IRELAND’S celebs, business leaders and even its President have uncovered a chic hotel in the capital which is bucking the economic downturn by offering luxurious rooms and exemplary service with a touch of traditional Irish hospitality.
Conveniently located in the prestigious Marylebone district of central London, The Marylebone Hotel has recently undergone a transformation.
Since a company rebrand in December 2008 the popular venue is now one of 11 jewels in the property crown of Dublin-based hoteliers The Doyle Collection.
That, coupled with a rename and extensive two-and-a-half year refurbishment project, has seen the boutique venue go from strength to strength as a prime location for tourists, businesspeople and leisure customers alike.
Among the many who have sampled the understatedly lavish surroundings of the 257 bedroom hotel, its relaxed yet classy 108 Marylebone Lane Bar and Brasserie and its amply equipped conference suites, are President Mary McAleese, a well-known Irish boyband, and all manner of Irish businesspeople based both here and back home.
But whether it is famous faces or anonymous regulars, one thing is clear — the hotel keeps them more than satisfied by providing a superior service, which seemingly ticks all their respective boxes.
When The Irish Post got a chance to sample its delights for ourselves it was clear just what keeps the customers coming back — its contemporarily decorated and indulgently sized rooms offer a haven from the bustle of nearby Bond Street and urge to be lounged in and fully appreciated, but the quality of its services, whether bar, restaurant or lounge area, are too enjoyable to forego.
The location of its bar and restaurant alone, at street level on Marylebone Lane, provides enough reason not to leave this exclusive establishment; a sleek spot for kicking back with a drink — try the champagne cocktails — or snack while reading the papers or watching the stylish city types going about their business along Marylebone’s cobbled lanes.
And dinner in its adjacent brasserie, with its cool décor and classic dishes, appears a similarly popular experience — with tables more regularly filled with local socialites than residents from the hotel.
So it’s no wonder the current general manager Patrick O’Connell is bristling with pride and more than ready to tell us why the hotel has proven such a success when we grabbed a chat with him at the hotel.
“I came over to work at this hotel in 2004,” he explained.
“At that stage it was operating under a different name and was part of the Jurys Doyle Group’s 37 hotels in Ireland and England.
“I made plans to regenerate the hotel at that stage, but soon afterwards there was a company change where the owners sold off a number of properties but retained 11 hotels which they were interested in concentrating on in the luxury end of the market — The Marylebone Hotel is one of the properties which they retained.
“That happened around 2006 and that was a great thing for us, because it meant a significant overhaul of the hotel.”
For two-and-a-half years the concentration on creating the sense of luxury now associated with The Doyle Collection was paramount — and saw the venue stripped, gutted and refurbished to emerge in the contemporary form it boasts today.
Patrick, who was born in Limerick, raised in Dublin and boasts a lengthy career in the hotel industry, explained: “We have changed everything, but structurally the bar is the main transformation — this was never here before; they simply had a small hotel bar and restaurant in the centre of the hotel, but that locked the business solely into hotel guests so very little if any external business was coming in at all.
“But the new 108 bar and restaurant has presented a fantastic opportunity and has been a great success — 75 to 80 per cent of business here is from outside.”
He added: “The entire ground floor was also refurbished; we moved meeting rooms, put in a business centre and took a very different route design wise.
“And from a bedroom point of view we stripped everything back to its concrete shell and redid them entirely.” This new luxurious face for the hotel has proven a winner, even amidst the current economic climate, Patrick insists.
Regarding the elite clientele who make the venue a regular stop on their London trips, he adds: “We have always had great appeal to senior management of companies around the area and have great loyalty from a lot of the Irish companies around the city.
“Our head office is based in Dublin so we get a lot of business from Ireland too but Marylebone, being one of the more fashionable parts of London, still something of a hidden gem, often sees us attract more recognisable faces.
“We have had crews filming in here, welcomed pop bands and even the odd statesperson, with President Mary McAleese making this her hotel of choice on her most recent visit.”
And Patrick is confident that such interest in the venue is due to their friendly service, high levels of discretion with guests and the touch of Irishness that permeates the brand.
“We offer a bespoke level of service to everyone whether President, Irish pop stars etc,” he claims.
“We are also a hotel that doesn’t want to be jam packed; we want the right people staying at the right price, and that attracts a different level of customer.”
He adds: “I think there are some elements of Irish hospitality that you draw on when in this industry and that no doubt adds to the popularity.”