Five Star hotels can be lovely places to be but often they suffer from a singular problem : the management are so proud of their property, they forget about the guests! It sounds like an obvious statement but all too often hospitality and that sense of a genuine welcome, not to mention actual service, are demoted to second place as managers preen about the plushness of the carpets.
The first time I stayed in The Marker Hotel, it had all the signs of falling for this fatal error. It's rooftop bar was guarded so zealously that I wondered if the Vanity Fair post Oscar party had relocated from Los Angeles to Grand Canal Dock. Staff were cool to the point of icy and there was no sense of engagement between guests and their hosts. But the building is beautiful - its chequerboard exterior acting as a perfect foil to the oblique angles of Daniel Libeskind's Grand Canal Theatre, which sits at a right angle to The Marker. The elegant Alto Vetro building which sits just across the dock adds to the sense that we're not in Georgian Dublin anymore, Toto. I've tried two of the city's other five star hotels. In one, despite a fully paid for room, I was turned away as someone had made a mistake and they had no rooms. In the alternative they suggested, the heating was broken - in December - and the televison was offset on the wall at the end of a four poster bed, bringing a whole new meaning to split screen viewing.
Back inside the Marker, it's gigantic open plan lobby/restaurant/bar takes the opportunity to ape those oblique angles of its neighbour with a riotous ceiling that tapers down at the edges, leading the eye to neon strip lighting that runs along the floor edges and disappears, 'Tron-like', around corners. Over a number of visits, most recently with nephew and nieces in tow to attend a concert at The O2, service has improved hugely.
There was a friendly welcome from a beaming concierge, the car was whisked away with no fuss whatsoever. A mix up with one of the rooms was handled without so much as a furrowed forehead and the youngsters were welcomed at every turn as they headed off on their own to explore the pool and spa. When I discovered I'd left my phone in the car, a staff member went and got it for me and delivered it to the room with no fuss whatsoever. Those rooms are large and simply furnished with good quality seating and beds and the bathrooms are amongst the most impressive in the city - there's enough marble to make a Siennese resident weep with pride. As you'd expect at this level, the fittings are all top notch, toiletries are Malin+Goetz, towels are huge and fluffy and that marble extends to the floor and into the shower and it's heated, even in the shower. I confess I found it very pleasant. The rooms that overlook Grand Canal Square really have a most impressive aspect.
The menu in the bar is a little limiting - a good burger, some cod and chips, club sandwich - fairly standard hotel fare but it's all done quite well. It can get really busy as a pre and post show venue for the Bord Gais Energy Theatre but even then service hums along really well. Gareth Mullins' cooking in the hotel's restaurant, The Brasserie, has been well reviewed but I've not gotten to eat there just yet, and the hotel has claimed the Cronut for it's own but I haven't yet sampled these croissant/doughnut confections. As this area of Dublin has filled with employees of the various social media and tech companies that populate Barrow Street and the surrounding streets, so the restaurants and coffee shops have flourished and it's easy to skip the Markers breakfast buffet and nip out to Herbstreet for their amazing eggs Benedict. In fact, the Marker does a great job of the horrible concept of the breakfast buffet but it's one of the great things about this hotel: despite being out of the city centre, there's a veritable cornucopia of eating options within walking distance. Oh, and that rooftop bar is worth a visit for the stunning views over Dublin, as long as it's not raining!
The Marker Hotel by Eamon Barrett
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