Dublin Apartment for Two - our own holiday home

DUBLIN LET FOR 2

If you already know me ( see below) and you are looking for a quiet, well equipped (as a home from home) apartment,  10 to 15 mins by bus to Dublin city centre, suitable for two people, then our Dublinletfor2 might be the answer for you. Parking and wifi included.

Please don't be confused by the fact that this is on my English cottage website.  It is just one page for Dublin on there and the headings at the top relate to the cottage, not the Dublinletfor2.  We have a holiday apartment in a very conveniently placed location in Dublin, in the Donnybrook/Ballsbridge area. This is a very upmarket area of Dublin where houses in our road change hands in the several millions and it is popular with the foreign embassies as their Dublin base. My apartment which is in a seventies block in a private complex, built originally as an hotel (hence the large rooms) is 10 minutes on the bus to St Stephen's Green and Grafton Street or a leisurely walk (about a mile and half) through Georgian Streets. The aircoach from Dublin Airport stops yards from the door but if you want to hire a car for your stay then you have free parking (like gold dust in Dublin!) in a video monitored private car park in the apartment complex. This link shows you where Ailesbury Road is on Google maps.  We are at the top end, close to the river which can be seen in blue. Ailesbury Road straddles both Donnybrook and Ballsbridge.  

Due to management dictates we cannot rent commercially any longer so I only have friends to stay and the rent is not really ‘rent’ but a suggestion of your donation which is below commercial rates for equivalent accommodation. Many of these friends we have got to know through their stays at the cottage. 

Although a large apartment in terms of room size, we keep it just for a maximum of two people as it has only one bedroom.  Because we use it ourselves, although our personal stuff is all packed away, it is ready and waiting for 'instant living'. We want you to enjoy it as if it were your own holiday home, and as such, it is equipped with all the normal paraphernalia of a home, not as a bare holiday let with nothing in the kitchen drawers or cupboards.  You won't have to rush out to buy the salt, the sugar, the tea, the coffee etc as there is always a basic store cupboard ( not your entire holiday food!) and if you finish something you are just asked to replace it with something similar.

The kitchen is modern and well equipped. There is a dishwasher, two kinds of electric coffee machines, two non-electric ones (French press and hob top espresso pot) microwave, double oven, grill and hob.  There is no Cable TV but it is a Smart TV (I have a Chromecast dongle so you can watch Netflix if you have a subscription and your home TV stations if you have an appropriate app and a VPN on your device although stations such as GB news and RTE do not require a VPN.) and a DVD player in a large light-filled sitting room which overlooks leafy Ballsbridge. There is plenty of comfortable seating and a dining table for six, should you have visitors, although this number is limited to 4 (+2 resident) and no loud parties allowed.  Also no animals to visit. The bathroom has a bath and and over the bath power shower, basin and loo and a heated towel rail.  There is a cloakroom as well with loo and wash basin and a washing machine. The bed is a super king base with two single mattresses, made up as an Austrian twin (separate duvets) so suitable for couples or close friends. 

Parking and wifi are provided. Broadband is fast and for unlimited downloads. We leave comprehensive folders of how things work, what buses to take, things to see and do and of course emergency numbers should you need any help. Upright Chappell piano so any pianists are welcome to play it. Bring your own music!

It is not a serviced apartment so if you are staying longer than a week then you manage your own change of linen and towels from the plentiful supplies provided.There is a washing machine in the cloakroom and drying racks - no tumble drier as washing dries incredibly quickly, especially if the central heating is on.

We do not aim to let friends use this all year round but hope to get just enough in the suggested donations to cover our service charges and expenses.  Therefore the starting days are completely flexible, subject to availability of course. Although I live in England I come over to personally clean and maintain the apartment to make sure everything is as near perfect as possible for your arrival.  Chances are that it will be available for the time you request as I have friends stay very infrequently and our own visits are pretty flexible.

Rates are quoted in pounds sterling. Price table below gives the all inclusive price for a week's stay. There are no extra charges, save for those involved in the transfer of funds.  I only lend on a weekly basis, because I travel from England for change arounds and maintenance. There are no hidden extras, no added cleaning fee, no security deposit, no 'service fee' as added on now by the major listing sites.  This is an arrangement between friends.  Please contact me if you know me.

I no longer advertise on VRBO where I had 30 5 star reviews.  Some of these are now on Houfy.com/1034  I also briefly advertised on TripAdvisor where I had just four reviews, all five star.

There were special exhibitions, tours and events to commemorate the Easter Rising of 1916 in the centenary year. Some of these have become permanent exhibitions.

the Dublin Galleries:

Casino Marino

Chester Beatty Library

Douglas Hyde Gallery

Dublin City Gallery - Hugh Lane

Irish Museum of Modern Art

Royal Hibernian Gallery

Rua Red

The National Gallery of Ireland

Temple Bar Gallery and Studios - all of these have changing exhibitions throughout the year.

