Hip new hotelscape

Work is going on at a furious pace in Grand Canal Square so that the area’s new hotel, The Marker (above), will open on time in April. Meanwhile, hotel and restaurant staff are being poached all over the city as the Marker gears itself up for business. The 187-bedroom hotel has been a goodsend for Irish designers and artists, like photographer Enda Cunningham whose work will feature throughout.

Meanwhile, across the Liffey, the once dark and moody Morrison has been given a taupe-over by architect Nikki O’Donnell. The new interior has a musical theme that chimes with its celebrity guest list that includes the Script and Mumford and Sons. A moulded plaster panel behind the front desk evokes a sound wave. Carpets have a graphic equaliser motif. Lyrics by Irish acts have been sandblasted into the glass panels on lift shaft end walls. The same lyrics are writ large on the bedroom walls. All feature Irish design.

Later this year another new boutique hotel, The Dean will open its doors on Harcourt Street. The brains behind its look is Anne-Marie O’Neill of O’Donnell O’Neill, who masterminded the shabby chic vibe of the Vintage Cocktail Club, and the eternally stylish Merchant Hotel in Belfast.