Merrion Square / Georgian Dublin

The Merrion

★★★★★

The Merrion is Dublin's most refined luxury hotel, the place where visiting heads of state, rock stars and old-money travellers stay when they want calm rather than spectacle. It occupies four Grade I listed Georgian townhouses built in the 1760s on Upper Merrion Street, directly opposite Government Buildings, the home of the Irish government, and a contemporary Garden Wing added behind them, with two formal eighteenth-century-style gardens in between. One of the houses, No. 24, known as Mornington House, is remembered as the birthplace of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington. The restoration, which began in the mid-1990s, was meticulous: the main house's drawing rooms have ornate plasterwork ceilings, marble fireplaces and tall sash windows, and the whole hotel is hung with one of the most important private collections of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Irish art, with works by Jack B. Yeats and many of the country's leading painters. The hotel's Art Afternoon Tea, served in the drawing rooms in front of open fires, features pastries inspired by paintings in the collection and is one of Dublin's signature treats. There are 123 rooms and 19 suites, a choice of two restaurants and two bars — including the vaulted Cellar Bar — and a spa with a swimming pool. The location is quietly perfect: Merrion Square and the National Gallery are around the corner, St Stephen's Green is a few minutes' walk, and Grafton Street and Trinity are within ten.

Choosing a room: the Main House rooms and suites are the romantic choice, with high ceilings, period proportions and views over the gardens or the street, while the Garden Wing rooms are more contemporary, generally quieter and often look over the gardens too. Suites range from elegant one-bedrooms to grand signature suites, some with the hotel's best views and art. Whatever you book, ask for a garden view; watching the gardens change through the day from a Georgian window is part of the pleasure.

Eating and drinking: the Merrion is home to some of Dublin's most celebrated dining, and the complex includes the renowned Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, one of the city's most famous fine-dining rooms, run independently of the hotel. The hotel's own restaurants and bars range from relaxed all-day dining to the atmospheric Cellar Bar in the original vaulted cellars. Afternoon tea is the essential experience for guests and non-guests alike, and booking ahead is necessary at weekends and in December. The spa, with its pool, is a welcome retreat after a long day of walking.

Who it suits: couples on a special trip, art lovers, and travellers who value quiet luxury and excellent service over a party atmosphere. It is less suited to those who want a buzzy bar scene on the doorstep, although the classic pubs of Merrion Row and Baggot Street, including O'Donoghue's with its music sessions, are only a few minutes away. Rates are among the highest in Dublin, but the combination of history, art, gardens and calm in the heart of Georgian Dublin is unique.