Name: Generator Dublin
Address: Smithfield Square, Smithfield, Smithfield, Dublin, Ireland, Dublin, Dublin City, IE
Price range: US$49–US$258 per night
Rating: 7.58

What guests think

Generator Dublin is praised for its central, tram-accessible location and value, while recurring critiques include late-night noise, inconsistent cleanliness and maintenance, warm or poorly ventilated rooms, and extra charges for basics like towels or luggage storage.

Many guests highlight friendly staff and the fun bar with games and activities, though others encountered curt service or slow help with problems. There is no guest kitchen and outside food is restricted, and several reviews mention limited breakfast and bar prices that can feel high. Overall, expect a social, central base rather than a quiet, full-service hotel.

Facilities

Cleanliness

Rooms

Service

Location

Dining

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Facilities

Lively bar and social spaces with games and events are a highlight. There is no guest kitchen and outside food is restricted, and several reviews cite paid extras like towels and luggage storage.

Related guest reviews

8

Toshihiro

24 Sept 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

タオルが有料なのは良くない。ロビーエリアは広く、バーでwelcome 1shotが飲める。地階はゲームエリアになっていて、複数人で来たら楽しめそう。

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8

Janeen

28 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Generator offered a fun bar and restaurant, that was busy and entertaining. The property was fairly well taken care of, though the busy nature caused some mess.

8

DIANA

17 Aug 2023

·

Stayed 3 nights

El hostal tiene buena ubicación de las paradas de los buses y varios supermercados cerca. La habitación para 6 estába bien y tenía el baño dentro. Pero no hay cocina ni comedor compartido. No sé puede ingresar comida de afuera, quería calentar la leche para mi bebé y no había un microondas para utilizar, tienes que comprar todo hasta el agua caliente para el té.

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6

Neda

5 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The staff was super nice, however we needed to pay for our towels (4 eur) and the cleanliness of the bathroom and the room was ok… nothing more. I think this hostel needs an update. I have been in hostels before but this one didn’t even have a fridge to keep our food nor a kitchen to cook.. which is a purpose for a hostel I believe. The location is amazing though..: tram, bus, restaurants, etc. were super close.

10

ROBERT

14 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 4 nights

I stayed in a 6 bunk hostel room. Accommodation was average but the main bar and eating area were good , as was the breakfast. Neat location really, with good access by tram and trendy restaurants and cinema over the road. As with most things in Dublin, this seemed rather expensive to me - about double compared to Madrid and Barcelona. Common areas didn’t have much seating and it wasn’t somewhere to snooze.

6

Maxwell

12 Jun 2024

·

Stayed 6 nights

The bunks would benefit from a simple curtain to afford some privacy while changing, and the policy of not allowing outside food on the property is not ideal when the onsite kitchen closes by 10pm. Everything else was excellent.

8

ingunn

3 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Rimelig overnatting, ok avstand fra hovegatene, men dessverre masse bråk i gangene fra andre gjester om natta. Men kult område ved resepsjonen med bar, spill og sitteplass.

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8

Christine

25 Sept 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

No complaints. And happy to discover that the Cobblestone Bar, where i wanted to go for music, was only a couple of blocks away. It seemed more like a hotel than a hostel. Hostels don't usually provide towels. But they do usually have cooking facilities. Not only were there none, no food is allowed in the rooms. This was not a problem for me, but it might be for some people. The music in the restaurant was too loud for me. Generator seems to be geared to young adults. I'm 82.

10

Amanda

30 May 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Amazing stay. Great reception. Stuck for a few days in Dublin and they were amazing. Vincente so helpful!!! Great location to center. karaoke, trivia, DJ. Definitely stay if you wanna have a great time!!!!!

8

Bernd

11 Sept 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

The fee for the towels should be mentioned in advance so that people can bring their own towels.

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Cleanliness

Mixed feedback: some found clean rooms and bathrooms, but many report dirty or moldy bathrooms, flooding or clogged drains, odors, and uneven housekeeping.

Related guest reviews

6

Emily

12 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Bathroom in shared room was disgusting. Leaking toilet with water all over the floor, no toilet paper, mould and mildew around, unpleasant mould smell, shower drain was completely clogged so water didn’t drain when showering. Cancelled the remaining 5 nights and switched to a different location.

