Founded in 1824 as an urban retreat for the gentility.
It's played its part in Irish history.
In 1922, the Constitution of the Irish Free State was written and signed here.
Now for the first time in its 190 year history, cameras have
been given exclusive access to the front and back of house.
In this series, we capture just what it takes to deliver
5 star quality service to the world's most demanding clientele.
I think we're just going a bit too much.
As The Shelbourne marks its 190th anniversary,
the hotel looks back on its long history.
And screen legends come to stay.
You're very welcome to The Shelbourne Hotel.
You're looking very well.
It's another busy morning at The Shelbourne.
Guest relations manager, JD Flynn, has a logistical nightmare on his hands.
There's 16 horse-drawn carriages being brought to the front of the hotel
for a group who are looking for The Shelbourne fairytale.
A group of 60 guests from Argentina have requested to travel by carriage to The Guinness Storehouse.
The horses and carriages have been gathered from all over Dublin.
It's JD's job to organise the departure, on one of Dublin's busiest streets.
We also have to manage any excrement as well.
I suppose that'll be the other thing.
I better keep going here.
There is a bit of theatricality to The Shelbourne.
My brother often asks me what do you do in The Shelbourne.
I say look, I make dreams come true.
He always laughs at that.
It's like the old Shelbourne.
This is what it would've been like managing the front door.
You would've had all these horses and VIP's coming in and out.
Instead of having that limousine or Mercedes Benz,
you have this big massive carriage and two white horses.
It just brings it all home.
It shows you what it was like back them.
Back to the future.
Down in the kitchen, the pastry team are hard at work.
But head pastry chef, Katie McLoughlin,
won't be making any desserts or afternoon teas today.
Easter is in a couple of weeks.
She is dedicating the next 3 days to hand-making Easter eggs which will
go on display in the hotel's lobby before being donated to charity.
We just have to be careful how many times it's layered up.
Using techniques that go back centuries, coloured cocoa butter
is layered to create an outer shell.
The next job is the carefully prepare the chocolate.
If you melt your chocolate and leave it there, if you go to lift
if off it'll melt in your hands, there's a kind of scum on top of it.
But if you buy a bar a nice thin bar of chocolate,
it's shiny, it looks more attractive.
It tastes better. It doesn't taste grainy.
Hand-crafting Easter eggs is an annual tradition.
People come into the hotel lobby just to see what has been created.
When you walk in there's the instant atmosphere which you can't buy.
I think people just love that.
Hopefully they come back because they love what we do.
The famous Horseshoe Bar.
The Shelbourne is proud to promote its heritage.
Every month people come from all over Ireland to attend history talks.
How many chandeliers did they say there were? 39.
My God. That's a lot of ceiling.
Fittingly, the talks are held in the same room that was
used for drafting the Constitution of the Irish Free State.
They're given by the hotel's unofficial historical expert, Denis O'Brien.
The very first constitution of our state was drafted in this hotel.
There were three drafts of it. Two in English, one in Irish.
So that room is probably the most historical room in Ireland.
During 1916, The Shelbourne played a big part.
As Easter is approaching, the topic of today's talk
is the hotel's role in the Rising of 1916.
You've got to remember this was the home of the British establishment.
The most senior of the British officers in the British Army
and indeed civil servants.
So the British decided that this old lady had to be protected at all costs.
When I came here 7 years ago, I really didn't know an awful
lot more than most people who were here.
But as the time went on I got a feeling, there's a lot more
to this old lady than bricks and mortar.
The Shelbourne's role in history is not just a matter of pride.
It's also a way of selling rooms.
Today some of the staff are getting to dress up.
I kind of like it!
I like it. It's flowy or something.
As The Shelbourne is 190 years old this year, the hotel has called
in public relations specialist, Gillian Duke.
She has organised a photo call to try to get some pictures in the national papers.
I used to work in the kitchen.
Stephen Hanley, the general manager, is really hoping for national
paper cover so The Irish Times, The Irish Independent or
broadsheets will be the ones we're really going after.
