Dingle it ain’t, but Ranelagh is nonetheless an excellent spot for a staycation 

Get neighbourhood vibes at Ranelagh’s Devlin hotel

The Devlin, a part of the Press Up monopoly of Dublin hotels, bars and restaurants, opened last year in the suburb of Ranelagh, an eclectic neighbourhood of craft coffee and beer, fast food, wine bars, curry houses and bakeries. As a location, it’s the stuff of high-low culture dreams for travellers seeking a more residential, community-minded base than around the (formerly) well-beaten tourist trails of Temple Bar. 

Indeed, even if you’re only “travelling” from Skerries or Bray – subject to current restrictions, and once cafés, restaurants and bars are able to invite punters back indoors – there’s plenty on The Devlin’s doorstep to proverbially write home about, with a bit of neighbouring Rathmines, and a dalliance with Dublin, thrown in.

The Devlin is purpose-built hotel with pleasure in mind: public areas are large, open plan and, well, convivial until social distancing literally got in the way. Press Up design motifs abound, such as Art Deco-style lighting and typography, herringbone parquet flooring, jazzy carpets, mid-century accents and playful original Irish artwork curated by muralist and stained glass aficionado James Earley.

Rooms here are categorised into various sizes of “Snug” to “Cosy,” aiming largely at thrifty millennials who are only too delighted to sleep on top of each other

The vast ground floor, where the lobby and Americana Bar reside, makes up for bijou guest rooms that, though small, are stylish and ergonomic, with teal-panelled walls, a Dyson hairdryer, Marshall amp, mini Smeg fridge, Grafton Barber toiletries, Nespresso machine, TV with Netflix, Munchies snack boxes and an aversion to built-in wardrobes. Rooms here are categorised into various sizes of “Snug” to “Cosy,” aiming largely at thrifty millennials who are only too delighted to sleep on top of each other. 

On the rooftop is Layla’s, a handsome diner-style restaurant and bar with widescreen views stretching from suburbia to the Dublin mountains, slivers of which are tantalisingly revealed at the ends of each hallway corridor. It’s a reimagining of Sophie’s at The Dean, Press Up’s first hotel that opened in the capital in 2014. One of only a few rooftop restaurants in Dublin at the time, Sophie’s became the blueprint for the group, with Ryleigh’s steakhouse its most recent bird’s-eye proposition at The Mayson hotel, which opened on North Wall Quay in December last year.  

Most Press Up hotels, though, don’t boast a private cinema, which is a Devlin USP. Neither as big nor as historic as its Stella counterpart in Rathmines, it has nonetheless become a glamorous neighbourhood staple, the hotel successfully assimilated as a neighbourhood haunt.

Rooms cost from €117 per night, and at the time of writing, offers include one-night guests being given a €50 voucher to spend in any Press Up outlets and two-night guests a €100. 117-119 Ranelagh, Dublin 6, 01 406 6550.

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