This past April we visited Dublin for a wedding during our 2 month Europe trip. Overall Dublin is not very family friendly but we found plenty of activities and restaurants that were, it just took a lot of research to find them. Here are my recommendations that will leave every member of the family happy they visited Dublin.
Hotels:
We stayed at The Hilton Kilmainham, located just outside the city center. Overall, if I had a choice and a few more points, I would have stayed in the city center. We opted to stay here primarily because this hotel required less points than the other Hiltons but was still rated high on Tripadvisor.
The location is definitely a bit of a hike from the city center. A lesson learned on our trip: if you can stay in a city center with kids in tow, do it! The time saved on transport will make your visit far more enjoyable. There are trams a short walk from this hotel if you don’t have a car. Notes about having a car in Dublin: parking in the city center can be hard to find and costly. Worst of all, we found the traffic to be epic and the tram would have been faster/less stressful!
Since our hotel was not centrally located, we had to find things to do close to the hotel. A short walk from this hotel is The Irish National War Memorial Park and Phoenix Park. Both of these parks are perfect for children. Phoenix Park also has the zoo (one of the best zoos in Europe)!
We were upgraded to a room with a shared balcony. The room a bit boring but clean, had a mini fridge (a lifesaver!) and a luxurious king bed. The balcony we never used, it seemed unsafe for a toddler and was a bit dirty. I felt uncomfortable too having our drapes open with a shared balcony.
Breakfast (free with Gold status) was located in the main restaurant and was a full buffet. I always choose to order items from the waiter in addition to the buffet, they are usually happy to oblige. Our daughter loved the variety of offerings at the buffet (fruit, yogurt, cheese, pastries, ect)
The Shelbourne Dublin, Renaissance Hotel: This is a fantastic hotel. If you have Marriott points or Ultimate Reward points, you can use them here. Located across from St. Stephen’s Green and walkable to endless shops, sights and restaurants. We stayed here on our first trip to Dublin, loved it!
Others hotels for families in the area (not personally tested):
- Ariel House
- Westin Dublin - This hotel has a perfect location! I would have stayed here if I had the points at the time.
- Hilton Dublin
- The Croke Park Hotel
Activities:
- Phoenix Park – This very large city park (2.75 sq miles) is one of Europe’s largest walled parked. It has the famous Dublin Zoo within the park and acres of green space for kids to play.
- The Irish National War Memorial Park – This is a small hidden jem, our daughter loved exploring this park. Only a short walk from Hilton Kilmainham.
- Dublin Zoo - One of the best zoos in Europe, the giraffe and gorilla areas are the highlight – located in Phoenix Park.
- St. Stephen’s Green – A smaller park in the city center
- Doubledecker hop on and off bus tour
- Dublin Chocolate Warehouse – hands on chocolate fun
Restaurants:
- Hole in the wall pub – many families dining here, fantastic food, and perfect cozy atmosphere.
- Elephant and Castle
- Marks and Spencer food hall – located in the Marks and Spencer department store, their food halls are wonderful! They offer premade sandwiches, snacks, pastries, desserts, fresh fruit, cheese and many grocery supplies. Everything is labeled for all types of diets and allergies.
