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In with the new

Published: 01/06/2007 - Filed under: Archive » 2007 » July/August 2007 » Special Reports » Features » Special Reports »

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The Dublin hotel scene has never been as vibrant as today. A raft of new openings, including the Hilton Dublin Kilmainham and the new Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, as well as the reintroduction of the Shelbourne, are adding modern bedrooms and meetings venues to the city.

Yet at the same time famous hotels, long established as venues for Dublin's social scene, are vanishing. As a result of Jurys Doyle Group selling a large part of its hotel stock, the 4.8-acre Jurys and Berkeley Court hotels site in Ballsbridge is going, as is the largest hotel in Ireland, the Burlington, also in Ballsbridge.

The combined room total from these hotels – over 700 at a four and five-star level, will take some replacing. Room numbers in Ireland are increasing rapidly – by some 3,4000 per year – but in Dublin the number will remain roughly constant. It means that, for business travellers, Dublin is not likely to be a place where discount rooms can be had for the foreseeable future.

The Shelbourne Dublin, a Renaissance Hotel

27 St Stephen's Green; tel +353 1 663 4500; theshelbourne.ie

Dating back to 1824 and unquestionably the most famous hotel in Dublin, the Shelbourne is once again at the centre of attention after its reopening in March as a Renaissance Hotel after a €100 million renovation. Standing on St Stephen's Green, it's a clever renovation because it retains a lot of the familiar layout of the hotel while in fact transforming a property that for a long time had been relying on some extremely faded charm. One example – the old lift has been removed, so that when you enter reception through the grand old revolving doors you can now see right the way up to the sixth floor, and also admire the restored mezzanine level landing with its 24-carat gold leaf decoration and moldings.

Everyone has an opinion about the Shelbourne: they regard it as part not only of Dublin's history, but of their own personal experience, so the public areas take precedence. Familiar landmarks remain, such as the Horseshoe Bar, with its white bar counter, dark red wall coverings and distinctive shape – how can a bar this famous be this small? – and the Lord Mayor's Lounge for afternoon tea, quiet evening drinks or just all-day lounging.

The old Shelbourne Bar and restaurant have been replaced by No 27, which runs alongside Kildare Street but also overlooks St Stephen's Green, and the Saddle Room restaurant. The black stone bar has stripped dark wood floors, and three walls decorated with murals by Victor Richardson illustrate different elevations of St Stephen's Green (the fourth wall is where windows look onto the real thing). The rear room along Kildare Street leads through to the Saddle Room and has a framed set of prints depicting Nighttown (from Joyce's Ulysses) by Charles Cullen.

The Saddle Room is a modern steak and seafood restaurant with oak walls and leather banquettes. Executive chef John Mooney is visible in an open kitchen, while the oyster bar serves produce sourced from West Clare, Carlingford, Galway and France. When we visited in late May, people were queuing for tables (and also for No 27).

The modern art in evidence throughout the reception areas is extremely impressive and includes works by contemporary Irish artists Louis le Brocquy (whose tapestry Cuchulainn VIII hangs over the restored marble fireplace in the lobby); Tony O'Malley and Stephen McKenna (in the anteroom); Barrie Cooke, Hughie O'Donoghue, Martin Finnin and Breon O'Casey (abstract pieces in the Lord Mayor's Lounge); and Cian McLoughlin (the characters from Waiting for Godot in the reception area).

As a result of the renovation, the number of rooms has been increased to 265 rooms and 19 suites, 11 of which are named after famous guests. There are 12 conference and banqueting suites including the Constitution Room, where the Irish Constitution was drafted in 1922 – a recently purchased copy is on display, as well as some of the original chairs (including Michael Collins'). The new ballroom is large (350 guests for dinner) and the spa will be opening later this year.

Reservations expressed locally are to do with the service, specifically language difficulties with the staff. However, this is less likely to bother international travellers who are used to making the effort to make themselves understood, and are not accustomed as the local market is to treating the hotel as their front room.

The real problem is rather that the public areas are so popular with Dubliners that, if travelling on your own, you are unlikely to find No 27 a particularly congenial place for a drink or a bite to eat, because it is so busy. But the staff are happy to serve you in the Lord Mayor's Lounge, which is a comfortable place to while away an hour or two in the evening.

VERDICT The return of the Shelbourne has been long awaited, and is proving to be a great success. Even competing hotels have welcomed it back, if only so it can push their own room rates even higher.

PRICES Internet rates for a midweek stay in July started at Eur 265 for a standard Guest Room. Weekend rates started at €285.

