Dublin's Urban Retreat: The Croke Park Hotel | 都柏林的城市隱居：克羅克公園酒店
For mom and dad's first trip to Dublin, we stayed at The Croke Park Hotel for three nights and used it as our sightseeing base.
Ranked number 5 out of 171 hotels in Dublin on TripAdvisor, the Croke Park consistently scores highly on cleanliness, food, service and price.
This 4-star modern property is part of The Doyle Collection, an Irish-owned boutique chain with hotels in Ireland, UK and the U.S. I first heard about it from a friend who held her wedding reception at The River Lee in Cork and couldn't praise it highly enough. So that's one vote of confidence in the bag.
The hotel is located north of the river and a 15-minute stroll to the city's main artery - O'Connell Street. There's also a hop-on hop-off bus stop outside the hotel entrance.
爸媽第一次拜訪都柏林，主要的目的是要參觀有名的景點，因此我們找旅館的前提便是要方便，舒適，作為四天三夜遊的觀光基地。最終選擇：「克羅克公園酒店」。
四星級的 The Croke Park Hotel 是我一位愛爾蘭朋友所推薦的，屬於 The Doyle Collection 公司旗下的現代精品酒店之一，在 TripAdvisor 上都柏林 171 家旅館中排名第五，旅客給予很好的評價。
酒店位於河道以北，約 15 分鐘腳程可抵達市中心的 O'Connell 大街，酒店門外也有 hop-on hop-off 觀光公車車站。
LOCATION
For under 20 euros, a taxi will get you from Dublin airport to The Croke Park Hotel in under 20 minutes, passing through some lush countryside and rows of beautiful homes along the way.
The hotel is situated right opposite Croke Park Stadium - home of the Gaelic games such as Gaelic football and hurling. It is also one of the largest and most popular venues in Europe for sporting and concert events. The next big name on the calendar is Beyonce, who will be performing here in July 2016 as part of her Formation world tour.
Although a railway track runs along one side of the hotel, we did not see or hear any train go by during our entire stay. The area is generally very quiet and only seems to come alive whenever there is an event at the stadium.
FIRST IMPRESSION
Built in 2005, the Croke Park Hotel is well-kept and feels spacious and airy. Contemporary design is featured throughout this four-story establishment, and homely touches such as a library nook and fireplaces lend it a boutiquey, comfortable vibe.
The staff at reception were extremely upbeat and helpful, and we were given our room keys immediately despite arriving hours before the official check-in time. However, we were assigned the wrong type of room and eventually ended up waiting in the executive lounge until the right accommodation was readied.
第一印象
克羅克公園酒店建於2005年，共有四樓，設計現代，光線充足，整體感覺通風寬敞。而小巧的讀書角落與壁爐，製造了溫暖悠閒的氣氛。
一進酒店就看到前台笑咪咪的工作人員，親切地替我們登記入房，不過可能是因為做得太匆忙，竟然分配給我們錯誤的房間。幸好只是個很容易糾正的小失誤，但真是有點兒大意。
ROOMS
The hotel seems to cater mainly to business travellers and families. The rooms come in two categories: Superior and Deluxe, and the configurations include Double, Triple and Family Suite (with 2 bedrooms and a living room).
There's not much difference between Superior and Deluxe rooms in terms of size, amenities and interior design, but the Deluxe rate does include breakfast as well as access to the Executive Lounge, which I highly recommend.
房間
這家酒店很適合商務旅客和家庭，有雙人，三人和家庭套房（兩間臥室加起居室）。客房分兩種等級：高級 (Superior) 或豪華 (Deluxe)。
高級客房與豪華客房大小差不多，但豪華房含早餐，還可以使用貴賓室，很值得多花一些錢升級。
All rooms are equipped with the following:
- 32-inch flatscreen TV (50-inch in family suite)
- Tea-making facilities with teabags and instant coffee
- Hairdryer, iron and safe
- Working area with desk and plenty of sockets (Ireland uses the same 3-prong/220V plug as Britain)
Wireless internet is free throughout the property and the signal is strong. Phew.
所有房間都配備有：
- 32寸電視（家庭套房的是50寸大電視）
- 熱水壺，茶包和速溶咖啡
- 吹風機，熨斗和保險箱
- 書桌，還有很多插座（愛爾蘭和英國使用同樣的三孔/220V 插頭）
酒店也有免費提供無線網，網速還算挺快的。
The spacious white bathroom has a separate shower and bathtub with toiletries from The White Company, a British home accessories brand known for its simple, beautifully designed bedlinen and home fragrances.
白色的浴室配有獨立淋浴間和浴缸，供應的洗浴用品則是我個人很喜歡的英國家居品牌「The White Company」。
EXECUTIVE LOUNGE
All guests staying in a deluxe room automatically get access to the Executive Lounge on the top floor, where complimentary hot and cold drinks and snacks are served all day.
