U2’s Bono, Edge Get OK to Reinvent Dublin’s Clarence Hotel

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  07.18.08 | 11:44 AM ET

clarencehotel
Photo by Phil Romans via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

The rock stars’ plan to demolish the riverside Clarence Hotel in Dublin’s Temple Bar district and rebuild it according to architect Norman Foster’s futuristic design was hardly assured to win approval. One conservationist called the design a “cannibalistic behemoth,” and an official inspector said the new building, which will include a “flying saucer-style roof,” would be “seriously injurious to the visual amenities of the area, would conflict with the policies of the current Dublin City Development Plan, and would, thereby, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”

So its approval by a planning board yesterday, critics say, is evidence of “the exceptional political clout wielded by Dublin’s most famous musical sons,” as the AP put it.

No doubt. But here’s the problem that inspectors and critics have. They’ve never rocked the Clarence’s soon-to-be-destroyed rooftop like this:

 

Tags: Hotels, Media Addict, Pop Culture Travel, Europe, Ireland, News and Briefs


2 Comments for U2’s Bono, Edge Get OK to Reinvent Dublin’s Clarence Hotel

Lola 07.19.08 | 4:14 AM ET

Thanks for the video!. Needed the weekly dose of Bono.

Mark 10.22.08 | 9:36 AM ET

got to love U2 and the magic of Bono. thanks for the video as well.

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