Westin Dublin

At College Green; tel +353 1 645 1000; westin.com

The Westin is in the centre of town, opposite Trinity College, and is in part constructed from a renovated bank building. Signs of the heritage are mainly restricted to the former Banking Hall ballroom (160 for dinner, 250 theatre-style), dating from 1863, with its four chandeliers crafted from 8,000 pieces of Egyptian crystal and its foyer and staircase (separate entrance on College Street).

The 163 rooms are set around a central atrium – "traditional" rooms look on to this and are quiet and good value, the rest look out on to side streets and, although there is good double-glazing, light sleepers might want to bear in mind the reputation for late-night revelry of the next-door Temple Bar area.

There are three room categories in all: traditional (35, all with atrium views), deluxe (slightly larger, with exterior views) and 17 suites. There are 14 sets of interconnecting rooms (so 28 in total), and the fourth floor is reserved for members of Starwood's Preferred Guests loyalty scheme. Toiletries are Westin, with Molton Brown in the suites and for VIPs.

As well as the Atrium Lounge there is the Exchange restaurant for breakfast, buffet lunch and evening meals. This has a rather ugly multicoloured mural on the wall, and although adequate for breakfast and perhaps lunch, is hardly a fine-dining venue. The Mint bar in the basement is for less formal food, as well as late-night entertainment, and is almost as popular as the Shelbourne. It is a vibrant place, and with its street entrance is a popular late-night spot for salsa dancing and jazz evenings. It opens late and, although the noise is well contained within the basement area, solitary business travellers may find it a little daunting (or may rise to the challenge – Dublin isn't a place for shrinking violets).

There is car parking available, but it is limited and should be booked in advance. The hotel has no spa, but does have an arrangement with Melt in Temple Bar – guests can either go over, or order an in-room spa experience. There is limited parking which should be reserved in advance.

VERDICT Viewed as a package, the Westin is hard to beat for location, service, and, apart from the banking hall, a kind of comforting anonymity. It hides behind a rather corporate facade, yet it has an almost invisible charm which works on you so after leaving you miss it – as a result, it runs at a consistently high rate of occupancy both during the week and at weekends.

PRICES Internet rates for a midweek stay in mid-July started at €254 for a Traditional Room. Weekend rates (limited availability) started at €294 for a Deluxe Room.

Radisson SAS St Helens

Stillorgan Road; tel +353 1 218 6000; radissonsas.com

The Radisson SAS is about three miles out of central Dublin along the N11 Stillorgan Road which takes you out through Ballsbridge to Booterstown. Housed in a 18th-century mansion which was taken over by Radisson in 1998, the hotel is billed as a five-star on the web site, but is actually a good four-star. The grounds are attractive, and service is friendly, but there is room for improvement: checking in early to leave my bags for the day, I tipped the porter who took care of them. Returning five hours later I was disappointed to see them still sitting on the luggage trolley by the front door, especially since there was a door on the other side of reception marked "luggage". The décor of the hotel, though smart, is dated, and for a hotel that relies for its business on leisure, meetings and groups, it would make sense to have more leisure facilities: there is no swimming pool, only a small gym and no spa, but this is a reflection of the age of the hotel.

There are plenty of positives, however. There's a real sense of being outside town, so it might be a good choice for someone needing to spend a prolonged period on business in Dublin, and with a hire car the Wicklow Mountains are easily accessed. As well as complimentary parking for 220 cars, the 151 rooms and suites all have free internet access: an excellent innovation in all Radisson properties.

The bedrooms are in a four-storey block faced in Portland stone to match the original building, with those at the back having a view of the gardens, those at the front, the entrance and the front gardens. There's a good Italian restaurant – Talavera – with light meals, the ballroom lounge for afternoon tea, and the Orangerie Bar, this last a lovely light place with an attractive tiled bar.

There are also 11 meeting rooms, and the hotel can cater for almost 1,000 guests for an exhibition or show, and it is clear that during the week this is a major source of business. Some of the meeting rooms have lovely views over the gardens.

VERDICT An unusual location, but if your business is taking you out of town, a useful one, with only a short drive to the M50.

PRICES Internet rates for a midweek stay in mid-July started at €145 for a Deluxe Room. Weekend rates started at €175 for two people including breakfast.