4

Susan

6 Jan 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Filthy

6

James

27 Jun 2025

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Stayed 1 night

It was fine staying here. It was a bit loud, the property wasn't the cleanest, but it was in a nice area.

6

Daniel

24 Dec 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Dirty. Bathroom flooded so had to move rooms. Some staff rude

6

Roxanne

17 Aug 2023

·

Déçu par la chambre, pas très propre, moins spacieuse que ce que je pensais. Aspirateur dans les couloirs à 7h, merci le réveil... Par contre, personnel est très sympa et le petit déjeuner très bon

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2

Cricket

8 Jul 2024

·

Stayed 5 nights

We stayed for 5 nights. The shower completely flooded the bathroom and room the first morning and we did not get it cleaned and repaired until the final night. The room smelled of mildew and sewage. There were silverfish on the bed and a roach in the bathroom. When we were at the front desk complaining, the staff were kind but did not have immediate solutions. One staff member offered extra towels. Another gave us free laundry tokens. But the room was saturated for days. One time there was another person who tossed his key and said it was too disgusting to stay and he didn’t care that they wouldn’t refund

4

sandra

24 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Sucia

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4

James

20 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Booked a bed in a four-person room and luckily I was the only one there for the night. Property is very noisy—you could hear music from the ground floor three floors up. Sheets weren't too clean, and bathroom was a bit grotty. Did not sleep well.

10

Stella

4 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

A rede Generator é muito boa. A de Dublin foi a mais organizada e também silenciosa, não tinha muitos adolescentes como no Generator Londres, por exemplo. Os banheiros estavam muito limpos e o chuveiro era quentinho. Isso foi de uma felicidade imensa! O quarto tinha travesseiros bons e roupa de cama limpinha e cheirosa. O atendmento também foi muito bom. Fomos super bem atendidas e a equipe foi muito solícita.

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10

Amanda

30 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Fantastic location. Nice big room and very clean

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Rooms

Rooms are basic and can feel hot or poorly ventilated; bunks are low or claustrophobic and pillows or mattresses thin. Noise from the bar, corridors, or street often carries into rooms.

Related guest reviews

10

Stacey

4 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Great stay at the generator. Clean and quiet room. Good bar and area. Only thing that lets them down were the pillows. Booked a private room (not cheap at £400+ for 2 nights). Got two pillows (total) which were like paper. Howay!

4

Timothy

26 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The location is fine, but it is quite loud at night. The Generator is trying to walk the line between a hotel and a hostel. We thought we were getting a hotel. We paid $290 for a tiny room with the worst and thinnest mattresses I’ve ever slept on. The pillows are not much thicker than a pancake. The room did not have any tissue or a bar of soap. Check out time is an hour earlier than every hotel I’ve ever stayed in. No on-site parking so we had to pay 18 euros per night for a parkade a block away.

4

S

19 May 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

If you are deaf or one of those people who can sleep through an earthquake this would no doubt be fine. Stayed for one night (Saturday) in a single room (no ensuite) and the noise overnight was insane. Between 0100 and 0430 I experienced the following - multiple people having loud conversations in the hallways, slamming doors, squeaky doors (someone needs to run round with some WD-40), someone playing a weird dance version of Irish traditional music and humming loudly outside my door (that one was at 0415), some shouting "Watsooooon" at the top of their lungs (0145) as if they had just found their nemesis at last. Oh and I was on the courtyard and whilst my window was closed every other window was open. What that meant practically was that I could hear everything from the dorms including loud "banter" and a raging arguement (about 0330 for that one). I got just under 4 hours sleep in two sessions. There are literally no signs up telling people to be quiet or considerate which is a bit wild. No staff seemed to check on the hallways at any point. Other stuff was fine, people complaining about the bathrooms being a bit messy need to remember it's a hostel (even if it does cost the same as a hotel in other cities). I used the showers and it was fine. The single room was clean and the bed was comfortable. I get my experience may be to do with the crowd staying there being inconsiderate but the walls / doors are paper thin. I could even hear the snorer in the next room.