貴賓室
豪華客房的客人可使用四樓的貴賓室 (Executive Lounge)，享用全天免費供應的冷熱飲品和小點心。
In the morning, guests can choose to have breakfast at the hotel's main restaurant or in the comfort of the Executive Lounge, where a continental buffet is available.
早餐有兩種選擇：一樓餐廳提供的是熱食自助餐，貴賓室裡則是 continental breakfast (歐式早餐)。
For me, the Executive Lounge is the most relaxing space in the hotel. First of all, it has large, comfortable sofas and was almost always deserted during our stay, making it the perfect place to unwind after hours of sightseeing. In the evening, you get a lovely view from the balcony of the sun setting over the stadium and Dublin's urban skyline.
Feeling peckish? The refreshment section offers cookies, fruits as well as freshly ground coffee and a selection of teabags for a mini afternoon tea. Bottled water and juices are also available.
Another perk for Deluxe room guests is that you get a voucher for a free drink, per person per day, at the hotel bar. There's your nightcap, sorted.
貴賓室平常很少人用，裡面有寬敞舒適的沙發，所以是對我們這些馬不停蹄的觀光客來說，是放鬆小歇的理想場所。黃昏時刻，可以在陽台看夕陽，欣賞都柏林的天際線。
餓了嗎？這裡全天提供餅乾，新鮮水果，多樣式的茶包以及現磨豆的咖啡，另外還有瓶裝的礦泉水和果汁，很貼心。
豪華客房的另一好處就是每人每天都有一張免費飲料的優惠券，香檳啤酒隨你選。
BREAKFAST
Since the Croke Park Hotel is in a residential area, there are not many choices of restaurants in its immediate vicinity. The hotel does have a couple on-site eateries offering comfort food (burgers, sandwiches and steaks) as well as healthy meals (salads and smoothies) throughout the day.
早餐
由於克羅克公園酒店位於都柏林的住宅區，附近的餐館選擇並不多，因此酒店的餐廳全天提供熱食，如漢堡，三明治，牛排，還有較健康的沙拉與現榨果汁，成為許多房客的第一選擇。
Breakfast is served buffet style in the main restaurant. I'm not usually a fan of buffets as I don't fancy the idea of eating food that's been sitting on a hot plate for hours on end. But my preconceived notions were pleasantly overturned here, as everything I had tasted fresh and delicious.
One reason could be because the kitchen opens out to the buffet table so not only do the diners get to see the preparation process, they can also see when freshly cooked items are added to the buffet lineup, which is pretty frequently.
我平常並不喜歡自助式的早餐，因為放在電熱板上好幾個鐘頭的食物總是不太好吃。不過在 Croke Park Hotel 我倒是吃得很愉快，因為菜色豐盛，新鮮可口，咖啡也很不錯。
餐廳的廚房是開放式，所以大家能清楚看到食物準備的過程，還有上菜的頻率。
Besides the hot food, there's a good selection of fresh fruits (all cut into in large pieces) along with Irish bread, croissants, honey straight from the honeycomb, yogurt and cheese, etc. If you're craving for something that's not available from the buffet, just tell the wait staff and they'll effort to make you what you want.
除了熱食外，buffet 還有許多水果，優格以及新鮮蜂蜜，澱粉類則有愛爾蘭麵包，牛角麵包，麥片等。如果你想吃白煮蛋或自助餐裡沒有的項目，廚房若有食材便會為你製作特別餐呢。
For guests whose room rate does not include breakfast, or anyone who wants a casual meal or a drink, the Sideline Bistro & Bar has a simple menu offering traditional pub food, like sandwiches, fish and chips, salads and even organic smoothies. The space also features a giant TV screen, making it the perfect place to hang out on game day.
不想吃 buffet 的客人可以到酒店的另一家餐廳，Sideline Bistro & Bar，單點早餐，或是三明治，炸魚和薯條，沙拉傳統酒吧食物。
餐廳設有巨大的電視屏幕，是聚會，看球賽的理想場所。
MY RATING: 8.5 / 10
Over all we were very happy with our stay at the Croke Park Hotel and felt well looked after. Next time I'd like to give its sister hotel The Westbury a try. The Westbury is a more luxurious and traditional property located right off Grafton Street (the self-proclaimed 'world famous' shopping district) and a short walk from Temple Bar and Trinity College.
我的評價：8.5 / 10
我們在克羅克公園酒店住了三晚，總體感覺很不錯：房間乾淨寬敞，食物美味可口，服務親切，加上價錢合理，很值得推薦。
下次再來都柏林，我將會試試它的姐妹店，The Westbury。The Westbury 是傳統式豪華酒店，位於熱鬧的購物區格拉夫頓街，離 Temple Bar 和三一學院僅幾步之遙。
THE CROKE PARK
Jones's Road,
Dublin, Ireland
Phone: +353 1 871 4444