Fitzsimons Temple Bar — Restaurant in Dublin

Seriously in need of better managers and staff.

We booked the Balcony Double Room for the last leg of our honeymoon, but were downgraded on arrival for no reason.

We had booked directly through their website in January and had paid at the time of the booking. Upon our arrival they had downgraded us to a twin bed room, but didn't say anything to us. We realised as soon as we got to the room that it wasn't what we had paid for and went back to speak with reception where we encountered the worst service and lack of care.

The person on the front desk kept saying that we only 'requested' the Balcony Double Room, when when we showed them the receipt we had from when we booked where it said that the room was booked and paid and was not a request.

They called the manager and the manager could not even be bothered to come and speak to us and didn't want to look to try and rectify the situation, just saying too bad.

Most hotels want you to book directly to cut out the third parties, and its a real shame that this place does not care to honour the rooms that are booked, instead choosing the downgrade guests.

No compensation for the inconvenience or solution was offered, even when we were suggesting work around. Instead we were just being told either that's the room or that's the door.

Even if we had have gone someone else, we would have been out of pocket as we had already paid and the room was non-refundable. Their lack of care about their bait and switch practices made it seem to us that this is a standard move.

We were supposed to have the breakfast as well, but it looked unappetising so we went to other cafes nearby instead.

The room itself was terrible. The bed was tiny and the mattress that old that it slanted heavily to either side.

While we did book in the nightlife district, most places usually have double glazing to try and reduce some of the street noise. This was not the case for the hotel, and we could hear everything as though we were standing out on the street. We regretted not bringing the (unneeded) ear plugs from one of the other hotels we stayed at during our honeymoon to try and get some sleep here.

Each morning we'd also be woken up at 6 am by a constant banging for about 15 minutes, which we finally worked out on the last day was the heater.

Absolutely avoid this place at all costs, the room you pay for wont be the room...

I would have liked to give this place more stars but unfortunately cant!

We booked the room one night too early and payed for it fully, which is fine with us. But considering we had payed for the full day it was very disappointing that the room wasn’t even ready when we arrived a day late!

Also upon arrival we had to pay a 100€ safety deposit which we didn’t know about beforehand.

My friends were given key cards to my room while I was away without having to provide any booking references. In this case these people truly were my friends but I don’t think it’s okay that staff just seem to let anyone in the room without even giving me a call first.

We had to switch rooms due to maintenance work which is completely understandable of course but due to this I have stayed in a total of three rooms and can say there was something wrong with every single one of them. One didn’t heat up properly, one had poor wifi, the third one didn’t have warm water.

Room service wasnt done most days, the bins never emptied. Also the entire place is extremely poorly insulated!! Especially on weekend nights it is pretty much impossible to sleep before 3am.

While most of the staff was fairly friendly, I also had an upsetting experience with staff. Since only two out of four people in our party had booked breakfast my boyfriend asked a blonde lady working there, if it was possible to book an additional breakfast. She then told him that she doubted I even was a guest at the hotel, implying I had had a one night stand with one of the guys. She was also quite snappy towards him. I was later offered a free drink that I didn’t take, but I wish she hadn’t insulted me in the first place.

Due to the several room switches we were confused about our bookings, which we accept is our mistake. We still managed to then check out i of the room about 15 minutes late. For this we were charged a fee of 20€, which I find much considering the circumstances and everything you can read about above.

All in all by far the best thing about this place is it’s location, which is amazing. All the rest is either just okay or unsatisfactory. If you only need a bed to pass out on after heavy drinking, fine. But for anything other than that I cannot recommend this place and...

Only bad experience I’ve ever had in Dublin!

I’m not the type of person to write reviews, (especially negative ones) but this is the first time I’ve ever been discriminated against in Dublin.

First off, let me start by saying I love Dublin and have been visiting here since I was a child!

Anyway, my wife and I decided to visit blarney castle in cork, so I can confidently say she hadn’t had a drink all day.

After getting off the train at Heuston station we decided to take a walk to temple bar for a quick pint or two, on the way back to our hotel to cap our night out.

When I attempted to enter the establishment, the security guard at the front door pointed at my wife and said something along the lines of “she’s too drunk to enter” however he had a strong Eastern European accent so the wording was slightly different.

I pointed to my wife and clarified “you’re saying she’s too drunk to enter?” And he replied yes. Rather than get upset, I simply walked to the bar across the street, which greeted us with a smile and happily accepted our business and welcomed us.

I once again can confidently say she didn’t have any drinks prior to trying to enter the business. I’m not sure if it was because she’s a woman of color, or if he just doesn’t know how to do his job, but it was a little offensive to be accused of being drunk when completely sober….

We had a great time at the bar across the street and ran up a €75 tab! Was more than happy to give my money to a business that doesn’t discriminate.

Just to clarify, I’m not sure if this is the establishment or if it was just the one security guard, but the person who gave me trouble was specifically the guard working the door around 10-11pm on the night of Thursday July 17th, 2025.

To anyone reading this far, please understand Dublin is not a racist city, but I would avoid this bar if you’re not looking to be unnecessarily discriminated against. There are many other spots all around the area who won’t treat you like this.

I can completely understand if we had been drinking and he said this, but for some reason he singled out my wife who was...