Patsey Murphyvisits the Fitzwilliam Hotel, Dublin
COMPETITION is hotting up on St Stephen's Green, with Richard Corrigan set to open rooms as well as a restaurant at Bentley's Townhouse and the Bang brothers primed to open their club, the Residence, with its rear garden terraces overlooking the laneway where the Unicorn crowd likes to linger.
In keeping with all this action, the Fitzwilliam Hotel has just refurbished its 132 rooms and elaborate penthouse suite to attract more traffic through its doors.
It's 10 years since Terence Conran brought "baronial modern" design to Dublin at the Fitzwilliam, a hotel that has had its royal ups and downs in that period. The construction of the Luas terminal at its front door must have seemed interminable for a time, and its centrepiece, Kevin Thornton's Michelin-starred restaurant, has been redesigned and redefined a number of times since replacing Conrad Gallagher's Peacock Alley. Thornton's was reassuringly busy on a midweek evening this week, which suggests there is still money sloshing around out there after all.
To be honest, my mind was not on food but on Ireland's under-20s under pressure from New Zealand in Cardiff. So I abandoned friends and retired to a sixth-floor room to watch the match on Setanta Sports and shout at the telly. To no avail, alas. The only good thing about this scenario was that I was not in Cardiff itself, a place so rough that it makes Temple Bar on a Friday night look like a tidy town of tasteful teetotallers.
By half-time I found myself staring out the window at a view I hadn't expected: a well-groomed cityscape with perfect box hedges, clipped bay trees, a manicured courtyard and a boardwalk. Almost Parisian.
It came as a surprise to discover this garden behind the hotel, as well as the sparkling Bank of Scotland offices overlooking it.
In fact the Fitzwilliam is full of surprises, and it's something of a mystery why it hasn't quite acquired the iconic status of, say, the Shelbourne or the Merrion, given its location. Foreign and corporate visitors flock there, to be sure, but say "Fitzwilliam Hotel" to many a Dubliner and they'll ask "Which one is that?"
Is it just a PR thing, corporate style or the fact that pedestrians don't walk past its doors in any great numbers? It's hard to say. It would appear to have everything going for it: location, a Michelin-star restaurant, a quotient of razzmatazz in the lobby and a very likeable bar with booths you can snog in.
Conran & Partners is still responsible for its interiors, and the revamped rooms are smart, with new window seats, zigzag carpeting and a green-and-purple colour scheme. Details include a well-stocked mini bar and an orchid in every room, as well as stereo CD player, LCD cable television, unlimited free broadband and a selection of magazines. Not so sure about those purple satin headboards with a big italic "F" printed on them, Fitzwilliam being the F-word in this instance.
The beds still have blankets, not duvets, and pillows are standard, not enormous. The bathrooms have been freshened up and are stocked with H2O Spa soaps and lotions. Candles are supplied, too. There was air conditioning, thank goodness, but I was damned if I could make it work.
The mini bar was beginning to beckon - never a good sign - so I switched off the match and rejoined friends in Citron, the cafe-style restaurant on the mezzanine level, which they had practically to themselves. They were on the chocolate mousse at this stage, and I ordered a salad and attacked a basket of very good bread rolls before catching up with them.
Kevin Thornton must have something to do with the wine list here; I'd go back for the Sauvignon Blanc from Touraine served by the glass.
Citron had an entirely different, lively vibe the next morning, at breakfast, and was full of chattering couples and business folk. At these prices one might expect breakfast to be cooked to order, but here it was available from a well-stocked self-service buffet.
We chose a table overlooking the check-in desk and watched as the literati arrived for this week's International Impac Dublin Literary Award and interviews and meetings began in earnest in the lobby. It was all go.
Where:Fitzwilliam Hotel, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, 01-4787000, www.fitzwilliamhotel.com.
What:"Baronial modern" five-star hotel with Michelin-star Thornton's Restaurant. Member of Preferred Hotel Group, among others.
Rooms:139, newly refurbished with a lot of purple and green, including two suites and a 185sq m (2,000 sq ft) penthouse with grand piano. Inquire about quiet rooms overlooking garden; some have terraces.
Best rates:Average daily room rate €295. Late booking €210, including breakfast. No charge for broadband. Parking €10 overnight.
Ameinities:Courtyard garden. Free Spirit hair salon and treatment room. Gym.
Bar and restaurants:Inn on the Green has a pewter bar and parquet flooring, and some private booths as well as tables. Known for its cocktails. Thornton's Restaurant was full on Wednesday night, so clearly we are still in spending mode, whereas the more modest Citron cafe was almost empty. Good wine list.
Access:A number of rooms fitted for wheelchairs.
Child friendliness:More corporate than familial.