Fodor's Expert Review Old Ground Hotel

Understated modern bedrooms and a cornerstone location on O'Connell Street, right in the town center, is the key to the enduring success of this 18th-century ivy-clad landmark hotel. Old-fashioned charm meets contemporary élan at this winning entry to Ennis's hotel stakes—rest on the lobby's inviting brocade sofas as you study paintings on the wall from the hotel's striking collection of new Irish artists, including Donald Teskey, Cecil Maguire, and Mick O'Dea. In contrast to the period furnishings of the public rooms, guest rooms have an uncluttered but sophisticated style, with furniture painted in soothing shades of taupe or eau de Nil, crisp white linen, and spacious bathrooms. For dinner, go formal with a four-course menu in the Brendan O'Regan Room, or enjoy a casual meal in the hotel's Town Hall Bistro, one of the finest restaurants in town—roast rack of Clare lamb with rosemary ratatouille, perhaps. Then adjourn to the Poet's Corner pub, which, set on Ennis's main street, is the very heart of the town's social life, with award-winning live Irish music sessions most nights.