A weekend break in Limerick city
YOU CAN’T beat history, or buy heritage. That’s why the luxurious boutique 20 bedroom hotel, No 1 Pery Square, Limerick, is worth it’s weight in gold.
In November 1834 the Pery Square Tontine Company, a financial scheme used to fund building projects, was set up after a meeting in the offices of Daniel Barrington, legal representative of Pery family who owned land in Limerick city.
One of the best documented is the tontine that developed six of the handsome late Georgian buildings around Pery Square, just off O’Connell Street, Limerick.
The previous January HMS Beagle arrived in Port San Julian, Patagonia, with English naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin — best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory — on board.
While Darwin was developing his theory, the tontine was developing what is now a wonderful example of late Georgian architecture — No 1 Pery Square, a building that wraps around the corner of an impressive terrace.
Except the Grade 1 listed property is more than a building. Listed on the inside as well as the outside, it was fully restored in a labour of love by owner Patricia Roberts, with all its original architectural features expertly reinstated.
The hotel is on a corner facing the People’s Park, a 10-acre Victorian space laid out in classical style, complete with fountains, bandstands, playgrounds and magnificent mature trees.
It feels like a country house in the middle of the city. A short two blocks stroll takes you to O’Connell Street, the city’s main thoroughfare.
If you ever wanted to get a taste of Downton Abbey life, this is it.
There is a nice feel on approach to the hotel but it is when one steps inside, on a cold winter’s night, that the warmth of the building and its staff produces the magic.
This is a place where the new blends so well with the old. The spa is neatly tucked under the original vaulted ceilings, there’s contemporary elegance in a new wing, superb service, comfort, freshly-cooked dishes, and sincere welcomes from staff such as Hannah on reception and operations manager Bríd.
There a special quality about this part of Limerick and this hotel which, to me, can’t be found in other cities. The area seeps history, as the hotel does class, a place where no two porcelain china cups, saucers or plates are the same. Quirky but quaint.
Staying as a guest at No 1 is like being in someone’s house — big house. It’s personal, quiet, individual, unlike some of the newer hotels which have sprung up in the past number of years with corridor after corridor of rooms, where you are regularly woken in the early hours of the morning by people arriving back to their rooms.
I stayed in the Vanderkiste Room, one of four high-ceiling large rooms in the old house, named after one of the families who once owned the property.
The founder of the Vanderkiste family in Ireland was named ‘Freegift’ William in a marriage certificate in Cork in 1813. He would have approved of the detail in the bedroom, it was exacting, with everything carefully selected from auction rooms, to blend in with the Georgian theme.
The original staircase sweeps up the house to the Vanderkiste and Lord Barrington rooms with park views, roll-top baths and dressing screens, and to the Lady Barrington and Pery rooms, with their views over the kitchen garden and terrace, and their hand-crafted brass and gilt beds.
It was lovely to sit in the huge cosy armchairs and look out through big sash windows, , at people walking their dogs, playing with children, in the People’s Park, almost all of them wearing a Munster rugby garment of some sort or other — well, it is Limerick.
With a king-sized bed, quaint lamps, old red-brick fireplace and chandeliers to die for, the claw-foot bath was almost as comfortable as the bed.
The club rooms at No 1 Pery Square overlook the garden or the red brick Georgian terraces of Limerick and are classically modern.
The townhouse suite, on the top floor, is a generous one — complete with sweeping views of the city and the mountains of Clare, it has its own bar and dining area, comfy sofas and a large TV screen.
Every bedroom has the essential contemporary comforts — monsoon shower-heads, lovely Voya amenities, free fast Wi-Fi, satellite TV, hairdryers (or GHD straighteners, if needed), fluffy bathrobes and unique beds with divinely comfortable mattresses.
The fact that there weren’t any tea/coffee making facilities in the room didn’t matter, that would take from the whole service attitude here. It’s never a problem, day or night to get it delivered to your room. No 1 makes you feel like... number one.
The charming restaurant on the first floor of No 1 Pery Square is called Sash. With views of the surrounding Georgian streetscape, it has a value-for-money menu with a focus on home cooking, with an extra layer of sophistication.
Herbs and ingredients grown in No 1’s kitchen gardens are used, whenever possible. One of the waiters, Sefik Dikyar, has his own stall at the Milk Market which stocks baklava, Turkish Delight, fresh herbs and spices and all nice things Turkish. Delicious.
The hotel’s Wine and Artisan Shop is worth a visit.
OPS Spa, managed by Jennifer Cregan, is an urban retreat in the vaulted basement of the main townhouse.
From Irish mist showers and sole pool foot baths to the snooze room, this is an uniquely calming experience, where Irish organic range Voya products are used.
The park room lounge on the ground floor of the main townhouse has an all-day menu of soups, salads, sandwiches and slates daily.
Try the special gin & tonic menu (Limerick had important historical juniper-growing connections and gin was, for the Georgians, the spirit of the age).
The drawing room on the first floor is the heart of the house with a grand old original marble fireplace where the fire is lit daily. The afternoon tea served here is a treat. The adjoining board room holds weddings for up to 80 guests.
This is a place where every guest still feels like the lord or lady of the manor. Go on treat yourself, be Downton’s Lady Mary for a weekend.
The Great Georgian Escape package offers two nights accommodation in a Club room, full à la carte breakfast each morning, dinner on both nights, and guided walking tours on Georgian and medieval Limerick.
It is available seven days a week all year round, priced at €229 per person, with two nights accommodation. Contact: 061-402402; email: info@oneperysquare.com / web: www.oneperysquare.com
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