19 Temple Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin Tel (01) 671 6277 Websitewww.barnacles.ie
BUG Review
This well located hostel provides quality accommodation with en suite facilities in all rooms. It has a fully equipped kitchen, dining room and a bright and airy common room with a fireplace and TV.
Price Dorm bed €14.50-27 Single room €68-80 Double/twin room €67-80
Prices include breakfast Prices are in euro and are inclusive of all taxes.
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Reception Open 24 hours
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safe & secure in the city centre, November 16, 2005
Reviewer:
Victoria Staff
Pros:
n/a
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n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
Female only rooms, own bathroom, great TV room and kitchen which has everything you require, even a DVD player. Helpful staff and really nice guests. The only place to stay in Dublin - this is from a well travelled English woman that travels alone.
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(Review ID: 4020)
Brilliant, October 19, 2005
Reviewer:
Melissa
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n/a
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saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
I found this hostel fantastic. It was clean, everything was modern and the location was brilliant. We were there the night before the Ireland vs Switzerland football match so the hostel was fairly noisy most of the night from all the people partying into the early hours, however staying in a hostel you expect that. I would definitely stay there again and could not recommend it enough.
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(Review ID: 4021)
Great place - as expected by the reviews here, September 20, 2005
Reviewer:
Vikram
Pros:
n/a
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n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
I spent 3 nights in total in the Barnacles. Everything was excellent - the location was easy to find, very clean facilities, en suite bathrooms, comfortable bunker beds (each bunker bed had it's own mini light), safes, electronic card keys for added security both at the entrance as well as your room. Most importantly, and contrary to what others may think - despite this hostel being next to *THE* legendary Temple Bar in Dublin and the heart of all activity on weekends, you don't hear any noise inside the hostel rooms. It's perfect in that, you get to stay in Dublin's trendiest area and yet you can sleep like a log if you wish! (And note - the 3 nights I spent were 2 Friday's and 1 Saturday. Could there be any busier or noisier nights?!)The kitchen is well maintained, breakfast is like any other backpacker hostel - bread and coffee. The area and neighbourhood is very safe. Despite people thinking that Temple Bar can get a bit tipsy during nights and all, most drunks I met were pretty much to themselves, no one would bother me or anything. It has easy connections to major bus stops as well as the Hop On/Hop Off buses, and is a hop, skip and jump away from both River Liffy (O'Connell Street) and Grafton Street.If I could be nitpicky and complain about anything, I can find only 2 things - 1. Most receptionists I spoke to were rude. Not rude, but not as willing to help as I've seen in other hostels. It's like, any question I asked them, they'd immediately spit out a "I don't know" in a flash. It's almost like they just didn't want to help. I can understand if I asked them a tough question, but asking them questions on location of the nearest Post Office isn't such a tough 'un, is it?!2. Too many stairs! Like St.Christopher's Inn, Edinburgh and YHAs in London, the Barnacles team ought to consider having lifts in their hostels. Climbing to the 3rd floor was like hiking up Mt.Everest for me!But overall thumbs up. I'd love to return here. alongside London's YHA St.pancras, this has to be one of the better hostels I've stayed in, in Europe.
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(Review ID: 4022)
Goodgoodgood, December 27, 2004
Reviewer:
starrysteph01
Pros:
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saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
CLEAN and NICE. Polished wood floors, warmly lit check-in place. Ditto for the common room-- felt like a ski lodge and it was there that I met all the people that I hung out with for the weekend.Stayed in 10-bed dorm-- beds are most comfortable EVER after experiencing precarious creaky gross ones in London. Thick-ish mattress and pillow-- I felt like I was in luxury! Under-bed storage things that you can lock w/ your padlock. My only complaint was that there is one bathroom/shower for 10 people-- you must time it right. I would definitely stay here again!!
