By Charly SHELTON

Ireland is full of beautiful places to stay after a long day exploring the country. From manor houses to cottages, from hostels to resorts, there is no shortage of choice when it comes to selecting your Irish home away from home. For those who want somewhere on the higher end, somewhere more elegant than rustic, there are a few places to consider. For the next few weeks, CV Weekly will report on some of the best hotels and restaurants Ireland has to offer – places CV Weekly had been invited to visit. We introduced readers to Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland last week and its beautiful five-star accommodations. This week, we take a look at an older, more historic hotel that offers a Victorian-era feel with modern comforts and great views.

The Granville Hotel in Waterford is perfectly located. It is just steps away from downtown, and affords amazing views of the city. Waterford is hands-down my favorite town in Ireland and, if I had to pick one place to settle down anywhere in the world, it would be there. It’s just big enough to feel like a city but without the traffic, crowds of tourists, smells, dirtiness and claustrophobia many have come to accept as typical of city life. There’s something special about Waterford.

Vikings founded the city in 914 AD and huge stone walls were built in a triangle shape around it to protect it from invaders. The Vikings used the city as a raiding post to attack the surrounding areas by sea or by land. The name Waterford comes from the Old Norse name Vadrarfjord, meaning “Windy Inlet Valley.” Since its foundation, Waterford has been invaded, besieged and gifted to other nobles and has always been an incredibly important city that draws people. While Waterford is known today mainly as the home of the crystalware that few can afford, it has played a large role in Irish history. The tricolor flag – green, white and orange, which today is the flag of the country – was first flown in protest from the third floor window of 33 The Mall, Waterford in 1848.

The man who designed and flew the flag, Thomas Francis Meagher, was born in what is now the Granville Hotel in 1823. It was his family home, designed and built by his father, Thomas Meagher, and became his home where friend and Irish hero, Daniel O’Connell, would come to visit and make plans. Meagher was also a decorated war hero, a brigadier general in the American Civil War, and a close friend of President Lincoln, for whom Meagher was a pallbearer after Lincoln’s assassination in 1865. Meagher later went on to become governor of Montana and his home passed out of his family.

The Granville was not forgotten, however. It changed hands and became the headquarters of Charles Bianconi, inventor and operator of Ireland’s first public transportation system, and then a hotel, “The Commercial House,” where Charles Stewart Parnell, “the uncrowned king of Ireland,” gave many speeches to those on the street from a first floor window. By the early 1900s, it was a bustling Victorian hotel.

By the 1970s, it fell into disrepair and was finally closed until 1979, when it was restored to its former glory. The feel is still suggestive of what would be seen in the heyday of the Commercial House, with the dark wood Victorian furnishings, stained glass and plush furniture in the lobby, bar and restaurant, but done with a deft hand. It is just redolent enough to make the connection without feeling stuck in the past, and modern amenities in the rooms provide full comfort by modern standards.

I was invited to stay at the Granville and was pleasantly surprised. From the street, it looks like a typical hotel. But upon entering the lobby, guests take a step back in time. In the room, which was a spacious top-floor suite, the eras mix. The striped fabric of the chairs, the repeating paisley designs on the bedspread and the floral print of the wallpaper suggest a vintage feel, but the key-activated light switch, the jacuzzi tub and the towel warming rack in the bathroom fit perfectly in this century.

But the best part of the room was the view. Despite the frigid March temperatures, I spent most of my time on the balcony, taking in the views of the Windy Fjord as it stretched out to sea. On one side was the road winding in from Ireland’s interior and on the other side was the ancient settlement site, the Viking round tower, St. Patrick’s Church and all that Waterford has to offer. Winding through it all is the river, the highway that made Waterford such an important place along the trading and raiding routes.

While the hotel may not be the tippy top of luxury in the way some other hotels are in Ireland, it is still a fine place to hang your hat. And that’s not exclusively what this place is about anyway. It’s about honoring history through the classic, rustic recipes used in the restaurant downstairs, through the suggestive Victorian décor, and through the warm Irish hospitality greeting guests at every turn. The Granville Hotel is a fantastic place to stay, right in the heart of one of the best towns in the world.

For more information, visit granville-hotel.ie.

  Charly Shelton