For foodies: Have a look at the Delicious Dublin website.

There are many parks in Dublin.  Our local one (five minutes walk to get to it) is Herbert Park. 

The Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown district is just south of us and there are lots of lovely things to see, mostly easily accessible by the Dart Railway.  check these out! 

There is a Farmer’s Market every Sunday from 11am to 4pm in Herbert Park.  Lovely in the summer as you can sit on the grass and eat a delicious freshly-cooked lunch. Herbert Park is a great place to go jogging.  It covers 32 acres and the jogging/walking circuit is just about a mile although if you take all the paths and meander you will cover a much greater distance.  There are outdoor tennis courts, a football pitch, playground, croquet, boules and family trails.  It is a lovely place to go for a wander.  There is a large pond with ducks on and countless trees and flower beds with handy benches if you need a rest.

Suggestions for a day out in Dublin

 For scenic train trips on the Dart try these suggestions 

and more events to follow, but here are a few

January 

National Concert Hall.  

The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre 

At the Abbey

At the Gate:

At the Gaiety Theatre:

Temple Bar Trad Fest 

At Trinity College Science Gallery and exhibition

At the National Gallery, Merrion Square -

At Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane, 

Happy Feet Swing at the Grand Social Lower Liffey Street. Jive the night away like they did in the 1950's every Monday

TradFest in Temple Bar.  Irish Music and Culture - Traditional Music Festival  January

February 

Racing Festival at Leopardstown (very near to the apartment - short drive or bus ride) beginning of February

Dublin International Film Festival 

At the Abbey theatre :

also  Backstage Tours All year round on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays at 4pm and Saturdays at 11am

At the Gaiety Theatre 

At the Gate Theatre 

Dine in Dublin Restaurant Week TBA (generally end of Feb, beginning of March )

At the National Gallery, Merrion Square At 3Arena see here

Dublin Chinese New Year Festival 

March and April 

St Patricks Day Celebrations 5 day festival 

National Gallery Of Ireland Merrion Square exhibitions 

Mountains to Sea DLR Book Festival 

At the Gate theatre: 

At the Gaiety Theatre Bord Gais Energy Theatre 

April  

Email me please to let me know your preferred dates.   

Reviews here .  

SOME EXTRACTS FROM MY PHYSICAL VISITOR'S BOOK WHEN I USED TO LET THROUGH VRBO/Homeaway

Thank you Felicity for THE most wonderful apartment. We loved it for all that it is. We've rented all over the world and this is the best! You are the most lovely landlady we've ever had, so caring every way. So a BIG thank you.

What a perfect place. The light in the apt is inspiring - clouds, blue grey - rain. It's wonderful to be just off the crowds, in Donnybrook! It's so nice to have such a wonderful home base. Thanks for your instant support. Details were so helpful.

Thank you for having provided everything so carefully. We had a wonderful week, including a very interesting mix of weather, often looking out of the wide windows on marvellous coloured clouds. We discovered Dublin and the Dublin mountains and enjoyed it very much!

What a wonderful week it was, even with the rain! We loved your apartment and your kindness in helping to make our trip here in Ireland one we will treasure forever.

Felicity - your apartment and its location are gems and your hospitality 10++!! We have had a wonderful time in Dublin and surroundings and without a doubt enhanced by our great accommodation - thank you

Thank you so much for your hospitality. It truly shows that you care for your guests and treat them like family ( or better ;-) ) I thoroughly enjoyed my stays in the apt and hope to come back again soon.

We truly enjoyed your accommodations. The Apartment is lovely, bright and such an ideal location. You are the best self catering hostess that I have ever experienced. We have used apartments in Dublin, Paris and around the world. Your welcome and special start up supplies have made our stay unbelievable

Thank you so much for making your home so lovely for us to stay in and for thinking of all the details and putting them in the binder. It was very helpful. We love how efficient you are. We had a wonderful time and hope to return some day.

I thoroughly enjoyed staying in this lovely spacious apartment which was perfectly situated to access transit to get around.

Just wonderful - so cosy and welcoming
This place has felt like my home away from home. I could not have asked for a more inviting place to come back to at the end of each day'

'We've stayed in many self catering apartments and this is one of the best! Everything was clean and organized and this was the best stocked kitchen ever! We loved the view and all the light from the windows. This is a great neighborhood close to groceries and restaurants

We found the apartment spotless, quiet and it felt like coming home after long days trekking around Dublin

A most spacious and well-prepared apartment in the most central and desirable area of Dublin. Absolutely ideal for work and vacation purposes

It was wonderful to have such a warm, cosy and comfortable home-away-from-home to come back to after a long hard day's shooting(film!)

A lovely home, very much my home this week. Nice to work from. Fun to go to the local shops and make food here. Beautiful light.

What a great time we had in our five weeks here. We found your place comfortable, warm and welcoming.

Text and Photographs