Hyatt has just one hotel in Dublin and that’s the Hyatt Centric the Liberties Dublin located in, unsurprisingly, the Liberties area of the city (more on that in a moment).
Having never stayed at a Hyatt Centric before, I was keen to find out what one was like and what follows is a full review of the property as well as some useful information for anyone planning a stay.
The admin
- Length of stay: 2 nights
- Actual cost of stay: 12,000 World of Hyatt points/night (Category 4 off-peak booking)*
- Cheapest cash cost for the stay: (had I booked with cash): €244/$280 per night (inc. taxes)
- Elite status at time of stay: Hyatt Globalist
- Points earned from the booking: 0 (zero)
- Upgrade instruments used: None
- Room booked: 1 King Bed
- Room received: 1 King Bed
- Upgraded: No
*The reservation was made before this property was moved to Category 5 in the World of Hyatt program.
Location & getting there
The Hyatt centric Dublin sits in the Liberties area of the city and this puts it within walking distance of a number of Dublin’s key areas and attractions.
- St Patrick’s Cathedral – 3-minute walk
- Christ Church Cathedral – 9-minute walk
- Dublin Castle – 13-minute walk
- Temple Bar area – 14-minute walk
- Guinness Storehouse – 15-minute walk
- Trinity College – 20-minute walk
- O’Connell Street – 25-minute walk
For guests who would prefer not to walk, the local bus services should work well, so if you’re visiting with the intention of exploring Dublin, the location of this Hyatt Centric should suit you very well.
If you’re flying into Dublin Airport, the simplest ways of getting to the property are by taxi (usually costing between €30/$35 and €40/$46) or by the Dublin Express bus from outside T1 or T2.
The Dublin Express departs every 30 minutes and, at the time of writing, costs €9/$10 one way or €12/$14 round trip if you pre-book online (it’s more expensive if you pay at the airport).
I used the Dublin Express in both directions and both journeys took about 40 minutes which, I’m told, is approximately the same length of time it would take by car (at most times of the day).
The Dublin Express drops you off a 3-minute walk away from the hotel (blue dot) …
… and the bus stop for the return journey is also a 3-minute walk away (blue dot) but on a different street.
If you have checked baggage or if you arrive shortly after the Dublin Express service has departed and you don’t want to wait another 30 minutes, a taxi will probably be the best solution for you, but otherwise, the bus is fine (and comfortable).
The upgrade (or lack thereof)
Despite having top-tier status with Hyatt, I ended up with the entry-level room that I had originally booked (although it was on the top floor of the 5-floor property).
The reason for the lack of upgrade became obvious when I checked to see what rooms were available for my stay dates a few minutes after I had arrived – the hotel was sold out.
Check-in
The check-in desks are directly ahead of you (and a little to the left) as you walk in through the property’s main doors …
… and with no line of people waiting to be served, I was greeted, thanked for being a Hyatt Globalist, checked-in, and on the way to the elevators within 5 minutes of arriving.
The communal areas
This Hyatt Centric will be 6 years old later in October this year (2025) but the hallways remain bright, the carpets remain in good condition, and the furniture shows no signs of having been abused by thousands of visitors, so it’s possible that the property has been refreshed in the not-too-distant past.
If it hasn’t be recently refreshed, kudos to the staff who look after the property as they’re doing a wonderful job!
The lobby runs the full width of the building and feels spacious and bright (even when the Dublin weather isn’t cooperating).
There is plenty of seating throughout the lobby with a mixture of sofas and chairs and with a few tables thrown into the mix as well.
The communal areas feel comfortable and they feel like someone has given some thought to the decor and the impression that visitors get when they first arrive.
The furniture may or may not be inexpensive (I have no idea), but it doesn’t look cheap or like it’s been chosen to fit a tight budget and that helps to give off a more upscale vibe than I was expecting from the property.
1 King Bed room at the Hyatt Centric Dublin
The layout of a 1 King Bed room at the Hyatt Centric Dublin is pretty standard with the main door opening to reveal a short hallway, a bathroom off the hallway, and the sleeping area directly ahead.
By the room’s large window (which was great for letting in a good amount of light), there’s a pair of chairs and a small coffee table.
On the opposite side of the bed is a large mirror and a desk with access to two USB-A ports a 3-pin (UK-style) AC power outlet and a 2-pin (European-style) AC power outlet.
Personally, I would have preferred a deeper desk as this one was only just about deep enough to fit my MacBook …
… but if you’re not planning on spending much time doing any work in the room, this probably won’t be an issue and the desk can act as a good place to leave your devices while they charge.
Speaking of charging your devices …
The Hyatt Centric Dublin passes one of the “must have” tests that I apply to any relatively new property because it offers power options on both sides of the bed.
