Trip to Ireland
September – October 2006
Thursday 5 October
10:45 Waterford to
Dublin
13:25
Gresham Hotel, O Connell Street, Dublin
1
The Gresham Hotel is
easily one of Ireland's
most famous hotels. Visitors from home and abroad have been enjoying
the
wonderful Gresham
atmosphere since as far back as 1817. The famous afternoon tea, a
delicious
meal in the restaurant or a stay at one of the luxurious Gresham
bedrooms, these have all been
hallmarks of a legendary Irish institution.
While it is Ireland's
oldest hotel - with a
distinct old
world charm – the Gresham
provides all the modern luxuries and facilities that today's hotel
guests
expect. The hotel features 289 superbly furnished guest bedrooms
featuring
electronic safety locks, direct dial telephones, garment press,
hairdryer, TV
and 24 hour room service.
The Gresham
is a visually striking hotel and can be seen in all its glory in a
superb
location on O Connell
Street,
Ireland's
widest, and probably most famous thoroughfare. All of Dublin's
main tourist and commercial sites such as Trinity College,
Guinness Brewery, Temple Bar and the impressive financial district are
just a
short walk away from the hotel's front door.
The Gresham Hotel is a
traditional hotel in the finest sense of the word, with an unrivalled
attention
to an efficient, friendly service and one of the most luxurious
accommodations
you are ever likely to enjoy. It is the perfect base, for business or
leisure
guests, to explore Ireland's
vibrant and historical capital city.
Waterford
has turned its back on its waterside location.
There is a big wide stretch along the river which is completely
taken
over by car parking. It is
disgusting. There could be riverside
walks, gardens, cafes etc. Cork and Dublin
have the same problem.
The station is on the other side of the water from
the town
so that the railway is even more cut off from the town than at Cork.
Walking there is not pedestrian friendly and there is always the
possibility of delay because the lift bridge may be raised to allow a
vessel to
pass through.
There is a small but interesting railway museum in
the station.
The train was push-pull with
the Canadianbuilt locomotive leading as far as Kilkennie.
We boarded the train with plenty of time to find a
seat and
do an inspection. It gradually filled up
along the route
and was eventually very full. The seats
are coordinated with the windows. These
are the older type which were built in Britain in the 1960s. They have air brakes and have been modified
with air operated doors. There is no air
conditioning although the cars may be pressurized.
The trains run push pull. The
locomotive was leading from Waterford
but there was a change of direction at Kilkenny
where we passed the train from Dublin. There is a full triangle connection here with
the main line and our train left Kilkenny shortly after the train to Waterford for
the run
along the single track to the junction.
It is single track with passing loops as far as Kildare where
there is
the junction with the double track line for Cork,
Tralee and Galway.
We took Luas, crowded as usual, to Abbey and
walked along O'Connell
Street to
the hotel, by far the best we have stayed at in Ireland. The Gresham
has a card key system whereby the card has to be left in a slot to turn
on the lights and to keep them on. This has caused problems with
some guests who have
kept on reinserting the key instead of leaving it in.