The extraordinary number of new hotels in Dublin has encouraged the rise of a new type of tippler - the hotel barfly. It's not an entirely new phenomenon, of course. The social activity in the Horseshoe Bar in the Shelbourne is legendary and it, and the more casual bar on the other side of the hall are packed most evenings with people who are never likely to check in to the hotel. Most new hotels have followed suit and dropped any pretenxe of keeping their lounge facilities for residents only.
Apart from the obvious commercial benefits to the hotel of a packed bar, there is another less tangible reason why the trend is towards a more open house. Apparently residents, especially those who choose to stay in citycentre hotels, like to feel that they are in the centre of things and one way of helping them feel that way is if the bar is packed with the right kind of locals.
Some bars go the whole hog as well has having a name of their own have a separate entrance out onto the street so customers in search of a drink don't have to run the gauntlet of the concierge, the porter and the receptionist.
The Inn on the Green
Fitzwilliam Hotel, St Stephen's Green
Definitely the sexiest bar in the city with a cool, sophisticated metropolitan attitude. So glamourosly chic you feel that to order anything other than a vodka martini would be the height of vulgarity. The low-ceiling room is fitted with walnut tables and has sleek chairs and ultra-fashionable pouffe style stools upholstered in red or creamy yellow. The perfectly lit semi-circular bar is topped with stainless steel and the lattice-backed leather high stools around it will undoubtedly vie with the cosy-looking booths as the premium seats.
A disadvantage is that you have to go through the self-conscious and atmosphereless stone and marble lobby area to get to it. It has yet to be tested by the great drinking public - because until Monday the bar will not be open to anyone other than hotel residents. Pity about the cheesy name, there is nothing even remotely "inn-ish" about this bar.
Inkwell Bar
The Schoolhouse Hotel, Northumberland Road, Ballsbridge
The hotel is a wonderful conversion of the landmark three-roomed school, which was built in 1860. Since it opened in April, the bar, which feels entirely separate from the rest of the hotel, has been buzzing with suits from the surrounding offices. It is one of the most authentically historic-looking bars in Dublin, as the designers kept the spectacular pitched ceiling and the exposed beams.
They also decorated it in keeping with its Victorian origins with pretty arts and crafts, William Morris inspired fabrics and furniture. A huge plus on even vaguely sunny evenings is the very pleasant outdoor seating area. One big minus, however, is that on a quiet Monday night the sound system was inexplicably belting out that old hotel elevator standby Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Old Oak Tree!
The Cellar Bar
Merrion Hotel, Merrion Street Dublin
THE place to go on a Thursday or Friday night to rub shoulders with the higher civil servants and government officials from across the road. Became a big and instant hit with executive types when it opened. It has a separate entrance to the hotel, so it feels just like a regular pub - albeit a subterranean one with cellar arches. Several small private seating areas make it a good place for unobserved meetings. Low level lighting and all those granite arches might make claustrophobes feel slightly put off, especially on a packed end-of-week night.
But it is relatively quiet on Saturday and Sunday nights, when the office workers aren't around. It's also quiet on sunny evenings as drinkers tend not to want to descend underground, preferring to hunt out a beer garden elsewhere. Hugely popular lunch business owing to its location, excellent lunch menu and prompt service.
The Clarence Bar
Clarence Hotel, Wellington Quay
STILL the quiet bar of choice for thirtysomethings who want to drink in Temple Bar but who don't have the patience or the stamina to throw themselves into the fray in the nearby superpubs. Big media and arts clientele. Fans of the original slightly tired but hugely atmospheric octogan bar in the old Clarence were nervous that the massive style-driven renovation would destroy the bar, but in the end the opposite happened.
The much-loved shape was kept, the walls were repanneled with beautiful oak and comfy and stylishly colourful leather seats were added. Fans are still divided about the aesthetic merits of the bar with its incongruous chunky brass detailing which dominates the centre of the room. A comfortable place to socialise.
The Butter Lane Bar
Brookes Hotel, Drury Street
NOT the most visually appealing of spaces - it looks rather like a sofa shop. But where the bar in this fairly anonymous-looking hotel really scores is its fashionable bar menu, which starts with croissants in the morning and ends with Mediterranean-inspired sandwiches at 7 p.m. Steadily busy during the day and a smart place for morning meetings and pre-theatre nibbles.
Champion Sports Bar
Stakis Hotel, Charlemont Bridge, Dublin 6
Not for anyone looking for a quiet drink. Sports bars haven't really taken off here, largely because what they tend to mean is the odd bit of sporting memorabilia and giant screens showing an unreasonable amount of American football. The Stakis Hotel is part of a Scottish chain, and like several of its other hotels, the bar in the Dublin hotel is a sports bar.
Unlike the others, this is not American-themed and, most unusually for an Irish bar, it has run a series of promotions since its official opening in April. If you missed the recent "free kick when you buy two pints" (a kick, by the way, is a short) then you are in time for the World-Cup-inspired £2 a pint and all the sausages and chicken wings you can eat. Attracts a lively young crowd.
For more retiring mature types, all is not lost in that the bar also services the much quieter beer garden with its nice wooden furniture and stylish calico umbrellas.
Piseog's
Camden Court Hotel, Camden Street
Anyone who smugly believes that theme pubs involve either palm trees or platinum discs hung on the wall should take a look at Piseog's, the bar in the newlyopened Camden Court Hotel. It is Oirish right down to its Children of Lir murals, chunky wooden furniture and slate floors. It opens directly onto the street, so it feels like a regular pub, and it has become popular with people on their way to one of the several night clubs in the vicinity.
The Library Bar
The Central Hotel, Exchequer Street
People who love the Library Bar are reluctant to talk about it for fear that this well-kept secret becomes overrun. Tucked away upstairs on the first floor, the bar has recently been redecorated and now it has a quiet clubby feel that makes it popular for daytime business meetings. It is a comfortably sedate place for an evening drink and it attracts a slightly older age group than the surrounding pubs.
Exhibition Bar
Herbert Park Hotel, Ballsbridge
Like the rest of the hotel, the bar is very modern, bright and airy, with velvet sofas and the brightest carpet you are likely to see in these beige minimalist times. Very popular with its mostly corporate residents and people who live in the surrounding luxury apartments. The open-plan design means customers tend to spill out into the terraced lobby area where there is a waitress service. Busiest from Monday to Thursday nights, thanks to its business clientele.