There’s no better indicator that an architect/designer didn’t put much thought into what guests will need than a room where one or both sides of the bed don’t have easy access to power, so it’s good to see this property pass that test with flying colors.
Sure, if you’re visiting from the US you’ll need an adapter if you want to access AC power here, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Back in the room’s hallway, you’ll find an open closet, a couple of drawers, a shelf with a coffee maker, a kettle, tea/coffee/sugar and a couple of mugs, a drawer with the in-room safe (big enough to take a 16″ MacBook), and an empty mini-fridge.
It’s hard to escape the fact that there isn’t really a lot of space to put away your clothes if you’ve come packed for a week of mixed weather.
The closet (which contains an ironing board) is relatively narrow and there are just two drawers to work with, so even though you’ll find another place for clothes above the closet …
… anyone staying for more than a few days may find that they have to keep some clothes in their suitcase.
Adjacent to the closet is the room’s ensuite bathroom which I really liked.
The decor is modern and clean, and although the bathroom isn’t exactly huge, there’s more than enough space to keep most people happy.
Somebody, somewhere, made the sensible decision not to waste space here by installing a pointless bath, so the bathroom simply offers a shower cubicle with rain shower as well as a regular shower head (philosophical question of the day: If a bathroom only has a shower and not a bath, is it still a bathroom? – answers in the comments section please!)
All the toiletries in the bathroom are in full-size bottles (bring your own miniatures if this turns you off) …
… and they’re by a brand called “Prija” which appears to be an Italian brand that specializes in hotel toiletries.
Lastly (when it comes to this room), I should mention the view from the window … which looked like this:
This room looks south into the property’s central courtyard but, fortunately, as it’s on the top floor, it still gets plenty of light. A similar room a couple of floors down may be noticeably darker.
Given that the road which runs in front of the hotel doesn’t seem to get a huge amount of traffic (despite the fact that it’s quite wide), a better room location would probably be one that looks out in the opposite direction – north.
Overall, there isn’t much to complain about when it comes to the King Bed room at the Hyatt Centric Dublin and there’s actually quite a bit to like.
If I was being critical, I’d say that the closet is too small, that more space for clothes would be appreciated and that the room’s desk isn’t deep enough, but those probably won’t be major issues for most guests.
I’d also add that a room on a low floor that looks south into the courtyard may be a bit dark, and that may bother some people.
On the positive side of things, however …
The room feels spacious, the bed is comfortable, the bathroom is nice, there’s good water pressure in the shower, and there’s no shortage of power outlets, and I don’t really need much more than that when staying at a mid-level property so I’d happily book this room again.
Dining & bar
The hotel restaurant and bar are on the ground floor and sit adjacent to the lobby.
The Liberties Gate bar is open from 12:30 through 01:00 daily but food service stops at 21:30 (which is a little early).
At the time of this visit, a burger with “chunky fries” at the bar cost €19.95 ($23) and a pint of Guinness was €6.90 ($7.90) and that’s a lot less than you’ll pay for a Guinness if you make the mistake of ordering one in the Temple Bar area of the city (where a Guinness can set you back €10/$11.50).
Dublin tip: If you want a friendly bar that’s not too far away, which does good food, and which doesn’t charge “tourist rates”, try O’Connell’s on Bachelors Walk across the river (Liffey) from Temple Bar.
On this visit, the burger at the Centric, which comes in a brioche bun with maple smoked bacon, smoked cheddar, mayo, lettuce, tomato, half a gherkin, and a house relish was just about ok (it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either) and the “chunky fries” were good.
The service was very friendly (is there any other kind of service in Ireland?) and the overall feel of the bar area was nice. It felt cozy without feeling small and if you don’t want to sit up at the bar, there are a good number of other options open to you (sofas, armchairs, regular chairs, etc…).
Note: If you like draft beer (real draft beer, not the swill that passes for draft beer back in the US), the Liberties Gate bar has 16 different types, so you’ll have options!
The Liberties Gate restaurant occupies an area next to the bar and shares the same menu as the bar (check out this page for links to the current menus).
Breakfast is served here between 07:00 and 10:30 on weekdays (07:00 – 11:00 on weekends), lunch is served between 12:30 and 17:00 daily, and dinner is served between 17:30 and 21:30 daily.
Again, I should point out that this seems like an early end to the Hyatt Centric’s food service and given that the bar doesn’t serve food any later, anyone arriving to the property hungry and after 21:30 will either have to settle for the very limited “night menu” (offered between 22:15 and 02:00) or will have to head out.
On a more positive note …
The Hyatt Centric Dublin offers an a la carte menu for breakfast (not a buffet) and this applies whether breakfast is included in the rate you paid*, whether you get complimentary breakfast as an elite perk* or whether it’s a extra for which you are paying.
