Where Clarion Hotel, Lapps Quay, Cork, 021-4224900, clarionhotelcorkcity.com.
What Four-star modern city centre hotel.
Rooms 191 bedrooms, six one-bed apartments and one rooftop penthouse.
Best rates From €90 room only.
Restaurant and bar Augustines Restaurant for French and Italian food, Kudos Bar for Asian food.
Child-friendliness Family rooms, children’s menus, DVD hire and babysitting service available, children’s pool. Accessibility Wheelchair- accessible rooms available.
Amenities Parking, free Wi-Fi , SanoVitae leisure centre and Essence Spa, six conference and event suites.
THERE ARE many hotels in Cork with a traditional touch of grandeur – faded or non-faded. Not so with the Clarion. It was completed in 2005 on a revamped Lapps Quay in Cork, designed by architects Scott Tallon Walker. But in a city-centre setting like this, the dramatic clean lines and optimum use of light make you feel as though you’re in a city that’s bigger than Cork.
When you step out of the lift from the car park, the wall to your right is plastered with framed awards, including a Tripadvisor gong as one of the best Clarion hotels in the world and one for Cork Business of the Year in 2009.
I wondered at the danger of all of those awards going to their heads and also if the apparent need to display them so ostentatiously was a sign of corporate insecurity. First impressions of the lobby were of an airport check-in hall. On the day of our midweek arrival, the place was buzzing with an eclectic mix of clients that varied between family gatherings and distracted- looking young executives flitting about.
In any case, the airport check-in feeling was dispelled as soon as the lady behind the desk began to speak. Almost every member of staff that I encountered at the hotel were from outside of this green land of ours, but all had professional céad míle fáilte coming out of their ears.
The location can’t be topped. It’s in the heart of the city, just a block away from the main bus station, a few minutes’ walk from the main shopping area and a 10-minute stroll from Kent Railway Station.
We were kindly allowed to check in a little earlier than the normal 3pm without any quibble or fuss. Our sixth-floor room had a wall-sized window that overlooked a central atrium that extends the full height of the building. The room was comfortable, having everything you would expect from a four-star hotel, with unremarkable but relaxing décor. The television had the usual channels, the wardrobe was nicely laid out and the bathroom was adequate.
We didn’t avail of the leisure centre’s smart-looking fitness machinery but went for the swimming pool. The pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam bath are good and the centre seemed to be popular with non-residents too. There is also a kiddies’ pool, and the showers are well stocked with cleansing products.
The spacious bar is discreetly tucked away from the main lobby and it’s a nice place to take a pint by the window or on the boardwalk, which feels like an extension of the hotel. It, too, has a modern big-city feel to it, complete with a series of glassy, box-shaped buildings housing waterside cafes overlooking the River Lee.
Breakfast was very good – a buffet affair that covered the full delicious range of food types. There seemed to be a slight delay in bringing tea and coffee, but the staff reacted well to this minor situation and couldn’t be faulted for their attentiveness.
We had come to the city without our children and with a plan that involved some sort of institutionalised relaxation and going out on the town. As a night-away, city-slicking, paint-the-town-red sort of experience, the Clarion has all the necessary ingredients.
One item whose absence I acutely felt from the four-star experience, however, was the fluffy hotel robe and slippers combo. I’m a big fan of the pure decadence of changing into a swimsuit, robe and slippers and taking the lift to the leisure centre. Sadly, it wasn’t an option on this occasion, but I suppose you can’t have everything, even in an award-winning hotel.
Go Overnights are reviewed anonymously and paid for by The Irish Times