Luxury Irish living

IF P V — "Vincent" — Doyle had decided to complete his career as a veterinary surgeon then Ireland would be without its Tourist Board Chairman today, and minus seven leading Dublin hotels, several hotels in America, and one in London.
On the basis that every capital city needs at least one 5 star hotel of International standing P V Doyle opened the Berkeley Court some six years ago, in Ballsbridge, near the Royal Dublin Society Show Jumping grounds and close to the American Embassy.
Recently he added a new 70 bedroom wing to the Berkeley Court which was awarded the Blue Riband Accolade when it became a member, and the only Irish member, of the prestigious "Leading Hotels of the World" association. The guest list recently at this hotel, much used by politicians and others, included Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia and his entourage, John McEnroe, and Prince Albert of Monaco. This hotel is managed by Michael Governey.
While the Berkeley Court may be for visiting foreign delegations and diplomats (the security is one hundred per cent), the largest and most popular tourist hotel of the Doyle chain is the Burlington, Upper Leeson Street, which has just had a £2 million refit for its 420 bedrooms and an extra 80 added on. The manager of the hotel, which is popular with local residents and Irish visitors, is John Flynn. The "supremo" of the Doyle hotel group, who is based at the Burlington, is the capable and experienced General Manager, Michael Brennan, who began his tourist career with a leading trans-atlantic airline. In addition the Berkeley Court and the Burlington he has under his wing the more modest grade A hotels, the Montrose, a 120 bedroom hotel with which P V Doyle began his chain, the Green Isle, the Skylon and the Tara Tower. These are simple and functional hotels for tourists and for visitors up from the country. The Montrose is near Ireland's national television station and studios, and looks out on the campus of University College.
The Montrose has 190 bedrooms, the Skylon, on the north side of the city, on the road to Dublin airport, has 100 bedrooms, while the Tara Tower, also one hundred bedrooms, is near Dun Laoghaire, looking out over Dublin bay. The Green Isle, 90 bedrooms, is on the main road going south out of Dublin to Cork.
The luxury Westbury Hotel (no relation to the Westbury in London or in New York) just off Grafton Street, is the newest hotel, just opened as part of a shopping and restaurant complex. It has 150 bedrooms, underground parking for 180 cars, and is managed by veteran hotelier Billy Kingston.
One of the attractions of the Doyle group of hotels is that they are very much part of the local Dublin scene, and much used by Dublin people, and by visitors from all over Ireland. In fact the wonder sometimes is that any work gets done in Dublin at all, although the occupants of these crowded hosteleries with their balls of malt or pints of plain would have it that they are engaged in work of vital national importance and have nothing but the GNP of the nation in their thoughts as they wine and dine.
Vincent Doyle, the mother and father of the hotel group, is a quiet family man, content to live unostentatiously in his Georgian home in Dublin. He avoids publicity, but constantly moves around his hotels, keeping an alert eye on them, but without any hustle or bustle. His hotel score at the time of going to press is 7 home and 3