The Conrad Hotel are amping up five star standard in Dublin

Archive - all the best places to eat, shop and stay in Ireland. A local guide to local places.

Making the decision to stay in Dublin's Conrad Hotel is a doozy.
Not because of the location – it could hardly be better – or the comfort – high luxe, especially after their big refurb last year.
No, the decision to choose the Conrad is a doozy simply because the staff in the hotel are superb. Explain to the concierge that you are off to see the Caravaggio exhibition, and he tells the story of how the painter made holes in the ceiling of his studio to let in the light. The mixologist in Lemuel’s bar can give chapter and verse on all the drinks they have created to celebrate Jonathan Swift’s immortal masterpiece, Gulliver’s Travels, and we would happily crawl to Earlsfort Terrace to have the Ship on the Rocks: havana rum, rhubabrb and ginger liqueur; fresh lime juice; sugar syrup. The bar is also a great place for meeting, and even doing some serious work: we had a big meeting that went on and on and on, whilst everyone around us was having afternoon tea and drinks, and the incongruity was kind of delightful.
The menu selection at breakfast is an A1 example of how to source good ingredients – Bretzel breads; G’s jams; Kilkenny bacon; Dublin sausages; Glenilen dairy products; cheeses from Cork and Tipperary. At every point, there is a team member who is doing their best to read your mind, which is exactly what a friend who stayed here had written to us: “Every member of staff were fantastic and friendly, helpful and welcoming, even the cleaning team were smiley and welcoming. There must be a good working atmosphere….  you know, happy managers equal happy staff. It was as if everything I wanted was right there...”