June 11, 2007

Europe | Ireland | Dublin

Dublin’s “Beautiful Catastrophe”

By Tiffany Hawk

From platinum records to hotel redesign — it's a natural progression for an aging rocker, no?

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What does a rock star-turned humanitarian-turned fashion designer-turned Vanity Fair editor do next? What all fashion designers do when they get bored — design a hotel. Bono and U2 band mate the Edge have teamed up with starchitect Norman Foster to radically redesign Dublin’s historic Clarence hotel, which the rockers have owned since 1992. Despite its reputation as an A-list glam magnet, and a $3,600 a night Penthouse, the Clarence has reportedly lost nearly $20 million since it opened. Now, the music icons plan to spend $200 million to turn it into “the most spectacular hotel in Europe.” The expansion would reportedly demolish all but the river-facing facades of the Clarence and five neighboring Georgian buildings to create one hotel — four times the size of the original, and topped by a “spaceship-like” glass dome. Conservation groups are opposed to the plan which would dramatically alter the look of Dublin’s historic Temple Bar district. But considering Bono’s record — three Nobel Peace Prize nominations, a soon-to-be awarded Liberty Medal, and U2’s 22 Grammys — maybe the re-invented Clarence will in fact be even better than the real thing.