Opening 1817 Management RIU Hotels & Resorts | Owner RIU Hotels & Resorts Number of rooms 288 | |
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Address 23 Upper O'Connell Street
Dublin 1 | ||
Hotel Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin, formerly The Gresham Hotel, is a historic four-star hotel on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland. It is a Dublin institution and landmark building which was refurbished in the early 2000s.
History
Hotel founder, Thomas Gresham, was a foundling child, abandoned on the steps of the Royal Exchange, London. He was named after the founder of that institution Sir Thomas Gresham a famous merchant-politician in the Elizabethan era.
Gresham came to Ireland, and as a young man obtained employment in the service of William Beauman of Rutland Square (now Parnell Square), Dublin. After some time, and while still comparatively young, he became butler to this family.
In 1817, Gresham left Beauman's household and purchased 21-22 Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street). How he acquired the capital for the purchase is unknown. Over the next 48 years, he operated the hotel as a lodging house catering mostly to the wealthy aristocracy and MPs who passed through Dublin on their way to London.
The hotel was badly damaged during the Irish Civil War, but rebuilt during the 1920s to a high specification. Many of the original features from this time remain including Waterford crystal chandeliers. Today, the hotel has 288 bedrooms. The hotel became part of the Ryan Hotel group in 1978. The Ryan Group was bought by independent owners in 2004 and became a private company, The Gresham Hotel Group. The Gresham was sold to the Spanish RIU Hotels & Resorts chain in September 2016 for €92 million and was renamed Hotel Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin.