Picolo recommends · Hotel in Dublin, Ireland
The Merrion Hotel
A fire in the drawing room, Irish paintings on every wall and a clipped garden outside the window, a few minutes from St Stephen’s Green.
Tea arrives on a tray, and the cakes are shaped after the pictures hanging around you. That is the tone at The Merrion, where four Georgian townhouses on Upper Merrion Street have been joined into one hotel facing Government Buildings.
Between the houses lies a formal garden of trimmed hedges, and the rooms on that side hear almost nothing of the city. Indoors, the corridors and lounges serve as a gallery for Irish painters of the last two centuries.
Picolo’s verdict
Why we chose The Merrion Hotel
We chose The Merrion as the classic choice in Dublin. It has the architecture, the art and the calm, and it sits in the elegant Georgian quarter between Merrion Square and St Stephen’s Green, with Grafton Street and the museums close by.
This is not a hotel for late nights. Temple Bar and the livelier pubs are a fair walk away, and the mood indoors is hushed. Ask for a garden-facing room, and expect prices at the top of the Dublin scale.
What you get
- Four joined Georgian townhouses
- Afternoon tea inspired by the art
- Formal garden between the houses
- Classic, attentive service
- Quiet rooms facing the garden
A day at The Merrion Hotel
- Morning
- Breakfast with a view over the clipped hedges.
- Midday
- A walk around Merrion Square and into the National Gallery.
- Afternoon
- Afternoon tea by the fire in the drawing room.
- Evening
- A pint in a Georgian-era pub, then a short walk home.
Location
Upper Merrion Street, Dublin, Ireland
Open in MapsQuestions about The Merrion Hotel
Where is The Merrion Hotel in Dublin?
On Upper Merrion Street in the Georgian quarter, opposite Government Buildings. Merrion Square and St Stephen’s Green are both a few minutes on foot.
Is The Merrion Hotel known for its art?
Yes. It holds a wide-ranging collection of Irish paintings from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, displayed in the lounges and corridors, and the afternoon tea is themed around the paintings.
Which rooms are quietest at The Merrion Hotel?
Ask for a room facing the inner garden. Those rooms look over the hedges between the four houses, away from the street.
Updated 6 Nov 2026All articles
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