6

ALVIN

24 Feb 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

It's decent and centrally located. Noisy hallways. Loud talking, slamming doors and running even during late night and early morning.

6

Corinne Elizabeth Lianne

11 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

The room was way too hot and it gets very loud from the club downstairs

4

Andrea

16 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

This was a hostel priced like a luxury hotel. The balcony door was broken and there was no ventilation in the washroom. We had to ask for a fan. Everything cost extra, in-spite of the price we paid to stay. Also the noise from the bar downstairs carried on well into the night.

6

Linda

24 May 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Generellt ett väldigt bra utformat hostel! Socialt, fräscht, roligt allmänrum, bra bar. Två största punkterna att påpeka dock var att det var unket i rummet längst in. Fönstret var blockerat av en säng och vi som sov längst in kunde knappt andas för att luften inte cirkulerade och det luktade svett. Gick på toa en gång under natten och flera personer viskade att jag bör hålla dörren öppen. Vi fick göra det på dagarna istället när folk var vakna så ingen skulle komma in och sno våra saker … Andra saken var att tjejernas bad och toalett var på en annan våning vilket var lite omständigt men man anpassar sig.

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6

Sayuri

6 Dec 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

las literas Estan muy bajas, ni sentado puedes estar derecho, eso se me hizo muy incomodo , de todo lo demas esta muy bie.

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8

Amanda

6 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

It was fine but those triple bunk beds are claustrophobic and I would hit my head often. It was also difficult getting out without hitting my back off the roof of my bunk. Staff were lovely

6

Jennifer

20 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

This property is in a good location - we were able to walk to many places easily. It is also very close to a tram stop and once we got visitor leap cards, we traveled even greater distances easily. There is a small market across the street that we used a couple mornings as well. The property itself is okay - quite noisy at night, bit warm on the top bunks (for us in July), and you must provide your own towels, unless you want to pay to rent one. This worked for our family for a short stay, but wouldn’t do it for much longer as sleep was hard with the noise throughout the night.

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Service

Reports range from very friendly, helpful staff to curt or unresponsive service, with occasional issues around check-in flexibility and handling of problems or refunds.

Related guest reviews

8

Roberta

7 Jul 2025

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Stayed 5 nights

The staff are really helpful.

6

Tim

19 Oct 2025

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Stayed 4 nights

Front staff was very unfriendly and curt. Never saw any of them smile once and they exuded a "put out to be there" attitude that made me feel unwelcome except I saw they did this to everyone. For a hostel, things were expensive here even by Dublin standards, especially the bar and games they offer.

8

jerome

30 Aug 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Une nuit passée dans un dortoir privé avec salle de bain. Ça fait le job

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10

Michael

18 Jun 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Great location for accessing Dublin's core and staff were super helpful and friendly.

10

Thomas

22 Mar 2023

·

Stayed 6 nights

From the moment i checked in to when I left, the staff were extremely friendly and hospitable. There were locking lockers under the bunks for your luggage. There are rentables that you may have forgotten like locks, towels, soaps, etc. And there is a bar/grill in the common area. Super convenient! And, the property in a very centralized are, so walking ANYWHERE is super easy. Unless you're trying to go to the other side of the island lol. The hostel will also schedule a taxi ride for you whenever youre trying to venture further out or heading back to the airport. 10/10 would definitely stay again! Hope to bring friends next time too!

2

Norman

8 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Everything was an inconvenience to the staff and I can honestly i would sleep in the car before staying in this place again. This was also one of the dirtiest places i have staye.

2

Amanda

2 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

I’m sure some people enjoy the stay. Sadly, my experience was bad. It all started at check-in. I got there extremely early, which was my own fault. Asked for early check-in and was told no promises by the manager. so I waited patiently (4hrs). In that time not one person on the staff asked me if I was OK. Asked me if I needed a glass of water. To be completely honest, they ignored me. Secondly the hostel looks very high-end online. It is not it’s all a façade. What you get especially in the female dorms is mouldy showers with zero hot water, broken shower faucets. When the water does run, it floods the entire shared bathroom, which causes it to be extremely slippery. And when you’re going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, you feel like you’re going to slip and fall. My next problem with the place is that the bathroom stall doors hardly lock and when they do lock they get stuck. So in the middle of the night I ended up locked in the bathroom stall because this place is so cheap. Another major problem is the noise level. The girls were actually quite quiet. The only downfall was that the doors in the building don’t have a bumper so that you don’t slam every time somebody comes in and out. A member of the staff in the middle of the night came to talk to me about my complaints, which I appreciated except he came up at 4 AM knocked on the door to the dorm and proceeded to walk in a female only dorm. I left early and lost money. I was refused any reimbursement.

