The Clarence Hotel

, Dublin, Ireland
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The Clarence Hotel

, Dublin
4 star

Rooms: 49

6 Wellington Quay - Dublin - 2 - Ireland Hotel Website | | 1 407 0800
354 Traveller

Reviews - The Clarence Hotel

8/10
Staff were superb
Submitted by: Natalie Cornah in 13/06/05
  • Age Group: 31 - 40
  • From: United Kingdom
  • Traveller type: Young Couple
The Clarence was a fantastic Hotel in an excellent location. Opulent but welcoming the staff were superb. Food - top notch and bedroom really luxurious. Still trying to find out what air freshener they used - very nice !
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9/10
Quiet relaxing hen party
Submitted by: Deirdre Newell in 03/05/05
  • Age Group: 31 - 40
  • From: Ireland
  • Traveller type: Stag/Hen Party
We (7 of us) stayed for one night of a hen party weekend. We opted for a pamper day and a quiet night in the Clarence after a hectic night out the previous night. The hotel was lovely, the staff were superb, very welcoming and accommodating. The rooms are modern, very comfy and a nice size. One minor drawback is that there is only one therapist (very good therapist) for massages etc so we went in turn for treatments. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and I would definitely stay there again. I think it would be especially suited to a couple.

Historical Traveller Reviews of The Clarence Hotel

5 Star Hotel - not a chance!!

from Travel100
Having just spent Easter 2005 at this Hotel I have to say I was extremely disappointed. Compared to other 4 and 5 star Hotels I've stayed at the Clarence rates somewhere between 3 and 4 stars at best. From the outside the Hotel is bleak and uninspiring, inside it is much the same with vast amounts of drab wood panelling. The reception area is quite small as are the bedrooms, which just about allow access to both sides of the bed. The rooms provide the usual mini-bar, bathrobes and toiletries etc., but be aware that the bar of soap they provide is 1” (25mm) square by ½” (13mm) thick. This maybe considered “boutique” but still proved tricky to shower with. The room also has a small plasma screen TV fitted by a bracket to one wall, which was just as well as the room wasn’t big enough to have anything stood on the floor - ours didn’t work but that wasn’t a problem. The Octagon Bar was very ordinary and under-staffed with dirty glasses on the bar. More like the saloon bar of my local pub than a 5 star Hotel. The one thing that was impressive and in keeping with the 5 star label was the restaurant. The food, service and general ambience of the restaurant was excellent and the only thing worth the money. One serious word of warning if after reading this you are still considering staying at this Hotel, check if there is a wedding reception or function going on during your stay. If there is you won’t be getting any sleep before 2am…you have been warned.

Amazing

from A TripAdvisor Member
I have stayed here on a number of occasions and each has been brilliant. I cant fault this hotel at all and most importantly the staff is excellent. Ive stayed in alot of the top hotels in dublin and this is definitly the one i will be staying in from now on :)

Nice hotel

from Jewson
We stayed at the Clarence in November for a weekend break. The hotel was nice and the rooms comfortable but it wasn't spectacular!

The rooms were small but nicely decorated. The rooms at the back have no view although we didn't find they were noisy at all.

The public rooms were stylish but not very exciting! I think the Octagon bar is overrated - it is nothing special.

The breakfast was excellent. We ate in the restaurant on the Saturday evening and it was good. The food was well presented but the service wasn't great. I have eaten in many better restaurants and this was probably again overrated and expensive for what it is.

Overall the hotel was clean and comfortable but not the best. If I stayed in Dublin again I would try somewhere else and I wouldn't hurry back to the restaurant.

The staff were ok but not overly helpful.

Great Hotel in Lousy Location

from A TripAdvisor Member
Just returned from two nights at The Clarence in Dublin. Don't expect much when you pull up outside as it is very unassuming and not at all glitzy as you would expect from a hotel owned by a rock star. The inside is very nice, rooms are gorgeous, large beds with fabulous linens, well stocked mini-bar and lots of nice touches. However, make sure you ask for a room at the front of the hotel and do not get stuck at the back like we did! The hotel backs onto Temple Bar and anyone who know's Temple Bar, knows it is Dublin's party area. We were subjected to noise, music, screaming and shouting until 4am in the morning and then woken at 6am by the beer trucks arriving to stock up for the next night. It was a nightmare. You would think a 5 star hotel could invest in double glazing! Also, despite it being February and freezing outside, the room was boiling and did not have air conditioning! Just a small fan!! We ate in the restaurant and had room service and both were first class. I also used had the best facial and massage ever. The staff were all very polite, friendly and helpful. If the hotel could be scooped up and put into a quieter location it would be perfect.

