Boutique Hotels in Dublin
The Daily Telegraph recently ran a piece on luxury hotels in Dublin - here’s some of the highlights:
The Dylan. One of the best boutique hotels in Dublin - or anywhere else for that matter.
15 minutes from St Stephen’s Green, the hotel is in a quiet and leafy affluent street with good restaurants nearby.
Feels like an exclusive nightclub, the interior design is gaudy, but this boutique hotel is anything but boring: crimson carpets, wacky furniture and zany lights.
Each of the 44 bedrooms is individually designed, they all come with an iPod loaded with funky music, plasma TV and powerful hairdryer. The bathrooms are small (some are shower only) and are stocked with Etro products.
Excellent service, attentive and unobtrusive - one’s entire stay feels tailor-made.
Contact: 00353 1 600 3000; www.dylan.ie. Doubles from £275.
The Fitzwilliam Hotel
Overlooking St Stephen’s Green from the west, with Grafton Street almost on its doorstep.
Conran Designed 10 years old with a room refurbishment underway. A lime green and purple colour scheme lend it a fresh and interesting look.
The lobby’s bold colour scheme is being introduced across all 130 or so rooms. The bathrooms are lovely, with stylish mosaics. The smallest (”Executive”) rooms are compact and many lack a decent view. The fifth-floor ‘Superior” rooms are divine - a good size and great views over the park.
Contact 00353 1 478 7000; www.fitzwilliamhotel.com. Doubles from £259.
Brownes is a quiet townhouse on the north side of St Stephen’s Green.
Formerly a society residence and then a gentlemen’s club, this traditional Dublin townhouse is stunning from the outside and quiet and refined within. Wooden floors, green walls and grandfather chair add a sense of charming creakiness to the lobby, and the reception, with a fireplace and huge windows looking over the green, is intimate and restful. It may seem a little worn but that is part of its appeal. Perfect for those who want to feel as if they are in old-world Dublin. And for Irish literary enthusiasts, Samuel Beckett was once a guest.
The 11 rooms are small and have low ceilings, but the simple yet tasteful furnishings make them seem homely.
Contact: 00353 1 638 3939; www.brownesdublin.com. Doubles from £175.
Aer Lingus (0870 8765000; www.aerlingus.com) flies several times a day from Heathrow to Dublin. The prices are competitive with Ryanair, but have the advantage of seat allocation. Ryanair (0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com) has multiple daily flights to Dublin from Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. For further information on Dublin and the rest of Ireland visit www.discoverireland.com or call 0800 039 7000.