Dublin's Best Hotels

Dublin's best hotels
A design hotel with a saucy side, a guesthouse with a crackling grate and a restored grande dame
Guyan Mitra

From The Sunday Times Travel Magazine January, 2008, issue

The Shelbourne - ‘For Yeats, Princesses and rock stars’

Having rested on its laurels for the last 100 years, The Shelbourne Hotel emerged glamorously from a two-year renovation in March – as much to the excitement of Dubliners as to weekend tourists.

Since it opened in 1824, the hotel has been seen as a locals’ joint first and foremost, thanks to its excellent bars and key role in the city’s history and culture.

The drafting of the Irish Constitution took place in Room 112 in 1922, and, over the years, luminaries from WB Yeats to Bertie Ahern could be found propping up the oak-panelled Horseshoe Bar.

Regulars are relieved that little has been altered in the cosy Horseshoe, while the bright No. 27 Bar has attracted a fashionable new crowd for cocktail hour. Pop into the Saddle Room for dinner, however, and you might clock a Rolling Stone staggering out of the Oyster Bar.

Rooms are just as regal as when Princess Grace of Monaco stayed here back in the ’50s, but the makeover has brought in crisp Italian linens, marble bathrooms and flat-screen TVs.

The renovation has returned this grande dame back to her best, abuzz with class, prestige, and Dubliners drinking Guinness.

The Shelbourne Hotel (00 353 1 663 4500) has doubles from £210, room only.

The Dylan - ‘Indulge in a Kama Sutra massage oil’

If The Shelbourne represents the historic heart of Dublin, then The Dylan is the brazen face of new money. In a swish postcode (D4) where property prices are rivalled only by Mayfair and the Upper East Side, The Dylan elbows out the also-rans as Dublin’s latest design hotel.

Instead of the yawningly rolled-out minimalist look, The Dylan has opted for the opposite end of the design spectrum with a collage of inspirations – Georgian here, Asian there, and hints of Rococo everywhere.

Set in a Victorian townhouse, the rooms mix the obligatory hi-tech gadgetry with sensuous luxury, urging you to indulge in a Kama Sutra massage oil kit or candle-lit, rose petal-filled bath.

The main draw is the hotel bar, which plops buttoned-velvet sofas and Murano chandeliers on a lime-green and blood-red background. Here the (Dubl)-in crowd pouts and poses while raising a pinkie over the best Bellini in town.

The restaurant, Still, serves fancy fare, such as assiette of rabbit and salmon gravadlax, in swanky white surroundings – its nouveau riche decor makes it clear that this is Platinum-card territory. Like the hotel, Still is best kept for those occasions when only somewhere one-in-a-million will do.

The Dylan (00 353 1 660 3000, www.dylan.ie) has doubles from £166, room only.

Number 31 - ‘Guests come back for the “Full Irish” alone’

There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread to make you feel at home. So perhaps it’s the owners’ doughy habit – fruit, white and soda go in the oven every afternoon at 1pm – that keeps drawing visitors back to Number 31. Or maybe it’s the open peat fire licking about in the sunken lounge, imbuing the place with a cosy feel and oaky aroma.

The smells are much needed – luring you down an alley with no signpost to Number 31, where owners Noel and Deirdre extend a jovial reception, as if to congratulate you for discovering their lovely abode.

The 21-room property inhabits a Georgian townhouse and a Modernist mews. Rooms are simple but sink-into comfy, with high ceilings, wooden blinds, marble bathrooms and large, handsome beds. A few minutes’ walk from the city centre and the chic neighbourhood of Ranelagh, the location is spot-on for shopping, sightseeing and socialising.

Noel is one of those types born to run a guesthouse, dispensing volumes of local knowledge (and gossip) – which helps explain why every guest seems to be on their umpteenth visit. Most say they keep coming back for the breakfast alone: a lively affair with poached pears, muesli, the ‘Full Irish’ and, of course, plenty of fresh bread.

Number 31 (00 353 1 676 5011) has doubles from £115, B&B.

Best of the rest…

THE SCHOOLHOUSE HOTEL…is a converted Victorian schoolhouse by the canal, with a boisterous bar attached. Doubles from £199, B&B (00 353 1 667 5014, www.schoolhousehotel.com).

BROWNES… has a Georgian theme with looming ceilings and open fireplaces. Doubles from £175, room only (00 353 1 638 3939, www.steinhotels.com).

ABERDEEN LODGE… is a B&B in the chic Ballsbridge area, which garners rave reviews from guests who return time and again. Doubles from £100, B&B (00 353 1 283 8155, www.halpinsprivatehotels.com).

ELIZA LODGE GUESTHOUSE…is within stumbling distance for partying in the hip Wexford St or Temple Bar areas. The best rooms have Jacuzzis and views of the river. Doubles from £100, B&B (00 353 1 671 8044, www.dublinlodge.com).

HOTEL ISAACS… is a large hotel near O’Connell St, with a mix of rooms from regal Georgian suites to business-style twins. Doubles from £55, room only (00 353 1 813 4700, www.isaacs.ie).