You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.
Aptly described by a guest as a "non-view", this is what you'll see out of some of the rooms of the Camden Court Hotel in Dublin. Camden Court's a pretty big hotel with 264 rooms plus 12 meeting rooms, and an indoor pool--we're not sure what's under this ugly roof here, but perhaps it's the pool, or some of the larger meeting rooms--whatever the cause of this unimpressive flat space, we're definitely labeling it an anti-view.
However, it's not all bad news at Camden Court. For one, they have recently introduced wireless broadband access which is available throughout the hotel (not just in public areas)--although we're not sure that it's complimentary (yet). We hope they're working on it, since these things can be improved, but the bad view probably can't.
Last fall, the renovations plans for the U2 Hotel, aka The Clarence, in Dublin were slammed by preservationists who called the proposed hotel design a bastardisation.
And the fight is getting nastier as a planning board hearing was underway today. Guitarist The Edge stood up for the renovation which would give the hotel a "new building topped with a massive glass dome." He said:
"We feel that while it's very important to preserve the fabric of the period parts of the city, you've got to weigh up the benefits of what would be an incredible coup for Dublin City, a Norman Foster building," he said. "I feel that that outweighs the sacrifice of parts of what are relatively ordinary period buildings."
Oh snap! He just called the city's buildings "ordinary."
While we usually tend to side with preservationists in these types of situations, the promise of adding almost a 100 new rooms making it a total of (140 rooms with 26 suites) to the hotel does sound appealing. Which means more U2 fans can stay there. Hopefully, they will work out a solution.
After finding that the Best Western Madrid does pretty well in the WiFi stakes, we weren't surprised to discover that the same chain is advertising good access in Dublin, too. The Best Western Academy Plaza Hotel in central Dublin boasts free WiFi throughout the hotel; they emphasize that this is throughout the property, including guest bedrooms.
We've been hunting for feedback, but haven't yet heard from anyone who's used the WiFi service. There is also an internet service in guest rooms if you don't have a laptop, and it seems to operate via the television set--one recent guest complained that their room didn't have a remote control for the TV and it had to be operated using the attached keyboard. Really?
Another guest complained this internet access was almost impossible to navigate and they went downstairs to use the computer provided in the lobby instead. Still, connectivity sounds good and if you're prepared with your own equipment, the Academy Plaza is keen to get you wirelessly online for free.
Who's the best person to open a luxury hotel? A trained hotelier fresh from hotel-school? An old dog who's been working his way up the management tree of the Four Seasons? Nope - we say the people who know most about what makes a good luxury hotel are the people that actually stay in them. Celebrities.
It seems like Abba star Benny Andersson's making a success of his Hotel Rival in Stockholm. And Richard Branson's just-opened super-luxury ski-chalet looks set to join his Necker Island fantasy playground and other hotel ventures.
So what about the cheeky chappy Bono and his mates from the band U2, who run the boutique Clarence Hotel in Dublin, Ireland?
You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.
Rooftops are never pretty (with or without tenement laundry) and The Merchant Hotel in Belfast, Ireland is just the latest in our Anti-View collection.
The Notorious Meg dropped this photo into the HotelChatter Flickr Pool along with dozens of other snapshot from hotels around the world that we encourage you to scope out.
In fact, of all the photos Meg contributed this is probably the ugliest. And we can't believe we are about to say this but its kinda the prettiest rooftop view we ever did see. It looks like there is a piece of art on the wall and at least the other rooms get to look out at some potted topiaries.
Dublin's new Dylan Hotel is getting huge hype at the moment, and we're curious about why. Recent guests just can't rave enough about it, and one comment seems to sum up everybody else's: "We really couldn't find one negative thing to say".
Many positive comments about this 44-room boutique hotel in the south side of Dublin refer to the friendly and helpful staff. For example, they aren't "over pampering" and they don't "try to be ubercool." One guest said she and her family hugged and kissed all the staff as they left, since they'd been made to feel so welcome there.
It all sounds great, but the Dylan marketing team somehow decided to put together a VIP Shopping Package as a lure for guests. For what it's worth, the package includes a double room and breakfast, two $70 vouchers to spend at department store Brown Thomas, a foot spa for tired feet after a shopping spree and an in-room movie and popcorn to relax at the end of the day.
That package comes for $640 which is decent value, but personally we'd head to Dublin for other reasons than to go shopping. Just staying at the Dylan seems like a good enough reason, in fact.
U2's Bono is having some problems getting his renovation plans for The Clarence Hotel off the ground in Dublin. The Telegraph is reporting that Dublin traditionalists are object to the hotel's funky architecture:
The U2 singer has put forward plans for a dramatic structure with a spaceship-shaped glass dome at the summit of an extraordinary atrium extending from the basement to the rooftop. It has been described as a "skycatcher" and a "white hovering halo."
Bono is hoping to make this hotel a destination spot for Dublin but the city's environmental authority organization, An Taisce, says the plans "would dwarf neighbouring buildings and dominate the area." And they really hate the plan as one member of An Taisce called it a "bastardisation" and "a Fosteresque 21st-century rock star bubble." Ouch.
HotelChatter had an operative in Ireland last week who has so graciously forwarded us reviews of some hotels. This is the third in a three-part series.
The property was built hundreds of years ago and has been nicely updated. The rooms were spacious and had many modern luxuries. The hotel had various restaurants and bars. It is also just a short walk from the water and the city.
Overall, this was a very upscale and impressive hotel. If your looking for a great experience in Ireland we highly recommend staying at these hotels. Slainte!
As for the "castle" part of the hotel, that only seems to apply to the exterior as the hotel website claims the "turrets, tapestries and an ancient history, the thick Castle walls conceal a hotel interior that would not be out of place in Manhattan or Miami." And the €10 million makeover helped turn it into a savvy boutique hotel as well.
Actually most of the public areas still look like the inside of a castle, complete with a knight's armor and sword standing ready to greet you. Yet it's the rooms that have been modernized with new furniture new baths and 28" LCD screen TVs. Rates start at about €250 a night.
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by amandak
