This is most definitely a 2 star hotel but is affordable for central Dublin in peak season. I e-mailed the hotel before arriving to request 2 quite rooms. I regret to say that the noisy rooms 41 and 42 allocated to us very much spoiled the other few positive aspects of the Maple Hotel. The noise from the occasional traffic in Mabbot Lane outside our windows was incredible and also from the large vent on the building opposite. The guttering in the lane also needs attention as there was a constant loud torrent hitting the pavement during heavy rain on Saturday night. Room 41, unlike room 42, had no heavy curtain to keep out the street light at night and had a useless sink, fit for only washing ones hands. The beds in both rooms have seen better days and are not comfortable. Otherwise, the breakfast was good and plentiful and the hotel was generally clean and in a very central location. Difficulty in communicating with staff whose first language is not English is frustrating but this is the case all across Dublin with the people serving in bars, cafes and restuarants. If you are a drinker then bring plenty of money 5.50 Euros (?4.37 or $8.65 for a bottel of Corona beer is extorsionate.

Do yourself a favor and do not stay at this hotel. From the moment we arrived it was a disaster. The booking prices we were quoted were incorrect and ended up costing a lot more money then we thought. The showers do not work at all, our room had a dribble of water coming out of it that proved useless when trying to clean yourself. Our friends room didn't even work and they constantly kept asking for someone to fix it and this didn't happen. Then the toilet blocked up after use and would not flush. We contact reception about this and they said they would have someone come out and fix it. 7 hours later we were advised that it had been fixed and the lady said she fixed it herself. When we looked it was completely blocked still and the room was starting to smell terribly. We complained again that this had not been fixed and they said they would have to move us rooms but the only room left didn't have any hot water. We complained that this was not good enough and demanded money back from the cost of the room. Only when we started asking for a refund they finally took some action and said that they would get someone in to fix the toilet. This was done 10 hours after first complaining about it. The breakfast was uneatable. I have never seen something so disgusting in my life even the eggs were not cooked and majority of the egg white still raw. To say this was the worst hotel I have ever stayed in is a huge understatement.

May 2008. If you like the sound of your children being electrocuted or roasted alive this is the hotel for you. It provided further surprises by charging you an extra 10 Euro per night or the "parking facilities" I suppose I must explain further. I stayed in room 22 in the Maple or was it the Othello. Was it a hotel or a guest house? Both entrance doors from the street with these names lead into the same foyer . I booked the Maple but my bill stated the Othello. Be aware that they also make a 3.5% charge on curency change when using credit cards. This is only noticed after you pay and you receive your till recipt. I arrived 1/2 hour early and was told to return afterl 12 o'clock . When I returned at 12.30 I was told that I could not book in until after 14:30 and that If i wanted a parking place I would heve to pay a further 20 Euro. On finally getting to my toom, (there is not enough room on this site to describe how poor this was) I decided to have a shower. After about 30 seconds of a comfortable temperature the shower suddenly turned scaulding hot. I mean really skin burning scalding. After leaping from the shower and recovering from the shock I decided to brush my teeth. The sink taps were operated by a pressure plunger so there was no control of the flow or indeed the amount desired. Almost as soon as I pressed the tap the watter emerged boiling hot. It spurted and splashed over the sink edge causing me minor burns on my stomach.. The next shock was when I turned on the bedside lamp. I walked away from the bed only to stand on a live connection to the lamp from the mains socket. The result of a botched repair using only a terminal block. The lamp itself was loose and insecure and there was no earth cable. The "ful Irish breakfast" was a joke, You get only about half of what the photograph shows on the Maple's website. This hotel should be closed on health and safety grounds alone never mind the false advertising and the trumped up extra costs. To those of you who experienced this hotel being under refurbisment I can only add there we no sign of any level of competant workmanship. The place was like an incomplete building site. Dublin is beatiful but the owners of this hotel are an insult to Irish Hospitality. Give this hotel, Othello or Maple, a wide berth. That is if the health and safety authorities have not closed it beffore you get there.

I was a bit scared after reading some of the other traveler reviews- this is not a 4 star hotel but it had everything we needed (except an alarm clock!). The room was quite small, however, everything in Dublin is small so this was not a big deal. The room was SUPER clean, which was nice. The shower was teeny tiny but was really nice and warm. The people at the front desk were very nice, although for the most part, not Irish. I think Polish? But again, nice. You have to leave your key at the desk when you leave your room which I thought was odd but it worked out fine-I think it's a safety thing. Also the keys are super old fashioned and a bit tricky to use! All added to the authentic "staying at your grandma's house" feel. The breakfast was very good. You get toast when you sit down, very hot tea. They don't mind if you ask for extras either. You get a full Irish breakfast which was really good. My husband is vegetarian and that was not a problem, as I feared it might be! They have a full vegetarian breakfast which was great. The area is OK. Its near O'Connell Street but we did not hang out there quite a lot, we were more in the South of the river area. A word of advice, avoid Temple Bar. Too many tourists! Very expensive and not worth your time. There are far better neighborhoods to be found. Also, try the Queen of Tarts. Sure, it might be in your guide book so you might think its touristy, but it was not at all. It was really a wonderful treat!

I stayed there in sept 07 and found the place to be in an excellent location and right priced for where it is in the City centre. Rooms clean and breakfast lots provided. So if you want five star you have to pay five star thats what i've found while travelling around the globe.