Flat to fetch €5,000 a month

IT costs almost the same per night as the five-star Jabel Ali golf resort and spa in Dubai. But then, you do have a view of the spire and the lovely skyline of Dublin’s fair city.

A one-bedroom apartment costing €5,000 a month to rent has gone on the market in Grafton Street and is believed to be one of the most expensive rental residential properties ever for its size.

The rent adds up to €60,000 a year (about twice the average industrial wage) or broken down, €166 per night. As the ad placed on the popular daft.ie renting site says, it “must be seen to be believed”.

The penthouse at the bottom of Dublin’s main shopping street is located within a stone’s throw of designer stores like Brown Thomas and popular nightspots like Raynard’s and Lillies Bordello.

From the roof-top terrace, the dweller can see the great institutions of Trinity College and the former House of Parliament, which now houses the country’s main branch of the Bank of Ireland.

The pad has its own private lift, one bedroom with an antique fireplace, a marble-floored bathroom and a fully-equipped kitchen and dining area.

As the advertisement points out, “rental allowance is not accepted.” This is only for the truly well-off.

A spokesperson for agent Sherry Fitzgerald, which is handling the property, said it is mostly companies that are interested in it.

“This is really for the hot-shots coming over from America. The rent of €5,000 a month would be nothing to these companies, and they would put a staff member up in the apartment rather than putting them in a hotel,” she said.