Owners plan to triple number of rooms at Clarence Hotel
Continues 'bono Hotel Stating The The Or Also In On Is The That 'u2 U2 Association Website To The Trade As Clarence Hotel Hotel' With Dublin Hotel Its Hotel' Known
Plans to almost triple the size of former U2 hotel, The Clarence, in Dublin’s Temple Bar are of “critical importance to the long-term viability of the hotel”.
That is according to planning documents lodged with the planning application to Dublin City Council by Keywell DAC to increase the number of hotel rooms by 104 from 58 to 162 and add an extra floor to The Clarence and adjoining Dollard House.
The scheme also includes a modern brasserie, coffee shop and bakery on the ground floor of Dollard House to replace the Giddy Dolphin pub.
The revamp includes Cleaver East to become a contemporary music pub; replace Roberta’s Restaurant with a premium event facility; refurbish and relaunch the Workman’s Cellar as a premium event-driven late night music venue and reposition Anne’s bar as a specialist bar.
The overhaul also includes the relaunch of the Octagon Bar — currently called The Curious Mister — and Stout Bar and retain the Tomahawk as it is.
A planning report lodged with the application by Stephen Little & Associates states that refurbishment, conservation and extension aims “to recapture the iconic status of the Clarence Hotel and deliver high-quality hotel accommodation and ancillary facilities to this area of Temple Bar”.
The move to increase hotel rooms at The Clarence comes against the background of 2,070 hotel bedrooms under construction for Dublin with 1,079 on those in the four-star sector. The figures are provided by consultants CBRE as part of a Visitor Accommodation Assessment report lodged with The Clarence application.
CBRE states that the annualised growth rate in hotel supply in Dublin from 2013 to 2023 is 2.9%. The 55-page report by CBRE states that the hotel performance in Dublin in 2024 shows that high occupancy levels indicate no let up in demand.
The Stephen Little & Associates planning report states that the proposed development “respects the special character and appearance of the existing protected structures on site, and neighbouring the site, by ensuring that the scale, mass, height, and architectural expression of the new extensions are sensitive to their setting”.
The report says that by reimagining the existing ancillary hospitality uses on site and introducing some new amenity spaces such as bars and event spaces at basement, ground and first floor levels, “the development complements the diversity of uses and existing cultural fabric of Temple Bar”.
The Little planning report says that the investment that will be required by the applicant in the rehabilitation of the existing heritage buildings on site in turn requires a balanced assessment by the council in respect of the new components and ancillary amenities that support the viability of the project.
Keywell DAC is part of Lifestyle Hospitality Capital (LHC) and this year, LHC purchased a majority stake in the Dean Hotel Group, that included the boutique Clarence Hotel, from the Press Up Group.
The deal came only months after Bono, The Edge and Paddy McKillen Snr sold the Clarence hotel in October 2023 to the Dean Hotel Group. The deal ended Bono and The Edge’s connection with the four-star hotel after more than three decades of ownership.
However, the hotel continues to trade on its U2 association with the hotel website stating that the hotel is “also known as the 'U2 Hotel' or 'Bono Hotel' in Dublin”. A decision is due on the planning application in February.