The Merrion, Dublin
History lesson.
Opened in the mid 1990s, The Merrion Hotel has quickly established itself among the elite of Dublin's luxury hotels. Despite being a favourite of Robbie Williams and others of the jet set, this is no nouveau riche arriviste. The old-world grandeur of The Merrion, its elegant Georgian spaces and its impeccably maintained city gardens have an hauteur of which Jeeves would be proud. To walk in the doors of its carefully restored but unassuming terraced façade is not just to feel you are special, but to know you are. Add in an attentive but discreetly understated service and there is no surprise that many people feel that this is the best hotel in Dublin.
The hotel is formed from four terraced Georgian houses on Merrion Street, with a contemporary garden wing extending out the back inside most of a city block. This is the same row of houses in which the Duke of Wellington (or rather "The" Duke of W. - presumably there were more than one of them) was born and in which Christy Brown, the author of My Left Foot visited often the offices of the Central Remedial Clinic. Brian O Nuallain, AKA Flann O'Brien, AKA Myles Na gCopaleen, also worked here in his civil service days. So there's past and recent history here.
Across the road lies the newly restored splendour of Government Buildings, formerly the School of Engineering of UCD. Alongside is Merrion Square. Stephen's Green and Grafton Street are five minutes' walk away and if you're on business you are right at the start of the business districts of Dublin 2 and 4, so you probably won't even need to take a taxi to make that appointment.
Accommodation
The Merrion has 145 bedrooms and suites. As you would expect in a 5 star hotel of this kind each has individually controlled air-conditioning, telephones (3 per room!) with voice mail, fax machines with email and broadband internet connection, as well as satellite TV, minibar, safe, hairdryer and trouser press.
Room service, valet service and concierge are all 24-hour and, despite the city centre location, valet parking is available for guests. Although this is supposed to be for overnight guests a colleague who met me for a meeting there reported that when he entered removing his crash helmet they offered to park his motor bike for him and, when he demurred, promised to mind it for him instead. (This was for a one-hour meeting!)
Guests can also avail of the hotel's laundry, dry cleaning and ironing service.
Oh, and judging by their pictures, these may be the most spectacular bathrooms in Dublin.
Wining & Dining
Two award-winning restaurants, two bars, a swimming pool and spa: you'll be able to relax and socialise to your heart's content at The Merrion.
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud has won more awards than any other restaurant in Dublin. Overlooking the hotel's gardens, they combine the best of French cuisine with the finest Irish ingredients and service.
If you can't book Patrick Guilbaud's (and you may need to) try the Cellar Restaurant. With a range of reasonably-priced menus, this is popular with hotel guests and Dubliners alike.
The Cellar Bar, in the original wine cellars of the Georgian houses, is also popular with local business people, making it a lively place for a social evening. For more seclusion, try the intimate surroundings of the No. 23 cocktail bar inside the hotel. Here you can enjoy warm fires and the hotel's unique art collection in an historic and homely setting.
For a more healthy form of relaxation, the Tethra Spa offers an expansive swimming pool, steam room and luxurious treatment areas, as well as an extensive gym.
Weddings and Conferences
The Merrion has six private dining and meeting rooms, all magnificently restored within the former home of the 1st Duke of Wellington. Holding up to 100 people each, they are fully equipped for modern conferencing. Ask at the hotel or contact the guys at Booknow (see the banner below) for further details.
It is impossible to do justice to a hotel like The Merrion in such a a short space as this. This is the kind of hotel that works to be the best, and only a few hotels in Dublin can compete with them (The Westin and The Clarence spring to mind).
As an example, art lovers will love the proximity of the Merrion Hotel to the National Gallery of Art, but The Merrion itself boasts one of the finest private collections of 19th and 20th century art in the city. If you know your Irish art, consider this: on the walls of The Merrion Hotel are works by Paul Henry, Mamie Jellet, Nathaniel Hone, Louis Le Brocquy, William Leech, Jack B. Yeats, Roderick O'Connor and Harry Kernoff, amongst others.
History.
Class.
Reservations
|
For reservations contact: |
To check prices and availability or book online:
|
The Merrion Dublin
Upper Merrion Street
Dublin 2
Web: www.merrionhotel.com |
|
|
