Morrison Cafe Bar

Rows of boxy leather armchairs face the windows, and those windows face the Liffey, which is a better deal than most hotel bars offer. This is the lobby bar of the Morrison Hotel, a John Rocha-designed property that once described itself as "probably the hippest and coolest luxury hotel in Dublin," which is exactly the kind of confidence you either admire or sidestep. The vibe is calm, the setting is polished, and the river is doing the decorating.