How do you make something small look big? How do you make it look inviting, intimate, cosy, welcoming?
How do you make economy seem expansive, especially when that economy extends to the amount of money you have to spend on a project. And how do you make someone who is travelling economy feel spoiled, special?
How do you make a little seem a lot?
In Kelly’s Hotel, on Dublin’s South Great George’s Street, they manage to make the pinched seem poetic. The small is made big. The economic squeeze is made to seem like a sure fit. You are a budget traveller, in tycoon territory.
You only need one thing, of course, to achieve all this. And that one thing is imagination.
If you have a little spatial awareness, so much the better. And a sense of humour, a sense of irony and history, will allow you to bring it all home, gas in the tank.
Kelly’s Hotel does this, and does it brilliantly. They have made all the smart choices, so the rooms are tiny, but feel special, bumper. The public spaces are minimalist, yet have coolness maximalised, thanks to that simple act of putting the right thing – a classic chair; a book; a bar – in just the right place. Above all, Kelly’s manages to achieve that most desired feeling: you are at the heart of the city, yet hidden away.
It’s a pretty brilliant concept, and the staff are as cool as the concept – polite, welcoming, nice. Did we have a great time at Kelly’s? We had a great time at Kelly’s.
