Smart Splurges
Do the Dylan
With a stunning restaurant, a quiet, leafy location that’s still close to everything, and every luxury bell and whistle imaginable, the Dylan is the best hotel in Dublin and well worth the expense. And who can’t benefit from a pillow menu? Rooms from $325; dylan.ie
Digest the Dégustation Menu at L’Ecrivain
Slalom through chef Derry Clarke’s 10 beautiful courses, like turbot with lobster-claw tempura and basil-and-saffron aioli, and experience the best, freshest Irish produce on offer in Dublin. Reserve a table at least three weeks in advance. $175; lecrivain.com
Book a Bentley
If you’re staying at the Merchant in Belfast and dread the trip from the airport to the hotel, have the hotel pick you up in its very own chauffeur-driven Bentley Arnage and make the ride in style. $160; themerchanthotel.com
Tee up at Royal County Down Golf Club
Hire a senior caddie, whose stern gaze alone will ensure hitherto untapped levels of concentration. You may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb, as Belfast locals say. $360; royalcountydown.org
Detoxify at Bellinter House
Soak in a deluxe seaweed bath, experience a dry brushing ritual to exfoliate the skin, then finish with a seaweed-oil massage in this spa’s sublime three-hour treatment, under an hour from Dublin, in County Meath. $450; bellinterhouse.com
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