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U2 Hotel Renovations Approved So Long as Rooftop is Open to the Public

Where: 6-8 Wellington Quay, Dublin, Ireland, 2

The rock band U2 has been struggling to get the addition/renovation plans for their Dublin Hotel, The Clarence, approved for quite some time now.

Initially, the city's preservationists called the plans a "bastardisation" but it looks like Bono and Co. will get their way after all. The Belfast Telegraph reports:

The Republic's planning board, An Bord Pleanala, has granted planning permission for a controversial redevelopment of the Clarence Hotel on the Dublin quays, but included an unusual condition that the public must have access to the fabled 'sky bar' which is an intrinsic part of the plans.

True, that might mean the rock stars, celebrities and dignitaries Bono wants to host at his hotel may have to rub elbows with the common folk but we say he'll just have to deal with that.

Now that the plans have been approved, the hotel can begin construction which will quadruple the size of the hotel and include a huge glass atrium as well as an indoor pool.

[Photo: Informatique]

Tags: Celebrity Hotels / Dublin Hotels / Hotel News / Bono / The Edge / → All Tags

The Edge Sticks Up for The U2 Hotel's Planned Renovations

Where: 6-8 Wellington Quay, Dublin, Ireland, 2

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.

[Photo: Informatique]

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Bono's Hotel Plans Strike Pride In the Name of Angry Dubliners

Where: 6-8 Wellington Quay, Dublin, Ireland, 2

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.

[Photo: O'Poole]

Related Stories:
· Bono's hotel plan angers Dublin traditionalists [The Telegraph]