Dublin Hotels with an Indoor Pool for Kids

Dublin rarely gives a family a fully dry day, and its sights are spread between the Georgian squares around St Stephen's Green, the Docklands and Phoenix Park in the west. An indoor pool turns a wet afternoon into a plan, but only if the children's hours line up with yours. In this city most hotel pools sit inside a spa or a health club, which sets swim windows, age limits and booking rules. Before choosing by neighbourhood, I check three things: how deep the water is, when children may swim, and whether a parent has to be in the water.

Clayton Hotel Cardiff Lane, on Sir John Rogerson's Quay, has the most family-friendly pool of the six. Its Club Vitae leisure centre pairs a 22-metre heated pool with a separate children's pool half a metre deep, both complimentary for residents. The pool and gym open from 06:30 to 21:15 on weekdays and from 08:00 to 19:45 at weekends. Two rules catch visitors out: swimming hats are compulsory, sold at the desk if you forget them, and parents must go into the water with their children, since under-16s are supervised at all times. Club Vitae also runs private children's lessons with certified, Garda-vetted instructors.

The InterContinental stands on Simmonscourt Road in Ballsbridge, about 200 metres from the RDS, in a quiet district of embassies and gardens. Its 14-metre heated pool is lit by daylight, with a whirlpool, sauna and steam room alongside. It opens from 7:00 to 19:00 every day, and children are welcome from 9:30 to 12:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00, leaving the early afternoon to adults. That fits a sightseeing day: a swim after breakfast, then another after the trip back from town. Ballsbridge is the answer if you want calm streets and bigger rooms rather than a central address.

Two five-star hotels near the centre take opposite lines with children. The Merrion, facing Merrion Square about 400 metres from St Stephen's Green, has an 18-metre pool in its Tethra Spa, open from 06:30 to 21:00 on weekdays and 08:00 to 21:00 at weekends; only 10:00 to 11:00 and 17:00 to 18:00 are kept for adults, young guests get small bathrobes, and spa treatments are for over-18s. Anantara The Marker, on Grand Canal Square, opens its indoor infinity pool to children only from 10:00 to 12:00 and 15:00 to 17:00.

Camden Court, on Camden Street Lower, is the pool hotel closest to the Luas Green line and the Iveagh Gardens: the Harcourt stop is about 150 metres away and the gardens about 300 metres. Its leisure centre has a 16-metre heated pool with a hot tub, sauna and steam room, and children must be accompanied by an adult. I would pick it for a city break around Grafton Street, the Natural History Museum and St Stephen's Green, where a swim fits between two outings. It also has the most reviews of the six, 7,742, with a score of 9.0.

Hilton Dublin Kilmainham, on Inchicore Road about 100 metres from Kilmainham Gaol, is the base for Phoenix Park: the entrance nearest Dublin Zoo is about 1.3 kilometres away as the crow flies. Its LivingWell health club has a hydrotherapy pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna and a steam room, complimentary for guests, but the pool must be booked. The club opens from 6:00 to 22:00 on weekdays and from 8:00 to 21:00 at weekends and on bank holidays. The water is warm, for floating rather than lengths. If you searched for a Hilton in Ballsbridge or Portobello, this western one is the Hilton on this page.