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 Dublin Hotels
The decade-long, now declining, Celtic Tiger success story has created a Dublin building boom not seen since Georgian times, including a slew of new, design-conscious, celeb-friendly hotels. Existing ones, too, have been revamped, notably the landmark Shelbourne, reopened as a lacklustre Marriott Renaissance hotel after a £55 million refit. Its revamped bar is now a throbbing nightspot, its former sleepy charm swept away. Amongst the contemporary, design conscious hotels, there are plenty to choose from, if you like that sort of thing. The Clarence, part owned by rock stars Bono and The Edge, is due to be redeveloped, closing for two years, but there's still Morrisons, Fitzwilliam and the Dylan to choose from, as well as the oriental style La Stampa. As for more timeless hotels, the Four Seasons, though slightly out of the centre, has great style, while the Merrion stands out as a modern classic, and No 31 as a delightful hybrid, part cosy guesthouse, part slick boutique. The hotels are listed by price category and the order bears no reflection on our preference.
 Reviews by Fiona Duncan |
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| Luxury: Effortlessly gracious grande dame that just happens to be only ten years old |
| Location: Upper Merrion Street, opposite Government Buildings and close to St Stephen’s Green |
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| Everything feels right, from its smart location and the twinkly Irish doorman to the polished service and the timelessly classic decoration. Four tall, sober Georgian townhouses, including the birthplace of Wellington, have been opened up to create a series of expansive drawing rooms with stucco ceilings, peat fires and the owner’s outstanding collection of 19th and 20th century Irish art. Just as impressive: the unexpectedly spacious formal garden and the Michelin starred restaurant, Patrick Guilbaud. Small spa. |
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| Luxury: Dublin’s funkiest hotel, underpinned by excellent service |
| Location: Ballsbridge, in a side street a 20 min walk or 10 min taxi ride from city centre |
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| If you like funky design, and you dig colour – scarlet red, lime green and so on, plus baroque flourishes and oversize furniture – then you’ll love Dylan. More critical, anyone who prefers a design hotel to a traditional one will find a much warmer welcome here, in our experience, than at the city’s other new wave establishments. Bedrooms are calmer than public rooms (with the exception of the restaurant, which is all white) with plenty of extra touches, including i-pods. |
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| Luxury: Assured Four Seasons standards and a good range of rooms and rates |
| Location: Ballsbridge, a 20 min walk or 10 min taxi ride from city centre |
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| Classic Four Seasons service and class are assured at this spacious and gracious Dublin branch, set in leafy Ballsbridge, with good transportation links (its off-centre location doesn’t stop ICE being one of the coolest bars in town). Huge flower arrangements define the tranquil public rooms, while bedrooms, ranging from small to huge but all very well equipped, overlook courtyard greenery, ivy covered townhouses or the showground of the Royal Dublin Society. |
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| Mid Price: Part guesthouse, part boutique hotel with superb breakfasts and laid back vibe |
| Location: Close to the city centre and St Stephen’s Green |
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| Part slick designer hotel, part intimate guesthouse, Number 31 has a split personality that suits all tastes. Two buildings – ‘60s mews house and Georgian townhouse – together create one of the most unstuffy places to stay in the city. Guests congregate in a sunken ‘conversation pit’ in the mews house where a superb home made breakfast is also served and there are five stylish bedrooms. The 15 rooms across the garden employ eclectic colours and Fifties styling, with new bathrooms. Friendly, professional staff. |
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| Mid Price: Eastern influenced hotel with popular bar and restaurants |
| Location: In the city centre; overlooking the Mansion House |
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| You either love it or you don’t. With its two fun restaurants, Tiger Becs and Balzac, and SamSara, one of Dublin’s top nightspots, La Stampa may seem best suited to the young, though plenty of university students’ visiting parents choose it for its great location and oriental slant. Bedrooms are accessed by lift via Samsara; by contrast to that, and potential night time noise, the hotel’s Mandala Spa is an oasis of eastern calm. |
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| Mid Price: Characterful townhouse restaurant with rooms, now run by top chef Richard Corrigan |
| Location: A quiet stretch of St Stephen’s Green, overlooking the gardens |
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| This fine Georgian townhouse, once a gentleman’s club, is now the Dublin showcase for Irish born celebrity chef Richard Corrigan, who runs Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill in London. The elegant, Paris brasserie style, split level restaurant, with brass-railed central stairs, makes the perfect setting for a second Bentley’s while the 11 bedrooms continue to combine period charm with modern touches, as in the days when this was Browne’s Townhouse. Fine views over the gardens from rooms at the front. |
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| Inexpensive: Gracious living in a grand mansion |
| Location: Residential Ballsbridge; short train ride to city centre |
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| This cosseting b & b occupies a Victorian mansion on a desirable residential street in Ballsbridge. New arrivals are checked in over a cup of tea in the civilised sitting room. Bedrooms are comfortable, with an armchair or two, plumped-up cushions, bathrobes, and maybe a brass or four-poster bed. The city centre is eight minutes' ride away on frequent DART trains, with the nearest station under 10 minutes' walk. |
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| Inexpensive: Functional hotel in redeveloped Smithfield Square |
| Location: A short train hop to city centre |
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| Forming part of a modern, residential block flanking the large cobbled expanse of redeveloped Smithfield Square, this is one of Dublin's best budget hotels (though rates do often shoot up at weekends). Bedrooms are light and spacious, and many have floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies overlooking the square. An enticing food hall, with a cafe, is right next door, and the city centre is three stops away on the LUAS tram. |
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