Chief O'Neills - Dublin Ireland review

O.K., so I had already been in Dublin for two nights and
I was ready to leave the Temple Bar district. Not that there was anything wrong with that area, it was just I was ready
for something a bit less tourist oriented.

The cab driver told me it would only take a few minutes to reach the area known as Smithfield Village where my next hotel would be located. After making our way through a maze of construction activity, I was somewhat surprised when the driver told me we had reached Chief O'Neill's.

There were no large signs
adorning the building. But from the pictures I had seen
on the Internet, I knew this must be the place. The only problem though was that I think I was about 1 to 2 years too early. Across from the hotel were some large barricades which were covered in some very interesting graffiti art.

Chief O'Neill's is one of the newer hotels in Dublin and appears to be part of a more modernistic trend taking shape throughout the city. The hotel was built on the site of the former Jamison Whisky
Distillery. The hotel features 73 en suite rooms designed with a traditional Irish music theme in honor of Francis O'Neill who was a former Chicago Chief of Police who was one of the largest individual
collectors of Irish music.

The hotel includes an in-house restaurant/bar as well as an adjoining Asian Fusion restaurant known as Kelly & Ping. The hotel also features various small shops and featuring a tourist attraction in itself with the onsite Smithfield Chimney which allows visitors a chance to view Dublin from a 360 degree view. The Chimney was closed for weather reasons during my visit although the Sales & Marketing Co-ordinator arranged a private viewing for myself. The citywide views from this height were somewhat gloomy due to the weather, although still considered spectacular! Thanks to Orla for coming through.

The hotel appears to currently cater to a more business type traveler although I consider this a good sign. Business travelers tend to have very good taste. Eventually as the surrounding village develops with a reported 220 apartments as well as various restaurants and shops opening up, the tourists will flock to this hotel. During my visit in 2003, I began to realize that Chief O'Neill's is slightly ahead of its time. The surrounding infrastructure had yet to catch up.
What was once a historically noted cobblestoned market place in the mid-17th century is now being transfixed into a modern useage that will be beneficial to urban dwellers, tourists and consumers alike. Past history merging with future dreams. Hopefully I will be back someday to see how it all played out. One piece of history within the village is a small pub which made me realize that I was only truly beginning to realize what the real Dublin is all about.

My last night was spent in the Cobblestone and I walked away wishing I had spent all four of my Dublin nights in ths place. So different from the trendy tourist bars I had wasted time at.
Chief O'Neill's is a great hotel and highly recommended by Travel Invasion.

The interior of the hotel is relaxing. Contemporary
designs and well planned color schemes greet you at every turn. The rooms are spacious and feature a stand alone wash basin within the room. The bathrooms are fully tiled with modern glass showers. Each room comes with a CD/Hi-Fi system that was well used during my visit as I was breaking in a then new release from the band Interpol. The rooms were spotless and featured a large array of interesting lighting options. One night I was in bed thinking I was recuperating in a futuristic hospital.