The G Hotel Galway

The relatively understated exterior, in a modern building with views of Galway City’s skyline, does little to prepare you for the spectacle that awaits within. The G’s designer, the milliner to the stars Philip Treacy, has left his stamp all over the hotel — it’s as luxe and dramatic as one of his famous head-mounted sculptures, and it’s anything but a tentative first step for Galway’s entry into the boutique hotel game.

Public spaces are a riot of vivid color, furnished with a mix of antiques and contemporary designer pieces, the walls lined with acres of mirrors — an elaborate stage set, the absolute opposite of the staid traditionalism of Galway’s other hotels.

The performance-shy can take refuge in the guest rooms; still stylish, they’re rather more sedate, sporting a calmer backstage look compared to the technicolor lobby and salons. Here, amid more muted tones, you’ll find the kind of stylish decadence that marks the contemporary British Isles style — everything overstuffed, oversized, arch and playful in its luxuriousness.

It’s not just an interior design showroom either; functional amenities are plentiful, butlers serve all rooms, and the G’s restaurant delivers its upscale Italian cuisine round the clock. Business travelers are well served — Galway is still as much a thriving high-tech hotbed as it is a leisure destination — but an afternoon in the ESPA spa is the equal of any dedicated spa retreat. A word to the wise: book dinners and spa treatments well in advance, as both restaurant and spa have proved quite popular.

Please note: The hotel is a 20-minute walk from Galway's pedestrian city center.

How to get there: The G hotel is approximately a 2 1/4 hour drive from Dublin city center and 1 1/4 hours from Shannon International Airport.