Not bad ...

from Holly29
Absolutely honestly, this hotel is fine, it's got some nice touches, but I would probably try another hotel next time (just to see if I can find anywhere better in Dublin). Our room was really tiny, with a view of a wall. Nice decor in the room though and nice bathroom. The public areas were fine, the Study is a strange room with nothing going on it in, the Octagon Bar is nothing special, and the restaurant was 'fully booked' - no special deal for keeping some places free for residents then. I'm sure that if you spent your euros on a bigger room with views then this would probably be very nice. My real gripe was being questioned by the staff on the way back in at about 1am on Saturday night - 'Are you staying here'? before even opening the door to the hotel, then quizzing us about our names twice before we were allowed in the lift... Overall, not bad.

You get what you pay for!! and a little bit more.

from A TripAdvisor Member
Stayed here on the 10th January 2005. Ignore any negative remarks about this hotel. Everything is of a high quality from the bathrooms, the cocktails, the breakfasts etc etc. Yes it is top dollar but this is reflected in what you get for your money. The staff were not over friendly but still nothing was too much trouble.

Apart from anything the hotels location is superb. Temple bar is yards from the hotel. If you like great pubs and restaurants this is where you want to be.

As a hotelier myself I expect a lot when I stay at a hotel. I loved the fact that the hotel has a small feel about it but maintains such high standards.

Cant wait to go back!!

best hotel ...ever !!!

from A TripAdvisor Member
I stayed there last year with a friend of mine. I have stayed in many, many hotels as a travelagent, and this is the best I've ever stayed in !! The staff was very friendly and though informal (just right). The location is perfect, just in the city centre, and though very quiet inside the hotel. Our room was super, we got a free upgrading to a luxury room, which is situated between the two penthouses on the 5th floor. Magnificent view over the Liffey and the rest of the city. Not to mention the view by night !!The room was well equipped, nice bathrobes, all kind of toiletries, airconditioning, ultramodern LCD TV, computer etc. The rooms are decorated nicely, al rooms have different colours. It used to be a convent in the early days. We were pampered all the time by the manager (a dutchman...very nice!) and the staff. The dinner in the tea room was excellent, good choice on the menu, French cuisine with an Irish twist. The breakfast was included and excellent. Very Irish. Fresh juices, a big selection of bread, ham and eggs, salmon and eggs, etc..... Will stay there again definitely !!!!!!Worth every penny....

s new CD

from SkyeTraveler
I spent a long weekend in Dublin and stayed both here and at the Morrison. The standard rooms in both were about the same size, and they had equally nice bathrobes, linens, and toiletries. But I preferred the room decor at the Clarence. The wood made it seem warmer and more stylish.

The Clarence rooms have one serious flaw, though -- there are no individual temperature controls. As a number of reviews have pointed out, that leaves you with the option of opening the windows if it's too stuffy, or relying on a small fan. (Since it was November, there were no fans in the rooms.) I can't remember the last time I stayed in a comparable hotel that had this problem. Note to self: when renovating an old building, spend the money upfront to have it retrofitted with proper cooling and heating controls. Otherwise, you have to put up with cranky guests who don't appreciate how you've redefined Irish style.

The other advantage the Clarence had over the Morrison was that it wasn't currently being expanded. So the only noise came from outside, rather than inside. And since it was a Sunday night, noise was not a problem.

In fact, the hotel was eerily quiet when I was there. I peeked into the Tea Room, and there was only one couple having dinner in that cavernous space. I was the only person in the Study, the lounge area that's restricted to hotel guests. It's not clear what the Study is supposed to be. I tried reading newspapers there, but it's very dark, with no proper reading lights. I was hoping a member of staff would come in and ask me if I wanted a drink, but apparently the Study is so exclusive that not even the staff go in there. One couple came in, sat down for about ten seconds, then left. I gave up and went to the Octagon bar. Ironically, it had better reading lights, and I was finally able to get my drink.