8

Amanda

6 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

It was fine but those triple bunk beds are claustrophobic and I would hit my head often. It was also difficult getting out without hitting my back off the roof of my bunk. Staff were lovely

8

Georges

28 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

The staff were very friendly except the guy with the tattoos, he was very rude. The light, plugs on my bed were not working. Shower was broken! Falling all the time. Needs to be screwed on the wall. Great area, safe, quiet, and lots of eating places around.

2

Araks

6 Sept 2024

·

Stayed 7 nights

Very dissatisfied. Terrible stuff.

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Location

Widely praised as central and walkable, close to LUAS stops, the River Liffey and the Jameson Distillery. Some note it’s a 15–30 minute walk to key tourist areas.

Related guest reviews

10

Virginia

4 Aug 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

I loved the location that was very convenient to everything (transportation, shopping, food market, the square, etc. The staff were very nice and very helpful. Rooms were clean and beds were quite comfortable. I highly recommend the Generator Dublin.

10

Marianne

14 Sept 2023

·

april 4 to 9 2023 - dublin was my first solo trip and i had the best time! the generator is within walking distance from the busiest sections of dublin, and also the jameson distillery is right behind it! there are also tram stops less than 5 minutes away if you're wanting to go somewhere further. there were a couple of nights when things got loud in the hallways (from my understanding it was students on a school trip) but it didn't bother me too much. it was also my first hostel stay (bunked in a room with 5 other girls) and i felt very safe. i got what i paid for, and they offered just what i needed. i would go here again, and would also recommend to anyone looking to travel on a budget :)

8

Keara

12 Apr 2023

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Stayed 1 night

Pretty good place, about a 30 minute walk to areas that your buses pick up.

8

Tavis

3 Jul 2025

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Stayed 1 night

Great location

6

Jennifer

20 Jul 2025

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Stayed 2 nights

This property is in a good location - we were able to walk to many places easily. It is also very close to a tram stop and once we got visitor leap cards, we traveled even greater distances easily. There is a small market across the street that we used a couple mornings as well. The property itself is okay - quite noisy at night, bit warm on the top bunks (for us in July), and you must provide your own towels, unless you want to pay to rent one. This worked for our family for a short stay, but wouldn’t do it for much longer as sleep was hard with the noise throughout the night.

10

Paul

3 Aug 2024

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Stayed 1 night

Great value and great location

6

Wan Amril

18 Mar 2025

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Stayed 2 nights

Near to the LUAS stop and various eateries

10

Harry

16 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Great location and great price Private rooms were perfect for us

10

Amanda

30 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Fantastic location. Nice big room and very clean

10

Byron

22 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Bar downstairs and the Jameson distillery is right next door. The river Liffey is just down the street.

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Dining

The on-site bar and restaurant are popular and social, but breakfast is described as limited and some find prices high or options like vegan dishes limited.

Related guest reviews

10

Steve

29 May 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

The generator is the perfect place to stay as a family. We had a family room for four, which came with hairdryer and towels and a shower and toilet. Downstairs has a pool table, table tennis and shuffleboard which are perfect for keeping the kids entertained in those in between moments. Small public playground outside as well for smaller children. 24 hour reception is handy and the restaurant serves food till late. Just a few minutes walk from the Liffey and 20 minutes into Temple bar. Nice and quiet in the evening too-we all had a great night sleep.

8

Janeen

28 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Generator offered a fun bar and restaurant, that was busy and entertaining. The property was fairly well taken care of, though the busy nature caused some mess.

