Stayed in a room at DCU for 5 nights in August 09 while attending an international conference there. My room was part of an 'apartment' which consisted of a number of rooms off a corridor - bedrooms with ensuites plus a common room with kitchenette, dining table and chairs and some lounge furniture. This was a great setup for our group as we took up most of the bedrooms in the apartment and felt comfortable moving about. We had to ask for a kettle for the kitchen and the common room furniture was pretty spartan but it was ok for the occasional time we used it.
My bedroom had twin beds and was quite spacious with a small wardrobe, ample desk space and a nice ensuite bathroom. All was very clean and the towels were changed daily. A short walk to the dining room for breakfast - and the breakfast was excellent and good value.
It's a long way though into the city if you don't have a car, and if you do it can be hard to navigate to and from. Not much nearby that is open in the evenings really. We got cabs a couple of times which is fine but as everything in Dublin is expensive the cost of a taxi really adds to an expensive night out.
Our rooms were adjacent to the sports centre and we were keen to have a swim but learned it would cost each of us 10 Euros each time!! That's AU$20 !! Incredible...needless to say we decided not to swim. We did suggest they could offer a special deal to people attending the conference on campus (over 900) but they weren't interested.
There's a Spar grocery shop and a pharmacy and bank on campus - but not open late.
Staff at reception were very friendly and helpful and could usually help with any queries. There's a PC with free internet in the reception area. No wifi anywhere in the accomodation area.
All in all, a good place to stay for an on campus event but not if you want to spend most of your time in the city.

Don't bother staying here. This is a college dorm, and not a very good one. It is small, sparse, dirty, and in a horrible location. Dining facilities on campus typically close early, and there is no convenient dining option nearby. The room had a small bed, built in desk, and small bathroom with a very dirty shower. My stay was miserable.

My fist room was a bit out-dated room on street level and wasn’t cleaned after previous visitor. I changed the room because the young people made so much noise on the pedestrian street I couldn’t sleep. The second room was more modern and more spacious.

Breakfast was great, although it was a bit strangely organised. You had a voucher valued of 8,75 Euros and you had to calculate (in your head) what you may buy with it from the offered selection. You don’t get money back from the cashier, but you have to pay if 8,75 is exceeded. This system was really bad, people were arguing with the staff because they didn't understand the system and because they thought that the breakfast was included - without limits…

There are many language schools and summer camps going on at DCU in summertime, so there are lots of teen-agers who may cause noise outside apartments during the night. There is only one internet-pc in the whole area with limited usage of 15 minutes/person at time. So be prepared to stand in queue…

There is a small grocery shop on the campus, and you may heat food in the common kitchen. As a speciality, there is a swimming pool, spa and sauna on the campus. No TV or magazines to read. Far from city centre – 5 kms. No bus connection straight from the campus, you have to walk about 400 meters to bus (Ballymun Road), and even further (Swords Road) if you go to the airport.

DCU has recieved both good and bad reviews. To me, the goods overshadow the bads. Actually, there aren't too many negatives to point out, at least not to a young student traveling with the intention to explore.

First things first; location. The University is situated fairly far from the city center - at least for walking. Getting to and from the sights of Dublin are quite easy though. There are several buses passing by and stopping right outside the entrance to the school. Bus 16 and 19A go continiously and only cost 1.40 euros each way (remember exact change) and it takes about 15 minutes. The University lies in Glasnevin, and there is a 'center' with pubs, a few restaurants and a very nice Botanical Garden. The stadium is also not too far away. According to other sources there is a mall 5 minutes from the school, but I never made it there myself. Just around the school there is a gas station, grocery and pub. There's also a shop on the campus area. Still, one quickly realizes that it's downtown it's all happening and strolling around the surrounding area of the campus could be a bit boring and disappointing.

The area of the school was okay, nothing fancy, with a park and a playground for children. For an extra charge one could also use the spa/swimming pool. The receptionists were all very generous and helpful at all times.

The rooms were surprisingly large and comfortable. The room I got even had a small TV. The bathroom was large and up to the standard of a hotel - and the bed was even comfy. Clean sheets - and new towels every day made the experience even better. There was also a leisure area with sofas and a kitchen corner. Complementary coffee and tea could be collected here at all times.

Now, many have complained about noisy Italian students. I have to agree - in the evenings it could become a bit noisy. I stayed there a weekend, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening I could hear people outside. Still, it got quiet quite quickly. Only one evening did the 'students' (I do think they were actually just young tourists also) start screaming and singing for some time. Closing the window, though, would do the trick. As mentioned, this only became a problem one night, and just for around 20 minutes. Having a room with window out towards the other buildings made it easy to hear any sound - like when other tourists were dragging their luggage across the area. This was never annoying, though.

Breakfast was excellent. You get a voichoure of 8.5 euros and can collect various food up to that amount; sandwitches, scones, juice, warm dishes, patries etc. There are a lot to choose from! One problem though, is that the prices may not be well enough marked. It was quite easy ending up with food above 8.5 euros, resulting in having to pay the extra amount cash. Also, none of the products seemed to have any expiry dates labeled.

All together, DCU can provide quite nice accomodation to a budget price!