Crowne Plaza Northwood Dublin, Ireland

We have stayed before at the Crowne Plaza Northwood, but preferred the neighboring Holiday Inn Express, because the property offered 1000 Bonus Points per stay. Now the bonus points were not available at our favorite property, but at the Crowne Plaza. We were collecting points at IHG's loyalty program, so we booked a night at the property during a weekend in November 2014.

We took the Airlink bus 747 from the city center to Dublin Airport and changed to the Crowne Plaza/Holiday Inn Express free shuttle bus. We had heard there was a new bus, but unfortunately we had on each occasion the older one, which wasn't that comfortable.

Check in was pleasant and we were recognized by a member of staff from previous stays at the Holiday Inn Express. She was delighted to see us and it made us happy too. Since we had achieved gold status within the IHG Rewards Club we were upgraded to an Executive Room with club lounge access, which we appreciated.    The lounge has a Happy Hour during the week, but serves only non-alcoholic drinks and hot beverages during the weekend. Unfortunately it wasn't regularly re-stocked, so when we wanted still water it was already gone on Sunday morning.

Our room was on the 4th floor.

It was large and held mostly in red, brown, white and black with some Asian touches. There was a chair and ottoman. It was comfortable, but didn't face the TV, a slight inconvenience. Even though the room was large, it felt a bit cramped.

The bed allowed for a great night's sleep.

The bathroom was inspired by the Burren.

The amenities were from Temple Spa London, Gilchrist & Soames, a first for us. We liked these upscale products.

The bath tub and shower were separate. The water pressure was very good.

During our stay we also went to Touzai on the ground floor for dinner. There was a special offer available, which we used. We had one two course meal and one three course and a bottle of water for 50.15 Euro (ca. 62.65 USD). The cuisine is Asian (For example fish mouoli and chicken assado were our main courses.) and was good quality and delicious, but the portions were way too large.

The staff was attentive.

Afterwards we went to the bar for hot chocolate, because we received a voucher, which could be only used at the Cinnabar, for a free drink. The bar was extremely busy and under staffed. Our waitress was stressed out and for some reason thought we believed we were entitled to two free drinks. Having cleared we were aware of the voucher was only valid for one drink, she took our order. The hot chocolate was slightly too sweet for our flavor, but otherwise good.


Breakfast was the worst we had in a longer time. There was somebody at the front, but the person only asked for the room number and left us to our own devices. The restaurant was full; there were some uncleared tables and it wasn't obvious which ones were in use and which ones weren't.

The restaurant manager advised us a table would be available soon, so we had to wait, disturbing other guests on the way to and from the buffet.

Finally we received our table and from there it went okay. Again the quality of the breakfast buffet and how it had been treated by other diners, was a letdown.

After breakfast we went for a walk in the park opposite the hotel, it's called Santry Demesne. We do that always, when staying either at the Crowne Plaza or Holiday Inn Express, weather and time permitting.

Check out was done quickly and efficient.

Would we stay here again? Maybe if we need points or have a purpose driven stay before or after a flight.


©2014 

Crowne Plaza Blanchardstown Dublin, Ireland

 Sorry for not updating my blog for a long time. Unfortunately I was extremely busy due to a new job. Hope the wait was worth it. :)

During November 2014 we stayed twice at the Crowne Plaza Dublin-Blanchardstown. A few years earlier we had stayed there already, but while the rooms are nice, the food quality had been low in our opinion at the time, so we didn't return until now, having read a positive review in a local newspaper about their Forchetta Italian Restaurant.

The location is good for shopping at Blanchardstown Shopping Center and upscale dining options. We recommend beside the Forchetta Restaurant in the hotel, Wagamama for Asian casual lunch or dinner.

Access is easy from the airport with the Urbus or from the city center with a number of Buses, for example 39a.The bus stops are located opposite the hotel.


The Crowne Plaza is unusual. It is inspired by nature. Two parrots are kept in a cage in the lobby and called Bubble & Squeak. It is an attraction for old and young. We enjoyed watching them for a while.

The lobby is large with the Sanctuary Bar and Forchetta Restaurant to the right and the reception to the left.

Even though we hadn't stayed for a longer time there, we were recognized on both occassions as returning guests, which was positive.

We booked an entrance category room and received the same on both occassions. The first time there was a bottle of red wine, free water and a fruit basket waiting for us, because we were just one stay away from achieving Gold status at the IHG Priority Club Rewards program and also a voucher for a free dessert at Forchetta Restaurant. The next time we only received a bottle of water. By then we were already gold members It was inconsistent and disappointing to be treated that way, especially after we've achieved Gold with IHG.

The flower theme continued in all the rooms. The silver tapestry was especially beautiful. Each room was comfortable and had different color schemes, lay outs and views.

One room was held in red, had views over the motorway and a seating area at the window. The other was kept in blue tones and had a seating area in front of the bed and views over the shopping mall.

We preferred the layout of the first room which might have been an Deluxe room on a higher floor.

On both occasions we also had dinner. Forchetta serves Italian cuisine. We enjoyed the meals including toasted bread with cod, gnocci and Panna Cotta. It was delicious and the value good.

Breakfast was a different matter and unfortunately not so high quality as the dinner was, so we had it only once.
There was a dish I liked. The breakfast potatoes are delicious.

All staff were warm and efficient.

Would we return? Maybe. If we need some additional points or take part at a promotion.

 ©2014