WHEN you picture Wetherspoons, you probably think of cheap pints, even cheaper food, colourful carpets, and a lively Friday night.
But your night out at Spoons doesn’t have to end with an expensive taxi home – with dozens of hotels across the UK and Ireland, the budget pub chain is quietly offering some of the best value city breaks around.
I headed to Dublin to see exactly what a night spent in a Spoons hotel really entails.
Spoiler alert: this particular Spoons hotel feels like staying overnight in a museum, and the rooms are nicer than you might think.
There are 56 Wetherspoons hotels across the UK and Ireland, so I decided to try out a stay at Keaven’s Port, a unique convent-turned-hotel in Dublin.
Keaven’s Port sits on Camden Street, which is where you’ll find crowds of locals out for drinks in Dublin – away from the expensive pints of Temple Bar.
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This well-positioned pub hotel puts you on the same street as popular nightclub The Camden, which you’ll find buzzing on the weekends.
And as for daytime sightseeing, here you’re only a 20-minute walk from popular attractions like Dublin Castle and Trinity College.
Wetherspoons are known for repurposing unique historic buildings including former opera houses, corn exchanges and banks.
Not only does this guarantee some decent square footage for all those restaurant tables (as well as a prime spot in the town centre) but it makes for a pretty unique overnight stay.
This one I found to be particularly unique. Keaven’s Port hotel is made up of eight old Georgian townhouses as well as a chapel.
The collection of buildings used to belong to Ireland’s Little Sisters of the Assumption, a convent established in the 1890’s.
Now, the chapel has been restored and is part of the bar and restaurant area. I must admit, sitting in a confession booth under stained glass with a bowl of chips and a pint is a tad surreal.
Getting to the rooms takes weaving through a series of corridors and lounge areas, each of which are packed with historical artefacts that made this stay feel more like a trip to the museum.
Lining the walls were old dresses and textiles, painted portraits and more belonging to historic residents of Camden Street Upper, as well as information boards telling you all about the history of the building.
One lounge area sees a giant Guinness-style harp, cosy sofas and a chessboard, while another sees antique furniture, Renaissance paintings and a collection of battered books packed with fascinating old stories.
After making your way out of the maze, you’ll reach the main bar and restaurant area (which thankfully has its own entrance, too).
Everything about the restaurant screams Spoons – tiled floors, a very long bar, plenty of high tables with stools as well as booths and larger tables for groups.
Just when you think there’s more than enough space, a spiral staircase decorated with mirrors leads you down to an even larger restaurant, as well as courtyard for the summer beer garden months.
We all know Spoons pubs in the UK offer some great-value deals on food and drink, but can you get good value over in pricy Dublin?
It turns out you can. An Irish spice bag with a soft drink costs €10.50 (£8.86), and a small cooked breakfast is an unbelievable €2.95 (£2.49).
You can grab a pint of Abbott for €2.60 (£2.19), wine by the glass starts from €4.30 (£3.63), and cocktail pitchers from €9.95 (£8.39).
A hot drink will only set you back €1.70 (£1.43), and it’s free refills from then on all day.
But what are the rooms like? Once you make it out of the busy bar area through to the elevators, the noise of the bar soon disappears.
If I’m totally honest, I went in expecting a cramped room with stained furniture and some strange marks on the walls.
Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw when I stepped in.
First of all, these rooms are very spacious. The large double bed had crisp white sheets, and there was plenty of room surrounding it to open up your suitcase.
The spacious desk was laid with the usual tea and coffee facilities. Here you also get posh shortbread biscuits and water cartons decorated with pictures of Irish poet W.B. Yeats (I kept mine as a souvenir).
The bathrooms were pretty glam too with black marble, a large mirror and a surprisingly spacious tub and shower. All in all, not at all bad for the price point.
Inspired by the local history, I did a bit of my own research. Namely, I wanted to know, who actually was St Keaven?
The name supposedly comes from St. Kevin, a sixth-century Christian hermit and saint, with a church named after him in nearby Camden Row.
Little is known about the Irish saint, other than that he appears in Seamus Heaney’s poetry and that he is associated with the glacial valley of Glendalough in nearby County Wicklow.
If you fancy, you can actually take a day trip from Dublin city centre into Glendalough to walk beside its glacial lakes with Wild Rover Tours (from €43). If you want to see some of Ireland’s rolling green hills and sparkling lakes away from the city, I’d highly recommend giving it a try.
But if you’d rather stay in the centre and make the most of the cheap pints in the bar below your room, it’s a great place for pre-drinks before rocking up to The Camden.
Rooms start from €86 (£72) per night, or £36pp based on two sharing. Click here to book.
Prices correct at the time of publication.