Four Seasons Hotel Dublin

Ireland
Europe

The Experience

When it opened in 2001, the Irish had to warm to this American-style hotel that seemed disproportionately large for the red brick mansions and embassies of Dublin's leafy Ballsbridge. But now they're mad for it, and the property's become a favorite venue for private parties and glitzy premieres, creating a lively backdrop for the leisure traveler. It's not in the heart of Dublin's city center (you're 10 minutes away by taxi), but the neighborhood is cosmopolitan with excellent local restaurants. And come bedtime, you'll appreciate the quiet locale, well out of earshot of Dublin's increasingly raucous nightlife.

The Rooms

Because this is a new high-rise-style hotel, basic rooms are large by Dublin standards (447 square feet), and suites (starting at 1,094 square feet) are thought out like mini-apartments, allowing for the bedroom area to be closed off from the sitting room with French doors. A green-and-white palette of prints and stripes and copies of Irish antique furniture create an elegant setting and offer a general sense of locality. And views, of the hotel's gardens or surrounding neighborhood, are uniformly pleasing.

The Service

Service meets the highest international standards, with crackerjack concierges who will arrange everything from show-jumping lessons or a hack at a nearby stable to days of heli-golf on Ireland's top courses.

The Highlights

Because the hotel's restaurants have become Dublin must-dos, you won't find yourself the only one in the room of the award-winning Seasons. Here you can dine on Dublin Bay prawns or a grilled loin of spiced lamb. Take advantage of the excellent spa, with its well-trained therapists and a sun-dappled 46-foot indoor lap pool, which feels more like a country retreat than a city hotel. Wind down the day sipping a hot toddy in The Bar (which has a fine selection of Irish whiskeys, naturally) or in the Ice lounge, where you'll see hot local artists on the walls and plenty of Dublin's prosperous Celtic Tiger cubs on the prowl.

 

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