A night in the Frank Sinatra Suite

I worked in Dublin on Thursday and Friday and spent Thursday night at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, to the south of the city. I grew up in Dun Laoghaire, it’s always nice to get back and spend some time by the sea.

I had great plans to finish work early on Thursday and take a nice long walk (or even a run), but things didn’t pan out that way. First of all, I had to catch on 0650 flight from London City Airport on Thursday, which meant I was up at 0500.

Given my sensibilities, not a great start to any day, never mind one that was going to be so busy. Then, I had two appointment rescheduled, meaning I didn’t actually finish at my client’s office until 7pm. Two hours later than planned.

That’s a long day.

So by the time I got to my hotel, I was in  no mood for a long walk. All I could think of was getting out of my work clothes, ordering some room service, having a shower and getting some sleep.

After a very quick check-in, I wandered up to my room, to a floor I’d not stayed on before. As I arrived at the door to my room, I was met with a slightly surprising sight:

A suite?! And one dedicated to Frank Sinatra, no less. For a moment, I thought there must be some mistake. My client had booked the room for me, as usual, and they’d never ordered one in the past.

But my key card worked in the door, so in I went.

What a surprise.

Even though I was exhausted, I had to have a wander around the suite. And the more I walked, the more I discovered. The suite consisted of a large lounge, an enormous bedroom area with secondary lounge, two bathrooms, a walk in dressing room and very large entrance hallway. Each room could be closed off from the others and I immediately began to compare the suite to my apartment in London. Not quite as big, but it came close!

 

The enormous bed at the centre of the sleeping area was covered in what can only be described as a laundry of towels, folded into an ornate representation of a pair of swans.

After a quick FaceTime call home to @TheFrankFlyer to show off the room, I was hit with a wave of tiredness and quickly ordered some room service. While I waited for the food, I got out of my work clothes and enjoyed the superb view out over Dun Laoghaire pier and Dublin Bay.

 

The last time I stayed at the Royal Marine, I enjoyed some rather excellent chicken wings in the bar, so these were ordered, alongside some fish and chips and a pint of Guinness.

When in Rome…

The food didn’t disappoint! But as ever, I’d ordered more than I could handle and waddled off for a shower. Which was, of course, an impressive monsoon shower in a self-contain cubicle. Big enough for three people, it even had a bench to sit on.

 

I slept like a baby that night, down I’m sure to the early start, the long day, but also the extremely comfortable bed. I was woken early the next morning by the sunshine coming through the windows, as I hadn’t pulled the curtains. It’s one of my foibles when I’m staying somewhere alone. I love to leave curtains open so I can see the night sky as I fall asleep and be woken by by natural light.

So much better than a heart-stopping alarm first thing.

I’ll be staying at the Royal Marine a few more times this year, as I run this programme for my clients. I doubt I’ll continue to stay in the frank Sinatra suite and I’ll put it down to an administrative error.

That won’t stop me requesting it again, though!