The Merrion

O veredicto

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The Merrion is Dublin's grande dame — four Georgian townhouses on Upper Merrion Street, opposite the Government Buildings and Leinster House, restored in 1997 into 142 rooms and suites that house Ireland's most important hotel art collection (one of the largest private collections of 19th-and-20th-century Irish art on public view, including Jack B. Yeats and Louis le Brocquy). For a Dublin honeymoon, this is the address — quieter and more elegant than the Westbury or Conrad, central enough to walk to Trinity College, Grafton Street, the National Gallery, and the Iveagh Gardens, and home to Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud (Ireland's only two-Michelin-star restaurant since 1989). The 23m basement pool, full spa, and the celebrated Art Tea (afternoon tea with pastries themed on the hotel's art collection) are all destination-quality. The two-night Dublin honeymoon bookend (one before the west-coast castles, one after) is the right move — the Merrion's location at the corner of Merrion Square (the most beautiful Georgian square in the city) puts you steps from the Yeats's birthplace, Wilde's childhood home, and the best of the National Gallery. The Garden Wing rooms (overlooking the formal garden) are quieter than the main-house street-facing rooms. The Tara Suite (the original Penthouse) and the Lord Holland Suite are the suite-of-suites. Service is unfussy, polished, and very Irish — the staff want to chat, they know everyone in the city, and the concierge desk has a long-standing reputation as the best in the country for difficult-restaurant reservations. The honeymoon weakness: Dublin in July rains, and the hotel pool/spa, while excellent, doesn't match the country-estate alternatives on the west coast. The honeymoon strength: this is the most cultured, civilized hotel in Ireland, and the start-or-end of a trip should anchor here.

Detalhamento da pontuação

83/100