The apartment is cozy and nicely decorated. It has all the amenities you will need for a short stay in Dublin, including a lot of material (travel guides, leaflets etc) to explore the city. The location is beautiful, a bit far from the city center and the neighborhood very picturesque. It is approx. 30 min. walking from the city center and about 20 min. by bus. As we visited during winter, walking to the city center was not our first choice. There is a bus stop right outside the apartment, however there is only one bus stopping there, which means that some times we had to wait for 15 min. for the bus to arrive. Alternative, we preferred to walk 7 min. distance to go to a more central place where more buses are passing by.
In general we didn't find it hard to move back and forth the apartment but we designed our days in Ireland in a way that we only got back home late at night, having spent the whole day outdoors [It was the also the only way to see everything we wanted to!].
Tom and Noreen were great hosts. They provided everything we needed and he was very responsive to our needs giving us useful instructions regarding our planned trips along Ireland etc. We got to meet Tom as well, while having breakfast in Fothergills Cafe [must do only for the warm raspberry scones and amazing omelette!] - we really enjoyed getting to see him and talk to him!
Last but not least, Tom and Noreen were very professional when an emergent issue regarding our stay came up. They responded to our late call and came up with a solution promptly and respectfully. Even better they made sure it couldn't happen again during our stay.
I would definitely recommend a stay at Rathmines studio. Tom and Noreen are perfect hosts and they will make sure you enjoy your stay in Dublin.