Travel: The Real Dean

The Dean Cork offers both style and substance

This week felt like more than just a reopening. On the much-awaited June 2 reboot, I wasn’t just making my first hotel stay of the year, I was also checking into Cork’s freshest new accommodation spot, located in the city’s waterfront quarter on the rise. The Dean Cork, towering over the regenerating Horgan’s Quay quarter, is Cork’s new kid on the hotel block, bringing a bold, boutique flavour to the city centre. The hotel may be already trending for its design credentials, rooftop restaurants and, yes, now infamous swings but I was about to see if this hotel experience Leeside would take me to the next level.

Following its short-lived launch in January, The Dean, sister hotel to its edgy Dublin namesake and soon to open offering in Galway, was about to enjoy its 'take 2' launch. Approaching the hotel’s industrial and somewhat divisive façade (I’m one of those who genuinely likes it), there was an added jolt of excitement — and indeed expectation — that this would be an atypical accommodation stay. “We don’t do conventional. We do fun” is the hotel’s irreverent brand motto and as soon as I stepped into the hotel’s vibrant, street-view lobby with “Aannd we’re back!” signage, you get the sense that you’re in for a fun ride.

Feeling like a decade mash-up of the 1920s and 70s thanks to art deco furnishing and a quirky array of polaroid cameras on display, the lobby is a light, vibrant space where an aesthetic cocktail bar is surrounded by a mass of eclectic seating, among them a communal work-space hot desk. Thirty of the hotel’s 114 rooms were booked out for the first night of the reopening and there was a steady flow of — largely younger — couples checking into the hotel for a long-awaited getaway. The reception itself, topped by a neon Non Stop Beauty sign and selling various matters of merch, almost feels like the portal to an exclusive club, not least thanks to seriously cool music tunes pulsing around a lobby already clinking with prosecco. It’s quite the welcome back.

Suite Talk

I was staying in one of The Dean’s fifth-floor suites, overlooking the River Lee, Kent Station and the city’s gritty docklands. Stars of the design show were the room’s massively comfortable “big, bouncy bed”, a retro love-sofa, and its stunning en suite bathroom with admiral blue subway tiling and a mammoth copper tub. Trademark Dean touches popped throughout, from a loaded SMEG fridge and rotary telephone to trendy Marshall speakers and for some welcome localisation, there were also Cork influences including an R&H Hall wall print by local artist Emma O’Mara and a coffee table tome of jazz album covers. Drawbacks are few: but as much as I like the hotel’s façade, those narrow view windows rendered my suite a little darker than expected — surely it's a pity not to take advantage of those city vistas a little more when you’re all the way up? However it’s still a gorgeous, fun and comfortable room; it would make a dream Netflix and chill pad should you never venture out at all.

Dining

For city dining, The Dean’s already iconic rooftop Sophie’s is an it-spot in the making. Ultra unique selling points here are the rooftop restaurant’s sweeping city views which spin from St. Lukes to Páirc Uí Chaoimh, only marginally disrupted by a new Horgan Quay block. It’s an electric and expansive bistro with classy red booths flanked around a central bar and open kitchen, as well as offering two balcony terraces which can be booked for private functions. I ordered vegetarian, enjoying a caprese salad followed by mushroom risotto for my main: tasty and fresh fare if not quite as memorable as those views. For breakfast the next morning, gluten-free oats were not available (a pity, if you’re going for a healthy option), so I opted for a tasty mix of spinach and mushrooms with home fries. Guests on a B&B option are in for a treat.

Spa & Gym

The Dean’s leisure swagger centres around its edgy Manhattan-style Power Gym. It’s a very impressive fitness offering for a hotel, featuring weight stations, rigs and machines as well as a gilded spin studio where flashing lights and glitter balls give it a crunk Studio 54 feel ( just more house, less disco). I broke my lockdown training hiatus with a PT session from trainer, Anthony, who quickly had me tested with a gruelling tabata drill. But to really unwind, the hotel’s fab pool and thermal suite, flooded with overhead natural light, have an Ancient Rome meets Palm Springs vibe, and also feature a sauna and steam-room (both of which are currently off-limits due to Covid).

Stay there

Summer B&B rates for The Dean Cork start from €205 for doubles and €410 for suites. With most guests likely to test out Sophie’s, I’d recommend looking at their stay and dine package; breakfast plus a three-course meal for two starts from €295 for two. Their Missed Moments package which includes the above along with a glass of welcome prosecco, a bottle of wine with dinner, along with a drink token per person (so essentially a booze upgrade) starts from €350. The gym’s also open to the public with rates from €89 per month.

Check it out?

The Dean Cork shows how a property can successfully pull off both style and substance. Rooms are impressive, dining is memorable and service was friendly, zealous and lacking any kind of notions such a hotel could command. I do feel that what made The Dean in Dublin so unique was indeed its design individuality and perhaps that’s diluted now somewhat. But fortunately, The Dean Cork has enough individual spirit and aspects for it not to feel like a carbon copy. The hotel is deservedly likely to draw the crowds — so be prepared to see it on your Instagram feed very soon. Better still, experience it in person.