What Not To Miss in London & Dublin This Summer and Fall — Including Checking in at The Doyle Collection

With blockbuster exhibitions, anticipated West End premieres, and art-filled programming taking over Dublin and London this fall, there’s no better time to visit — and no better place to stay than The Doyle Collection’s soulful European city hotels. This family-owned group has transformed each of its boutique properties into a gateway for creative discovery, drawing everyone from aesthetically inclined solo travelers to discerning culture lovers.

Here’s a look at what’s in store for the rest of the summer and fall seasons:

Ireland is in the midst of a cultural renaissance, with actors like Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal earning global acclaim and literary voices like Sally Rooney adding new verve to the country’s rich storytelling traditions. The Westbury, set in the beating heart of the Irish capital, makes an ideal base for diving into the city’s humming creative scene. Timed to coincide with the culture-packed summer and fall seasons, the hotel has launched a new Behind the Curtain package, perfect for culture aficionados. Guests enjoy an exclusive backstage tour of the iconic Abbey Theatre — Ireland’s National Theatre — and a live performance in the course of their stay, as well as a full Irish breakfast each morning and a three-course dinner at WILDE, the hotel’s restaurant (named after city’s most famous native son writer), with an often-changing menu that celebrates and elevates the finest Irish ingredients and whose wine list is curated by the award-winning sommelier.

• Special Access: In advance of arrival, the Guest Experience Team reaches out to tailor each guest’s stay, with suggestions that go beyond the guidebooks — from browsing 18th-century volumes at the under-the-radar Marsh’s Library to exploring the little-known Chester Beatty museum in Dublin Castle, or even a seaside day trip to Dalkey, aka the Amalfi Coast of Ireland, known for its boutique shops, vertiginous cliffs, and sea views.

Checking into The Kensington is like being welcomed into the London townhouse of your most aristocratic — and cultured — friend. Spread across a row of grand 19th-century townhouses, its white stucco façade pops against the surrounding red-brick mansions and Georgian architecture. The hotel is just a stone’s throw from Hyde Park (home to British Summer Time concerts, where Gracie Abrams and Sabrina Carpenter are scheduled to perform this July), the Natural History Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The latter is currently hosting a blockbuster exhibition dedicated to the French jeweler Cartier (through November 16, 2025), featuring more than 350 dazzling pieces worn by the likes of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Grace of Monaco.

Back at the hotel, guests are greeted by their own aristocratic fantasy of soaring ceilings, Waterford crystal chandeliers, and an art-inspired afternoon tea service, which pays tribute to legendary artists like Jackson Pollock, Yayoi Kusama, and Alicja Kwade, with edible works of art served on traditional silver tiers. Solo travelers can opt for 150-square-foot “Cosy” rooms, while families gravitate toward the recently renovated 366-square-foot Luxury Studio Suites, which feature spacious living areas, marble bathrooms, separate dressing spaces, and Juliet balconies overlooking the neighborhood’s wide boulevards. Some also connect to adjacent rooms, offering extra space to spread out.

• Special Access: Through The Kensington’s exclusive “V&A Experience” package, guests are guaranteed two tickets to the Cartier exhibition – even if tickets are sold out. The hotel is set to launch a similar offering for the V&A’s hotly-anticipated Victoria Antoinette exhibition (September 20-2025-March 22, 2026), which will offer an in-depth look at the notorious French queen through her extravagant fashion (think: sky-high wigs, pastel gowns, and glittering jewels). And if you’re inspired by the show, a perfect conclusion/continuation is the Marie Antoinette-themed afternoon tea back at the hotel with French pastries that look like small works of art themselves.

Dating back to the Roaring Twenties, the redbrick Bloomsbury Hotel just off Tottenham Court Road was once a women’s club — and is rumored to be where Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret learned to swim — before being reimagined as a hotel in the 1990s. Set in literary Bloomsbury, a neighborhood long associated with poets, scholars, and the literary avant-garde, the hotel is ideally located for exploring the West End theaters, Soho’s buzzy restaurants, and Covent Garden’s boutiques — all within a 10-minute walk.

Cultural highlights of the fall 2025 season include “Clueless The Musical,” which is currently making its West End premiere through March 2026; the family-friendly production of “Paddington The Musical” (starting November 1, 2025); and the highly anticipated Jenny Saville exhibition (through September 2025) at the National Portrait Gallery, located less than a 15-minute walk from the hotel. Back on property, the Martin Brudnizki-designed interiors exude 1920s-style razzmatazz, with vibrant wallpaper, exotic fabrics, and antique flourishes. Pore over rare first editions in the Seamus Heaney Library, enjoy afternoon tea in the lush courtyard terrace, or sip cocktails at the Coral Room, a vibrant, art-filled bar with a devoted local following.

• Special Access: The hotel’s Dalloway Terrace has been transformed into a cascading floral masterpiece, as dreamy and shape-shifting as the novel that inspired its name. The luscious display — complete with an inspired, limited-editing cocktail menu — is part of “The Clarissa Chronicles,” a year-long celebration of the 100-year anniversary of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway. A special Clarissa Chronicles Package includes a Woolf–inspired walking tour with a bespoke illustrated map of Clarissa’s London (insider tips: unexpected greenspaces, where to go for books and blooms). For an additional cost, guests may also book a private tour led by a London literature expert for a more personalized and in-depth experience.