The Clarence, Dublin, Ireland
The Clarence 5 Stars
“U2 has given this classic Regency hotel a facelift, transforming it into a hotspot in Dublin that ages as well as the band.”
Hotel Overview
Review of The Clarence, by Helen Ochyra
There are no sweeping entranceways or trumpeting towers greet you on arrival at Dublin’s Clarence hotel; instead you’ll encounter an understated elegance that gently whispers true luxury. The calm and collected reception belies this boutique hotel’s rock-star credentials: built in 1852 on the site of the city’s old Customs House, The Clarence was a favourite haunt of U2 stars Bono and The Edge as they made their name across the road at the Project Arts Centre. After falling in love with, predictably enough, the bar, they bought the hotel back in 1992 and lavished it with an extensive refurbishment.
Now the haunt of Dublin’s international business executives, chic family groups and hip young professionals, the Octagon Bar remains as unstuffy as the boys in the band themselves, its leather banquette corners and cosy snug providing the perfect place to meet for anything from a simple pint to a stylish cocktail by award-winning resident mixologist Szabi. Across the hall the uncluttered Tea Room restaurant serves up contemporary Irish cuisine under the soaring coved ceiling of the original ballroom, its natural simplicity harmonising with the rest of the hotel’s pure, elegant feel.
No two of the 48 bedrooms and suites are alike but each features the same rich colour palette of ecclesiastical crimsons, blues and purples, providing the perfect contrast to white American oak floors and simple Shaker-style furniture. The king-size bed is of the type that envelops you the instant you perch on its piles of white linens and the room is one of the largest I’ve stayed in in this price bracket.
Wifi is free throughout and every room has a flatscreen TV, rocking radio system and a range of luxurious toiletries by Anne Semonin. Although there’s no kettle, there is a full complement of room service and Temple Bar with its numerous eateries and watering holes is right outside – though this could prove to be the main drawback if you’re more of a lark than a night owl.
For those with rock-star-sized wallets the duplex Penthouse with its baby grand piano, panoramic rooftop terrace and outdoor hot tub can’t be beaten for sheer opulence and has provided a home away from home to Michael Douglas, Sandra Bullock and Jack Nicholson. Alternatively you can stay in The Edge’s favourite room, the Garden Terrace Suite, which comes complete with sweeping views of the city.
I may not have been rock-star enough for the Penthouse, but thanks to the impeccable standard of service I received (including a spot-on restaurant recommendation) I felt as well looked after as one. And that to me is what real luxury is all about.
Facilities
Hotel Policies
Awards
"Gold List", Conde Nast Traveller 05Who stays here?
The boutique hotel is owned U2's Bono and The Edge, so you can expect to run into their celebrity friends in the lobby.
Come for...
- Exuberant nightlife within easy stumbling distance
- Impeccable, friendly service
- Celeb spotting
Not Suitable for...
- Light sleepers
Children
The hotel is very family-friendly, offering extra beds for children up to 16, a babysitting service, a kid
Eating in
Good, unpretentious Euro-Irish in the beautiful Tea Room restaurant.
The Press Say
“Stop for a cocktail in the Hexagon Bar or stay in Joyce-land at The Brazen Head on Winetavern Street, Dublin's oldest pub, where live traditional music drowns out the traffic.” Independent 06Reviews
Review of The Clarence, by Angela Moore
The Clarence boutique hotel in Dublin, Ireland is given immediate cachet by the fact that it's owned by two members of U2, Bono and the Edge. "The boys," as the staff fondly call them, stay here when they're in town.
The facilities
Inside, The Clarence is arrestingly unique. It has been a boutique hotel since the 1850s, when it was a favourite resting place for clergymen and nuns. When "the boys" bought the boutique hotel and refurbished it completely in 1996, they stuck with this ecclesiastical theme. The results are cathedral-high ceilings, limestone floors, gorgeously solemn arts-and-crafts windows that flood the sitting room with light and plenty of pale oak panelling. The low leather bucket seats are in the jewel colours of a cardinal's robes: crimson and royal blue and purple and chocolate. Modish sculptural lighting matches the flower arrangements and the huge, muted modern paintings on the walls. Considering it was designed ten years ago, it has aged amazingly well - but then again so have U2.
Follow a hallway through to the Temple Bar side of the boutique hotel to find the eight-sided Octagon Bar, below its octagonal dome, where an eclectic collection of Dubliners come to eat, drink and gossip in the bar's tiny snug. The Tea Room restaurant is in what was the original ballroom - it's rather like a chapel, with another soaring ceiling, streaming light, white oak, whiter linen and private dining in a minstrel's gallery.
The rooms
The Clarence's 48 rooms are more contemporary than the rest of the boutique hotel but have the same high levels of detail in their custom-made features, like the light fittings. There are witty touches playing on the church theme - stained glass bedside lamps, coloured glass in the candle sconces on the walls. Beds and furniture are Shaker-style in the same white oak as elsewhere in the house - big, solid, comfortable, piled with white linen. As you would imagine, music systems are absolutely top-notch. Smart bathrooms have over-tub showers and pots of custom-blended aromatherapy gels and lotions.
Rooms at the back of the boutique hotel have little balconies that give a view over Temple Bar, with the sea to your left and Guinness land to your right. Light sleepers: it's probably worth keeping in mind that Temple Bar is where Dublin comes to party; you may do better with a room at the front facing the Liffey. Better still, take the sexy duplex penthouse: two master bedrooms with their own baths, a living room, a dining room, a full kitchen and a blow-out full-length loft with baby grand piano, bar and hot tub outside on the roof terrace. Now that's rock'n'roll!