Here’s the current breakfast menu:
*If breakfast is included in your rate, you can choose whatever you want from the continental section of the menu + one other item. As a Globalist elite member who gets breakfast included as part of my benefits package I wasn’t given any restrictions, but it may be that the same restrictions should have applied to me.
On the first of my two mornings at the Hyatt Centric Dublin, I ordered the Centric Special to see what it was like.
The Centric Special is made up of 2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, 1 sausage, 1 black & white pudding, 1 tomato, mushrooms and a free range egg of your choice.
I wanted to take a hard pass on the black and white pudding but forgot to ask (hence why it’s in the image below) and I chose a fried egg as my “egg of choice”.
A tantalising taste sensation this was not.
The bacon was nice, but the fried egg had clearly been under a heat lamp for a while (so it was unlikely to have been cooked to order) and the sausage tasted like it was more filler (probably breadcrumbs) rather than pork, so it felt like a low-cost option for the establishment.
On day 2, I steered clear of the Centric Special and chose the avocado toast with a poached egg + a couple of pastries.
This was an improvement as the pastries were nice and the poached egg was cooked just right, but the size of the avocado toast was a little disappointing.
What wasn’t disappointing was the big pot of tea that was brought to me each morning and that was probably my breakfast highlight.
Overall, I’d say that the breakfast offering is the one easily identifiable weak spot in the Centric’s overall package, so if you’re someone who enjoys a good breakfast before tackling the day ahead, keep that in mind.
The bar, however, was the opposite. I’d say it’s one of the property’s strong points as it doesn’t feel like a midscale hotel bar (most of which are depressing as hell) and, instead, it feels like a nice place to spend some time.
Of course, I’m not suggesting anyone should be booking this place just because of the bar or even that the bar should be somewhere you aim for at the end of the day (you’re in one of the coolest cities in Europe, so get out there!), but if you’ve had a long day and don’t feel like heading back out, the Liberties Gate bar is a genuinely nice place to relax … and the Guinness isn’t bad either.
Fitness facilities
As seems to be the norm at a lot of the more modern hotels nowadays, the Centric’s gym sits in the property’s basement, so it doesn’t have access to any natural light.
That being said, the room is remarkably well lit so it doesn’t feel too dark or claustrophobic. It’s also well equipped for a property of this size.
It’s probably not going to compete with whatever gym you go to at home, but as hotel gyms go, this one is hard to fault. Sure, natural light would be great, but that aside, there’s more than enough here to give most people a good workout.
Miscellaneous
This is the section I use to give you bits of information that I think may be useful but that don’t fit neatly into any of the other sections in this review … so here goes…
1. If you’re using an Apple device, be aware that the property wi-fi and Apple’s “Private Relay” don’t seem to get along.
The solution to this is to either switch off Private Relay or, if browsing the web, to use any browser other than Safari.
2. There were two packs of water waiting for me in my room upon my arrival alongside a small box of Irish chocolates. The waters were replenished on day 2.
3. If the mood takes you, there’s an option to have breakfast in your room.
A continental breakfast costs €15/$17 and a “full Irish” breakfast costs €18/$21 (at the time of writing).
All room service orders are also subject to a €5/$6 “tray charge”.
Final thoughts
I liked the Hyatt Centric Dublin and, more importantly, I’d stay here again.
Yes, there are a few things that the property could improve – the quality of the food at breakfast, the size of the desk in the room, and the amount of space to store clothing are the three things that immediately spring to mind – but there are a lot more positives to focus on than negatives and that’s always key.
The property’s location is excellent, the staff all seem to be friendly, the entry-level rooms seem to be a good size, the ensuite bathrooms are nice, the furniture and communal areas all appear to be well looked after, the bar feels great, and getting to the hotel from Dublin Airport is relatively straightforward.
There’s a lot to like here.
Overall, this should be a great place to stay for anyone looking for a mid-level property at which to base themselves as they explore Dublin. If you’re looking for luxury, this won’t be for you, but if you’re happy with a comfortable and well-sized room paired with a very good location and friendly staff, you should probably give it a try.
Related (reviews of other Hyatt properties in Europe):
- Review: Park Hyatt London River Thames (a high-end Hyatt in the wrong location)
- Great Scotland Yard Hotel London review (Hyatt Unbound Collection)
- Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars review
- Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill review (Regency Suite)
- Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment review
- Hyatt Place London Heathrow Airport review
I stayed at this property back in April on points as well. Great hotel and staff, but I don’t like the location. Barely any acceptable dining options in the area, apart from fast food joints. I had both breakfast and dinner at the hotel, which was very good though.
Not much but coffee shops and fast food outlets in the area immediately around the hotel, but there’s quite a wide choice of eateries around William Street/Mercer Street (a 10 – 15 minute walk from the property).