Abbey Court Hostel and Apartments

The most striking feature of Abbey Court is its bold graffiti style. The hostel itself feels like a maze with multiple rooms, levels, and stairs. Juxtapose that layout with bold color schemes, portraits of famous politicians and celebrities, and graffiti scenes of skylines, the beach, a "Star Wars" tableau, or a field of roses, and guests feel like they’ve fallen down the rabbit hole. By contrast, the Abbey Court Bar has a more traditional pub vibe with stone walls, barrel stools, and Victorian elements like chandeliers, gilded chairs, and paintings of kings and queens. Unsurprisingly, clientele tend to be young groups of friends and solo travelers looking for a good time and cheap accommodation. Take note that this hostel has had reports of loud noise, cigarette or body-odor smells, and minor cleanliness issues.

For the budget traveler interested in being minutes from Dublin’s major sights, Abbey Court has the ideal location. Sitting just above the River Liffey, the hostel is a minutes’ walk to O’Connell Bridge and a five-minute walk to Trinity College. The Temple Bar area is eight minutes away on foot, and the popular shopping area of Grafton Street takes nine minutes walking. It’s a 13-minute walk to the National Museum of Ireland and nine minutes on foot to Dublin Castle. There’s a variety of restaurants on surrounding streets, while public transportation -- bus and tram stops -- are within a one- to 10-minute walk. Ireland's oldest pub, The Brazen Head, is worth the 15-minute stroll. Dublin Airport takes about 15 minutes to reach by car or around 30 to 40 minutes via public transportation.

This hostel offers a variety of room options, including one-bedroom apartments, private rooms, and dorms with four to 24 beds (some of which have en-suite bathrooms). Rooms are spartan in decor compared to the rest of the hotel, with metal bunk beds and plaid bedding. Dormitories have lockable storage bins, though not much else in the way of features beyond a possible view of the River Liffey. The en-suite bathrooms are small, lack toiletries, and are a little worse for wear around the edges. Guests shouldn’t worry about waiting for a bathroom as there are public bathrooms on each floor that include multiple showers and even a cosmetics room for applying makeup. Spacious one-bedroom apartments have living rooms, full-size kitchens, and dining rooms. These require a deposit and don’t have an Internet connection, but they sleep up to four guests, plus limited parking spaces are included. Towels and bed linens are provided for free in the apartments, but towels and hairdryers incur an extra fee in the dorms and private rooms.

The most striking aspects of the Abbey Court hostel are its free features and public spaces. There’s a communal kitchen that guests can use 24-hours, plus a free breakfast is served daily. The basement bar has a traditional pub vibe and serves drinks. Attached to the hostel is Pog, a healthy cafe with a salad bar, juices, and breakfast. There’s a game room with six public computers that can be used for free (plus Wi-Fi is free), as well as a ping-pong table, fooseball, and board games. A Hammock Room has hammocks to relax in, while a recording studio provides another hip and unique aspect to the hostel. The reception desk is host to a tourist office that can book tours in Dublin and beyond, or guests can opt to join the free walking tour and pub crawl the hostel hosts daily. Martial arts classes are held on-site. The hostel also offers bicycles for rent, an airport shuttle (for a fee), and limited parking spaces.