Across the river from The Morrison, this hotel is partly owned by Bono, the frontman for the rock band U2 and recent venture capitalist. Despite his reputation as a free-wheeling partier, this place wears pinstripes, and the room tariffs are more in step with the bad guys he rails about in song then the audience he sings to. Still, his interest in the Clarence is purely profit, and this popular high-end design hotel appears to be making plenty of it.
Service here is prompt and deferential. In fact, its old-school formal tack is blue-blood bourgeois.
Founded in 1852, the property was a declining middle-grade house until its 1996 reincarnation as a posh 50-room boutique-hotel. These days it blends old-world attributes with modern chic. Inside the oak-paneled reception area, attentive staffers greet guests and turn a cold shoulder to gawkers. A fire warms the 24-hour study, ornamented with flowers, original artwork and a long antique hand-carved table.
The skylighted octagonal bar, a vestige of days past, features antique writing tables, a small corner fireplace, leather club chairs, and bar food into
the night. The Tea Room is a misnomer, as it is in fact one of Dublin's best and most expensive restaurants. Mathieu Melin, the new chef, oversees the creation of Irish-inspired dishes that tell of international influences even with the all-domestic ingredients. The room is a light, spacious enclave with a six-m-high cove ceiling, marble and mosaic fittings, light oak furniture, banquette seating, and double-height windows scanning the Temple Bar scene. The lower level houses a nightclub where Bono and The Edge occasionally taunt the plebes.
The three meeting rooms can be joined to host 120 people for cocktails. Valet parking runs $30 per night. Pets are not allowed.
Decorated in rich cardinal colors and earth tones, the guest quarters are decidedly modern and definitely unique, with such unconventional features as wall-mounted candles. Velvet curtains create privacy around beds in some. The specially commissioned oak furniture is almost Shaker-like in its austerity, and the leather chairs, hand-rolled colored glass, wrought-iron bedside lamps, and nickel-plated desk lamps are equally stylish. Rooms have new flat-screen TVs with DVDs, but that is the extent of the improvements of late. The hotel is slated to begin a complete makeover beginning in early 2008. Minibars, safes, hair dryers, king beds with duvets, closets, full-length mirrors, double glazing, and combination baths with bidets are in all. Suites face the river and are air-conditioned; many of the rooms face the streets and are not. The largest standard room is 210. The charming 508 studio opens onto a private terrace with dramatic views of Dublin, a table for alfresco dining, and chairs for sunning. It also costs one-third of the penthouse suite. Room service runs round the clock.
This posh pedestal to capitalism is an excellent boutique hotel that bests The Morrison, but ironically its stiffness allays itself most with corporate types.
Editor's Notes
Bono and The Edge won a four-year legal battle to reshape their staid Dublin hotel into a futuristic landmark. The decision apparently goes up against Ireland's conservative planning laws. The country's planning board approved a $235 million renovation plan to overhaul and dramatically expand the hotel. The new complex would triple the number of guest rooms to 166. It would include a huge glass-roof atrium. July 2008
