Abode Rentals in Dublin, Ireland

We traveled to Dublin with our friends Nils and Ina. Rather than check into a hotel for 7 nights, with the higher prices due to New Year’s Eve, I searched for a 2-bedroom apartment. My trusty cyberrentals.com and vrbo.com yielded no results as most places were already rented in September!

I stumbled upon Abode rentals, which caters primarily to businesses; however they do rent apartments to tourists.

We stayed in Hanover Quay in the H block with a nice two bedroom, two bathroom apartment overlooking the Liffey River and the Convention Center.

My rental checklist:
Does the property include parking? Off street, on street, underground, guarded, etc?
Is the apartment a non-smoking, pet free environment?
Do we need to provide shampoo, soap, and basic paper products?
Does the property have internet?
Are linens included?
Is there a washing machine/dryer on premises?
Is there a discount for paying cash?
Is the property near (the beach, city center, train/bus lines)?

After the initial phone call in October, we were set. Even though the advertised price online has a range of €690-€850 per week for a 2 bedroom, depending upon length of stay, the actual price was a bit higher at €1113. Given the limited options and it was over a major holiday, the additional price was acceptable; however misleading the website is.

But, imagine my surprise when a week before we arrive we receive the contract (which we have been asking for since October)…and low and behold I read that cigarette smoking is allowed. This is a major problem and had we received the contract in October, would have been a deal-breaker. Luckily, the apartment seemed smoke free as my sensitive nose wasn’t able to sniff anything out…although, I spent quite a bit of time sneezing in the apartment.

My second surprise was the lack of basics for the apartment. Each bathroom had two little hotel size bottles of shampoo, body soap, two little bars of soap, and two rolls of toilet paper…for a full week. The kitchen had one dishwasher pellet, no dishsoap, one kitchen towel, no hotpads, and no special cleaning supplies for the flat cooktop.

All of these would have been acceptable had they been addressed when I asked the questions in October. It would have been much easier for me to pack extra shampoo, some dishwasher pellets, etc in my suitcase, rather than go out and buy large quantities that will last the average person a month.

The bottom line - It was a nice apartment in a good location, but...No traveler likes surprises.