Stairs from hell

We stayed at this hostel in Oct 2004, the room was very small but secure , uni-sex showers and toilets are not everyone's cup of tea but they were clean and readily available. Breakfast was not particularly great but was adequate for a start to the day.We were unfortunately on the top floor 80 + steps to our room and the lift was out of order pending repair.One complaint I have is that for a property said to be fitted with CCTV and a night security staff is "how can some-one who has locked themselves out of their room in a drunken state continue to bang on every door trying to find their own room for such a long time shouting abuse at their room-mates , waking all and sundry BUT not catching the attention of the so-called security ! ??, apart from this not a bad place as Dublin hostel accommodation is always hard to find.

This is it!

My first time in Dublin and travelling on my own and I found this spot. They showed me some awesome pubs (O'Donoghues and the Cobblestone - if you haven't been check them out) with live music. The rooms were really nice with mezzanines and the building is great too - kitchen, big cafe area etc. The staff were the best - really helpful.

Avalon House Rocks!

I'm not exactly sure where these people stayed who posted reviews of the Avalon House in Dublin, but I loved it. The facilities were clean and great. The staff was a laugh and very helpful. I have reccommended it to several friends and family who also had amazing experiences. It's walking distance to everything too - and that is wicked for us budget concious travellers. Anyway, I loved the Avalon and will encourage others with a similar experience to write about it as well.

Coolest Hostel In Europe

I recently stayed at the Avalon House in Dublin, Ireland. I haven't stayed at many hostels in my day, but I wanted to comment on this one. I was very impressed that young staff know so much about the tourism industry. They answered several of my questions about the city and it's history and were completely helpful any time I needed help. The hostel was clean and vibrant. I would suggest that if you are in the area, you stop by and stay over. Thanks to the Avalon for providing an excellent budget accommodation for us while touring Ireland.

Horrible!

We booked cheap (10Euro) beds in a 12 bunk room over the holidays and didn't even stay for 2 hours. The common facilities are dirty and poorly maintained. For example, the floor's bathroom only had one toilet (out of three) with a seat, and the showers were disgusting compared to every other hostel I've visited.

While it's close to Grafton Street and Temple bar, the actual area around the hostel is desolate and depressing.

We checked out after trying to nap and spent 50Euro for a double room in a nice B&B just outside of London. Way more worth it!

This place is hell.

Dear god!!! avoid this place at all costs. You would be happier sleeping on the street. The rooms are approximately the size of a shoe box. We had one for four people in which it was impossible for more than 2 people to fit in the room at once... The corridor outside was full of screaming, drunk teenagers ALL night and a large glass panel above the door ensured that the light from the corridor shone into the room throughout the night. The window wouldn't close and there was further screaming on the street below all night. The bathrooms are gross beyond description... the breakfasts are pathetic. I have stayed in plenty of perfectly nice youth hostels before but this is the worst ever!

Never Again!

I truly can not believe anyone would rank this place as one of the best places to stay. Whoever ranked it as one of Europe's top hostel's must be clinically insane! Our entire experience at Avalon House was a disaster. To begin with, the desk help never informed us of a high theft risk if you park right outside the hostel (we had a rental car).

As a result, our car was broken into, window shattered and some clothing stolen. When we arrived, the elevators were broken so we carried six bags to the 5th floor. The posted sign said they usually breakdown on Sundays every week...Ha! Isn't that funny. The room was the size of a shoebox, with ratty old beds and very dirty walls that had some sort of stickers on them that were half peeled off. Now to the bathrooms...the showers were so hot that you literally could get scalded, and you couldn't adjust them in any way. Once again, the staff had even posted signs up to warn you of this fact! Also, it smelled like nobody had ever cleaned the bathrooms...it was so bad the entire floor stunk even though we were several rooms away from the bathrooms.

Other items...crappy breakfast with a mystery flavor muffin, way too smokey, music constantly blairing too loud in the reception area...even where the telephones are, so you cant hear your conversation. Do yourself a favor and get as far away from this place as possible! I know I will next time I'm in Dublin!!

Wanna feel like a sardine?

This was my first time at a hostel, and I started off with the wrong foot. I stayed at a dorm room for 16 people and there was barely any space for anything. Now, I've been at other hostels afterwards and I know that just because you share a cheap room with a lot of strangers, it doesn't mean you must feel like a sardine.The showers were the worst, as there was no room to wash anything! 1x1 meters.it's not far from Grafton St. and Temple Bar, but the area looks a bit dodgy.in the end, I LOVED Dublin, but can't say the same about Avalon House -which, to my surprise, is rated as one of the top ten in Europe.Go to Dublin, but try to stay in Temple Bar, or maybe O'Connell St.

Loved it

I found the hostel very good. There were ample

facilities to keep you occupied during those hungover days and

the staff were more than helpful. The fact that ther is no

curfew makes life easy as well. It is situated right in the

heart of Dublin, so its just a stones throw from the best pubs

and clubs (Temple Bar). All in all I found the hostel a very

nice place to stay and would recommend it to anyone.

Too expensive!

I have been to the Avalon Youth Hostel recently. I couldn´t believe my eyes, when I saw, that it is supposed to be among the 10 best youth hostels in the world.

I have been in a twin room with ensuite bathroom. The bathroom was just disgusting. It smelled like a wet towel after three weeks in a backpack.

The breakfast is a joke. You get a paperbag with a muffin, a little yoghurt and a small pack of orange-juice, not to forget a banana! Coffee or tea from the machine.

I have paid about 75 Euro per night, which is in my eyes by far too much.

The location is o.k. You get to the interesting places in Dublin quite easy!

The problem is, that there are not too many alternatives in Dublin.