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(Review ID: 4023)
good trip, December 23, 2004
Reviewer:
martinaclancey
Pros:
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saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
my friend and I stayed at Barnacles at the beginning of the month and we found it to be a really good place to stay. Its clean, well run, with very good security and nice staff. The breakfast is ok, and as the staff will tell you when you arrive, it wont fill you up but it will get you started for the day! Another good point about Barnacles is its location, its right in the centre of town and near loads of great pubs
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(Review ID: 4024)
I won't be planning on returning, July 23, 2004
Reviewer:
quirk
( quirkp_uk@yahoo.co.uk)
from England
Pros:
n/a
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Maintenance
(2)
Cleanliness
(2)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(2)
You can't fault the location if tacky, Irish themed pubs are your thing, if they are not then make sure you stay the hell away from this place. I know I will be in the future.The main reason though that I won't be returning here again is one morning I was rudley awaken by that talantless no-mark, Ronan Keating. He was shooting the video for one of his crappy songs in Temple Bar, the no-mark couldn't get the first line of HIS own song right and for the best part of an hour that was all I heard, him repating the first line over and over again. It wasn't much fun. The hostels not all that bad though, its clean, has a common room, above a pub etc...
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(Review ID: 4025)
Disappointing, May 29, 2004
Reviewer:
dhara
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Maintenance
(2)
Cleanliness
(2)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(2)
We stayed here from 25/05 to 27/05 in a double room and, after reading all those reviews, we expected more than we got. We arrived before 12 pm and we were told the room wasn't available till 3 pm! We both are ISIC student card holders and were supposed to obtain a discount for the first night (one mail from one responsible there confirmed us so) but they told us it was no valid in high season... sigh.... We came back after 3 and.... the room wasn't still available! Lucky that we could leave the luggage there... Finally at 5pm we were able to enter: second floor and nice double room. The bathroom was ok (although the washbasin seemed to be sized for a little child...) and the breakfast quite well too. You can use the kitchen to prepare your meals and it is usually clean. There are two computers with internet in the common room, but it's not free: you have to buy a pre-pay card to use them. The Temple Bar is just on the corner, and you are in the middle of the fiesta, but we got quite a lot of noise from the outside at nights. We had no curtain in our window which didn't close at all (lucky it didn't rain those days!). It's said they lend you a hair dryer, we didn't ask for it, but we hardly believe it. Well, it's not that good place to stay, better try other hostels.
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(Review ID: 4026)
Very nifty place to be, May 19, 2004
Reviewer:
normalone
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Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
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This was my first youth hostel, so I may not be the one to comment...but here we go. This was a very nice hostel...the staff was quite helpful. We arrived early, so they let us store our baggage until the technical check-in time. The rooms were clean, each with its own shower. The beds were very comfortable and had their own light for those returning late. Full service kitchen also helps out a great deal when trying to save money.A quick hint about the pubs...while most guide books direct you to one of several locations, I would recomend going to O'Shea's on the northern side of Dublin. If you're looking for real music, this is the place to be. It was recomended to us by a man in the youth hostel and proved to be really nifty. Several of the others seemed to be pandered to the London tourist...i.e...sing along with a guy in a buisness suit.
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(Review ID: 4027)
Comfy, January 6, 2004
Reviewer:
Inspecter Nalgitas
Pros:
n/a
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Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
A little pricey, but come on. We´re only talking about a couple euro more than other places and you´re smack in the middle of Temple Bar, right next to The Temple Bar, and you´ve got clean rooms with nice beds.I stayed in a 10 bed dorm. There was a bathroom and a separate extra shower room. I thought there was plenty of space in the rooms and there were a couple semi-wall partitions so that every bed isn´t out in the open, and you get a bunk wall-light. The kitchen is big and very useful. And the lounge is smoky but nice and not a bad place to hang out.The ONLY negative is that no alcohol is allowed. This is only a problem because Dublin is expensive and drinks are no exception. But for a place so clean and central, and whose staff hooked up free concert tickets for us 2 times (was there 4 nights), I can overlook that.
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6 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 4028)
Wouldn`t call it a "Backpacker", December 9, 2003
Reviewer:
Stefanie
Pros:
n/a
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n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
Barnacles Temple Bar is probably the most expensive hostel in Dublin, but it`s very, very clean and the staff is friendly. There are showers and toilets in every room. The kitchen is spotless, the best ever!! Breakfast is also great! The only thing is that for some reason you don`t really get to see the other guests... There is one common room (the only place in the hostel you can smoke) with TV and comfi armchairs, but it`s on the 3rd floor. It`s true that people doesn`t seem to talk to each other. I wonder why!The hostel is located in the heart of Temple Bar, the best and most famous pubs are right there! Unfortunately that means that there`s a lot of noise at night... If you`re lucky, you get a room on the top floor. The place is very well run, super-organized and the cleanest I stayed at. But somehow it`s more like a cheap hotel. It`s not a typical "Backpacker".
