Hotel Review: The Fitzwilliam Hotel

We arrived at the Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin ready for a nap. This boutique hotel, right on St. Stephen’s Green, was the first stop on our journey through Ireland & our first experience with friendly Irish hospitality. Of course, we were too excited to begin our trip to actually take a nap, so the giant king sized bed felt especially welcoming after our first day of sightseeing.

Our Room

Our room, a Deluxe Premium, was comfortable & chic, with a terrace balcony overlooking St. Stephen’s Green & a palatial bathroom. It may have been the smallest room we stayed in during our trip, but it was also the most cozy & comfortable. All rooms include wifi, breakfast, bottled water & turndown service with locally made chocolates.

Dining, Drinking & High Tea at the Fitzwilliam

All rooms come with a large, American-style breakfast, which was a great way to kick off the day. In addition to a plentiful breakfast buffet, there’s a full menu of traditional breakfast options also included. We enjoyed trying Irish breakfast staples – sausage, bacon, black pudding – while also having healthier options like yogurt & fresh cut fruit. On our second morning there, I declared to the server that I needed a “giant American-style latte with a few shots of espresso” & she gladly obliged. We also enjoyed a nightcap or two at their bar, the Inn on the Green. Ryan, one of the bartenders, made us feel so welcomed & mixed up some great drinks.

The Fitzwilliam also offers a daily traditional-not-so-traditional afternoon tea. Being hardcore American coffee drinkers, we weren’t really sure what to expect, but the tea ended up being the perfect welcome to the city & a great way to beat jet lag. Ryan helped us select teas out of their selection & then taught us the proper way to steep. This was no wussy British tea! I enjoyed the Assam mangalam – the “Rolls Royce” of Assam teas – & B enjoyed the Irish cream, which was just as Irish as it sounds.

Our teas came along with a variety of sweet & savory snacks, served on a giant tower. B’s favorite savory item was the BLT cones: mini ice cream cones filled with bacon jam, lettuce & tomato; mine was the smoke cheese gruyere (basically, a fancy cheese ball). B’s favorite sweet item was the lemon tea cake cupcake purple icing; mine was the very traditional scone with clotted cream. The best part of the Fitzwilliam’s tea? It comes with a cocktail at the end! B had a traditional Irish Coffee, while I enjoyed the Pornstar Martini – a martini made with vanilla vodka, passion fruit liqueur & fresh passion fruit, served with a glass of prosecco meant to serve as a “chaser.”

Tea is normally €25 per person (& well worth it), but because we booked through our travel agent (the fantastic Jonathan Epstein & his team at Celebrated Experiences), it was complimentary for us! Reservations for tea are a must.

We really enjoyed our home away from home at the Fitzwilliam. Their location is dynamite, within walking distance to everything worth seeing in Dublin & right on the tram/light rail line. The staff really made the experience special, with constant smiles, hand shakes & offers of assistance.

Know if you go… 

– if you don’t book through Celebrated Experiences (why wouldn’t you? Great room rate + awesome freebies!), take a look at the Fitzwilliam’s website, which has a number of different offers & packages.

– our biggest regret was that the weather wasn’t better when we were there so we could have gotten more use out of our terrace! If you’re going during nicer weather season – or will have time to spend in the room – these terrace rooms are definitely worth the splurge!

– our rental car was delivered to us on the day we checked out, but if you have to park, they do have facilities on site.

– as I said, the location is dynamite. It’s connected to St. Stephen’s shopping center if you have any last minute shopping needs (the strap of my purse broke within an hour of arriving & it was so convenient to just be able to pop next door).