The Time slows. The pace changes. Dublin’s Four Seasons hotel is the calm in the city and the warmth of an open fire. Situated in the Ballsbridge district, on the south side Dublin, this affluent, leafy suburb draws its name from a bridge built in 1791; this is a place of distinction, of heritage, and it is a heritage which continues to grow.
The Four Seasons won the Irish Restaurant Awards ‘Best Hotel Restaurant of 2012’, an accolade well-deserved. Offering high calibre cuisine in a formal yet relaxed atmosphere, its crowning glory is the grill, where diners can select their West Cork beef, dry aged for 28 days, and anticipate joy as it’s cooked to their liking.
Just minutes from the city centre and Dublin’s expanding Docklands area and financial services centre, the Four Seasons makes an ideal location for both business and pleasure.
Have the valet park your carriage, then settle and sample afternoon tea in the homely lobby, where traditional Irish produce is twinned with the exotic. Teas such as the Ceylon Sapphire are matched with cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches – surprisingly, a great combination. From the lobby you have views of the sleeping bronze man on a bench in the gardens; its secluded nature makes it especially appealing for business events, for the quiet chat.
In keeping with another long held Irish tradition, socialising, there is the well appointed Four Seasons Bar with a vast whiskey collection. The price of rarity, for the finest of whiskeys, should be considered as part of your education, your life experience, and compared to the cost of an MBA, this is a global talking point on the cheap. Learn about the life of whiskey, its character and how best to serve it – spheres of ice are used instead of cubes as it melts more slowly, letting the last sip taste the same as the first. That one’s on me.
Along the corridor from the Four Seasons Bar you move from country house to the thrill and thrust of the Twenty First Century, the Ice Bar. Modern design and experimental beverages make it a unique experience. You can sample drinks made from herbs along with craft beers and cocktails. And the design; understated opulence.
With 197 guest rooms each with high speed internet, CD players and a private bar, as you would expect from a superior hotel, and L’Occitane toiletries, sink into a bath and retire for a perfect night’s sleep. When the morning comes, invigorating the sense and clear the mist of your whisky PhD, go for a swim in the 14 metre pool.
Four members of the concierge team are Clefs D’Ors, including the only female one in Ireland. They can be recognised by the crossed gold keys displayed on their lapels, symbols of international quality service. They are the lynchpin of the hotel with their fingers on the pulse of the city.
The concierges really do aim to serve; one guest required a hot breakfast for his limousine on the way to the airport; another requested that a car be picked up in England – his meant a choppy ferry ride from Dublin to Liverpool, a drive to Manchester and back again. Service with a smile? Probably, maybe, but service par excellence for sure. The team at the Four Seasons Dublin strive to make ‘it’ happen’ for every guest. As you arrive, you are welcomed into the world of the Four Seasons; when you cross the bridge, you pass through time. Don’t look back.
Hotel Information:
Four Seasons Hotel Dublin Simmonscourt Road Dublin 4
Tel: + 353 (1) 665 4000
Website: www.fourseasons.com/dublin
Contact the Editor Responsible for this Story:
Brian Maguire – brian.maguire@europeanbusinessexpress.com
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