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Bad Rate :: Gouging in the Name of St. Patrick at the Dublin Skylon

Where: Upper Drumcondra Road, Dublin 9, Dublin, Ireland

March 6, 2007 at 11:35 AM | 0 Comments

[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we usually look at hotel prices in the same city and decide which more deserves your hard-earned benjamins. The screen shot here was captured on March 6, 2007 and rates are subject to change. Enjoy.]

When a room rate goes from $478 one night to $73 the next night, you know the first rate is greedy gouging, pure and simple. We imagine a standard at the Dublin Skylon Hotel is really worth $78 tops, but it's bumped up a factor of 6.5 on March 17 to hopefully cash in on St. Patrick's Day. (See the screen shot here from Expedia.) With that kind of inflation, the hotel doesn't have to sell out to make a handsome profit.

We wondered what it would be like trying to find a room on St. Patrick's Day, in Dublin, in a year when St. Paddy's Day falls on a Saturday. As expected, pickings are slim, but we did find some quality hotels in the city center, including this week's Good Rate the Gresham Hotel.

Dublin Skylon Hotel is not great or convenient--just priced high for the night. It's essentially an airport hotel that gets most of its business from travelers in transit. Reviews on TripAdvisor include quotes such as these:

"It's a dump."
"Steer clear!"
"Shabby and tatty"
"I leave and can once again start to enjoy my life."
"Highly disappointing"
"Very very poor"

Judging by the experience many guests have had here, you'd be better off passing out on the sidewalk after a night of revelry and getting a room in the city center the next morning. You'd save $478 in the process.

Related Stories:
· Dublin Skylon reviews [TripAdvisor]