8

Crystal

1 Jul 2024

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Stayed 2 nights

It was a decent spot. If you are looking for a place near lots to do and want a place for a nightcap or quick food, it’s good. We had a private room and the toilet wouldn’t flush so that was a bummer. We ended up using the public toilets anyways but the private shower was good. What you expect from a hostel. I’d probably check out other hostels before booking this one again though. It was annoying that at the end of the night you can’t bring any outside food to your room. Especially when as a vegan, they only had one option for me.

10

Tony

2 Feb 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Absolutely amazing stay staff where friendly food was Delicious only complaint was the morriti tasted stale but i didnt let that ruin a good overall experience

10

ROBERT

14 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 4 nights

I stayed in a 6 bunk hostel room. Accommodation was average but the main bar and eating area were good , as was the breakfast. Neat location really, with good access by tram and trendy restaurants and cinema over the road. As with most things in Dublin, this seemed rather expensive to me - about double compared to Madrid and Barcelona. Common areas didn’t have much seating and it wasn’t somewhere to snooze.

10

Coralie

18 Oct 2022

·

Stayed 3 nights

Très bon accueil. Chambre pour 4 avec SDB privée. Literie confortable. On a demandé un oreiller de plus on l a eu rapidement. Hotel sécurisé. Pas du tout bruyant par rapport a ce qu on avait lu de certains commentaires. Pourtant notre fenêtré de chambre donnait au dessus du bar. Seul bémol, le petit dej très rudimentaire. Mieux vaut depenser 4 euros dd plus et aller se faire un breakfast ailleurs. Idéalement situé, avec le tramway et l arrêt du bus de la navette aéroport a 3 mins a pied de l hôtel !

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8

Nathalie

6 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 5 nights

La chambre familiale correct,le sol benol c est la salle de bain a revoir, abattant cassé et le support du miroir tout rouillé, ça s'est miettais sur le lavabo, ne pouvant rien poser dessus..juste un petit détail ça ne va pas empêché de passer un bon séjour. Le personnel très correct et très courtois . Le petit déjeuner continental c était limite vu le prix,, cafe imbuvable

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10

Stephen

29 Aug 2023

·

Stayed 4 nights

Great location. Easy walk to activity and red line. Great lobby bar.

10

Paul

11 May 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

We had a private room which was very clean and had a comfortable bed and a decent shower room with toiletries. It's a basic hostel type hotel. It's well organised. There's a good continental breakfast buffet for EUR10. There's entertainment, games room and bar if you want it and it's not too noisy.

10

Amanda

27 May 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Great room price and reception is amazing help. Vicente was so helpful!!! Rooms are very nice but tiny window doesn’t give much ventilation. Games and Bar but you’re gonna pay. Great party hostel!!

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16 $125	17 $231	18 $182	19 $210
20 $67	21 $60	22 $69	23 $73	24 $74	25 $145	26 $180
27 $58	28 $71	29 $73	30 $60

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
				1 $73	2 $136	3 $208
4 $51	5 $62	6 $60	7 $60	8 $62	9 $143	10 $191
11 $62	12 $60	13 $62	14 $55	15 $81	16 $124	17 $201
18 $49	19 $55	20 $55	21 $55	22 $62	23 $125	24 $258
25 $65	26 $62	27 $62	28 $64	29 $55	30 $146	31 $150

Select dates to see prices and availability

About this property

Location

Room options

Bed in Small Dorm Enusite

Single Room with Shared Bathroom

Bed in Female Dorm Ensuite

Bed in Mixed Dorm Shared Bathroom

Private 6-Bed Female Room

Private 8-Bed Room Shared Bathroom

Private 8-Bed Room

Family Room For 4

4-Bed Private Dormitory Room with Shared Bathroom

Private 6-Bed Room Shared Bathroom

Deluxe Twin

Bed in Mixed Dorm Ensuite

Private 4 Bed Room

Private Room with 6 Bed Ensuite

Private 10-Bed Room

Bed in 4 Bed Dorm

Deluxe King

Private 5-Bed Room Ensuite

Guest reviews

Good

Who stays here?

What guests think

Property policies

Check-in instructions

Good to know

Optional extras

FAQs about Generator Dublin

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Considering this hotel for your Dublin trip?

Prices for upcoming dates