U2's new CD had just been released the previous week. For 29 euros, you could buy the CD, a DVD, plus a book, all from the hotel reception. Talk about marketing synergies! I went to Tesco's and bought the CD for 14.99 and played it in my room. There it was . . . the rock-and-roll pilgrimage complete. I knew there was a reason I was staying here.

Okay, it's all too easy to have a go at this place. Seriously -- it's a stylish hotel that helped transform this part of Dublin, and for the money (200 euros for a single room, breakfast not included), you could do much worse. Overall, I didn't find the Temple Bar area all that appealing, but I'm getting old, so take that for what it's worth. Other reviews raved about the friendliness of the staff. I would have settled for being offered a drink in the Study.

Not perfect but many fine features

from serendipit4
Oh my god, a rock star hotel, and not just that but one owned by the self opinionated and wannabe savetheworld St Bob (not) Boner. Thankfully 'New Year's Day' was not blasting from every corridor.
Hotel California this was not - mundanity and the ordinary took precedence over, say, Conrad's Great Eastern Hotel in London.
The Clarence takes minimalism to a new dimension - boring and unimaginative as opposed to sleek and stylish.
No air conditioning, an electric fan instead (5 Star huh?) a 'minimalmalist' 3 machine 'gym' and no upgrade on arrival.
Horrendous technology abounded in the room with the insightful and erudite Boner deeming it inappropriate for any of his 5 star guests to be allowed access to Radio 4, world service or any serious news channels. plenty of new york hip hop though. phew rock n roll . Thanks for the free copy of the Irish times each morning, access to serious news might otherwise have been prohibited in this 'hi tech' hotel.
But hey this is a good hotel and a damn site better than the Westbury (the other 5 star) off Grafton- Street. The service was superb. Colin our porter went to great lengths to sort us some opera tickets and was attendant to our every need (and we did keep him busy!)
The Tea Rooms is a superb restaurant and my wife and I had one of the best meals of our life on our last night there.
Breakfasts are waitress serviced and the eggs benedict are to die for.
Comfy bed, fabulous linen sheets.
Yeh, 3 out of 5

t see Bono or the Edge

from lisa222
Spent 4 nights enjoying the Octagon Bar, lovely breakfasts (absolutely amazing smoked salmon) in the Tea Room, frequent towel replacement, exquisite bed linens, fluffy robes. Spent 4 mornings wondering why there was no bathroom outlet which fit the hotel-provided hair dryer (stupid design). Rick the porter was great; concierge superb. Room at the back of the hotel got quite noisy on Saturday night (nasty groups of loud hen parties from the UK invade Temple Bar). No ac/no way to turn the heat down, so must leave windows open. Location is perfect. Try Mermaid Cafe, Jacobs Ladder, and Gruel for good food. Location (other than Saturday night) is super. Loved the purple slippers and umbrella in the room. Furniture well designes, although it is starting to look a bit tired. Comfy bed and great duvet.

I would never stay here in the summer, however, since they don't have a/c and no ceiling fans.

Top Local Tips for Dublin

Make sure you hit the pubs in Temple Bar Treat yourself to visit several of the pubs in Temple Bar, particularly those that have traditional Irish music at night. Some might consider it "touristy", but it's a lot of fun, and the music is terrific. There's nothing quite like this experience in the U.S. I just love it!

Dining and Shopping For dining (although somewhat expensive), nightlife and shopping this hotel is ideal. Temple bar on your doorstep as well as a short stroll to grafton street.

Temple bar Experience a traditional night of folkmusic in one of the local bars !

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Other names for The Clarence Hotel

  • clarence hotel dublin
  • clarence dublin
  • Address: 6 Wellington Quay - Dublin - 2 - Ireland
Travel Library Traveller Rating?
7.0/10

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"Staff were superb" - Natalie Cornah

"Quiet relaxing hen party" - Deirdre Newell

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