Park Plaza Tyrrelstown

Church Street , Tyrrelstown; tel +353 1 827 5600; parkplaza.com

One of the more interesting aspects of the growth of new hotels in Dublin is the concentration of properties around the airport. Hilton, Carlton, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn all have excellent new-build hotels in this area, partly because of the airport, but also because of the convenience of the location for business travellers arriving from the north.

The Park Plaza isn't an airport hotel; instead it is in Tyrrelstown, a new-build area of retail parks and high-end industrial zones which also includes Blanchardstown Corporate Park and huge shopping centre, as well as the National Aquatic Centre (swimming pools, not performing seals). The corporate park is home to companies such as eBay, Paypal, IBM, Tesco and Nike, and as a result the hotel, which with its 220 parking spaces looks like an attractive white elephant to the first-time visitor, in fact is packed every night, with the bars and the restaurants heaving with well-dressed corporate types being extremely sociable.

The 155 rooms (127 Superior, seven Executive, 11 Junior and two Superior Suites, and eight rooms adapted for the less-abled) are equipped with all the amenities you would expect: fax and modem points, flatscreen TVs, EU/US power sockets, iron and ironing board, a large work desk, minibar, tea and coffee facilities, a laptop safe and on-demand movie and music channels. Fast and free wired and wireless internet access is also available throughout – some day, all hotels will be like this.

Executive rooms and suites are housed in the central rotunda of the hotel, and offer in addition a bathrobe and slippers, upgraded bathroom amenities, a complimentary morning newspaper and access to a private lounge on the first floor.

The public areas are all cleverly designed, and since the hotel is shaped rather like a clock, with the two wings resembling the hands, this theme is carried through in pictures of famous clocks, clock motifs in the carpets, the names of the meeting rooms and the Moroccan-themed Hourglass bar.

The first-floor executive lounge has a library, TV and a business centre with three terminals with free internet access and the ability to print for free from them. There is a self-contained conference area with its own entrance, a café, and 11 conference rooms with a capacity of up to 500 (the main room will hold up to 350 people cocktail-style and has natural light). The fitness suite, also on the first floor, is small but well-equipped and air-conditioned.

The main restaurant, Maya-Ché, serves a whirlwind tour of world cuisine from tequila-cured salmon (€7.95) to Thai curries and western favourites such as steaks (two-course meal €29.95, three courses €34.95); ingredients are organic and locally sourced where possible.

VERDICT A truly excellent hotel , ideal for visiting the high-tech companies nearby.

PRICES Internet rates for a midweek stay in July started at €125 for a Superior Room. Weekend rates start at €105 with breakfast.

ALSO OPENING:

Radisson SAS Royal Hotel

As well as a Radisson SAS at Dublin airport, a new property has just opened on the crossroads of Chancery Lane and Golden Lane, behind Dublin Castle in the centre of town. The E90 million hotel forms a part of a E280 million rejuvenation project, which also includes luxury apartments, restaurants, offices and retail blocks. It is a contemporary design by Anthony Reddy Associates, with interior design by Graven Images including much use of local materials such as Connemara marble and slate.

The 150 rooms (including suites) all come with flatscreen TVs, coffee and tea facilities, and free high-speed and wireless internet. Meetings business is well catered for, mainly on the first floor, which has a boardroom and a video-conferencing room, all with natural daylight, a ballroom which can be divided into three meeting spaces, and a pre-function area for up to 400. Each room has audiovisual and conferencing equipment. There is also a dedicated top-floor function area catering for up to 300 guests with fabulous views of Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains.

In the public areas, an all-day brasserie, Verres en Vers, and a lounge bar were, at the time of writing (and the hard hat tour) promising to match other new-build Radisson properties of recent years such as Stansted and Berlin.

Others to consider

The Merrion has proved outstanding since it opened in 1997, and is this year celebrating its 10th anniversary under general manager Peter McCann. Short on large meeting rooms, long on everything else, including the excellent Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, the Cellar Bar in the original wine vaults, the Tethra Spa and some of the finest renovated Georgian interiors you will see in Dublin behind the four restored Georgian (1760) townhouses. It also, like the Shelbourne, has some outstanding Irish modern art.

Other five-star options include the Fitzwilliam, the Morrison, the Clarence and the Conrad, the last of which has recently finished an extremely thorough makeover (go to businesstraveller.com for our review from September 2004) and has some top-class meeting options, particularly with the grand ballroom being on the same level and next to the bar and the restaurant, with the meeting rooms on the first floor accessible by a convenient staircase just outside. The Plurabelle restaurant has been replaced by Alex (pictured), and the lobby area is now far brighter and more modern.

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