Escape for a night with friends to this luxurious, hidden Dublin gem

Whether you are looking to rediscover Dublin, spend an evening with friends, or just escape to a luxurious, glamorous and comfortable haven, Dublin’s Number 31 hotel is a location to book.

While this summer saw the Irish public discover every corner of the beautiful Irish countryside, this autumn an escape a little closer to home might be appealing. A staycation in Dublin, even for one night, provides the perfect backdrop to a good meal, a few drinks and a catch up with friends.

Driving 20 minutes to your hotel might feel excessive, but for me, a tired mum, it’s the perfect treat, with not a second wasted on a long car journey. Number 31 in Dublin provides a sumptuous change of scene and bit of escapism from every day life on a Sunday evening. I check in with my two best friends. Between country moves, babies and a worldwide pandemic, we realise it has been three years since the last time we spent an evening together.

Hidden behind a creeper-clad wall, just off Leeson Street, entering Number 31 is like entering a different world. We are welcomed into a modernist mews, complete with a James Bond baddie-pad-style sunken sofa. The mirrored bar, sitting beside it, has hosted A list names including Grace Kelly, Henry Kissinger and Ted Kennedy in Dublin’s swinging sixties and seventies.

Number 31 is glamorous. Attached via a serene garden is an old Georgian building recently re-decorated sumptuously in an Art Deco style. We ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ as we check in to our rooms. Each one is as comfortable, spacious and beautifully decorated as the last. No corners have been cut here. The bed linens are crisp, the pillows large and fluffy, and the carpet pile deep around our toes.

A small enough apartment and a one-year-old is not the kind of atmosphere that begets a special few hours where secrets are spilled and wine keeps flowing. Neither does 90 minutes in a restaurant. But Number 31 does just the trick. The special evening is finished off by an exceptional sleep and a breakfast the following morning that deserves its raves reviews.

All this, and prices start at €134 per room, for bed and breakfast. Grab your girlfriends and thank me later, you can’t go wrong. See Number31.com 

This overnight stay was gifted courtesy of Number 31 hotel.

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