So no pressure.
We're going to do one or two shots in front of the hotel first of all,
just to get us warmed up.
Then the idea being that we get a shot of the 6 people lined up
in a row, going towards Stephen's Green.
So we will have to stop the traffic.
Hotel staff are being asked to brave the traffic to re-enact an event from 1916.
The story goes that a break in the fighting allowed staff to
leave the hotel and go and feed bread to the ducks in St. Stephen's Green.
For the staff involved, it's been an interesting experience,
whether the pictures make the papers or not.
Putting those costumes on kind of makes it real.
You do realise that it is an old place and people did work there.
Today I think it was great just to step back,
to see how it looked like back in the day.
In the hotel's museum, Head Chef Garry Hughes is also stepping back in time, looking at old menus.
The Flour Millers Association of Ireland. 6th December, 1923.
He's conducting some research for a new 190th anniversary tasting menu
which pays homage to the hotel's culinary history.
I'm able to pick from events throughout history.
Like The Horse Show was related to the hotel.
The rugby and the St. George's Day, St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
I'm going to recreate my version of dishes on certain dates.
One thing I have noticed about all the menus is they all consist
of a consomme, which is quite interesting.
Consomme poule au pot which is chicken consomme.
Clear turtle soup which is another consomme.
Tomato consomme.
I think to do it any justice, I have to make a consomme for this menu.
I've just decided.
The Easter eggs are now out of their moulds.
Ready for phase 2.
I'm hoping the two eggs will stick together.
Sometimes you get it first try. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries
Sometimes you get too confident and you might take your
hands away too soon and then.. That's it.
Hopefully they're not leaning too much that way.
We'll see.
Upstairs in general manager Stephen Hanley's office,
JD is going through the weekly VIP welcome cards.
Today the hotel is gearing up for a very exciting guest.
Hollywood legend, Omar Sharif.
Have you ever heard of Mr. Sharif? Dr. Zhivago.
Dr. Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia.
That famous scene where he's on the horse.
He's on the horse, he's on the horse. He eventually gets there.
He's supposed to arrive in a car though.
Maybe he'll arrive by horse.
Let me check with JD. I'll call you straight back.
He's here in Dublin as a celebrity guest at the Irish Arabic Film Festival.
I think that we'll roll out the red carpet.
Over the centuries The Shelbourne has welcomed some of the world's biggest names.
But there is something about Mr. Sharif that has tickled everyone's imagination.
Famous gambler from Monte Carlo.
Lawrence of Arabia.
Yes. Yes. And Peter Sellers.
Two of them in it. Peter O'Toole.
Peter O'Toole, sorry.
60's heart throb.
My mum fancied him. No doubt about it.
Yeah, my mam, her best friend. All of them, they loved him.
You know what I think he's really enjoy now.
A nice A3 size book we have with nice photography.
This is a lovely book.
There is plenty of famous film stars here.
Mr. John Wayne. Gabriel Byrne.
A copy of that on display, not necessarily to take away but
certainly on display in the room.
How are you? I'm coming.
Great to see you. You're very welcome.
Thank you so much. You're looking very well.
A pleasure. Thank you. Good to see you.
He still has those eyes.
Hi Mr. Sharif. Welcome to The Shelbourne.
Thank you.
In the Constitution Room preparations are under way for
the launch of Garry's new tasting menu that celebrates
the hotel's 190 year anniversary.
Garry has distilled the hotel's past achievements down to a 5 course history lesson.
It includes consomme, lobster, a traditional style Arnold Bennett omelette,
lamb Wellington and chocolate gateaux.
They're arriving at 6.30.
Coming tonight are some of Ireland's most ferocious food writers and critics.
A critic's opinion is their opinion.
For me, I'm very thick skinned.
I'll take on board their comments to try and improve it because
a lot of them are specialists in what they do.
So I do respect them for that.
Just make sure you turn it around.
Touch wood, I've always had good reviews but you're only
as good as your last review.
What we have downstairs in our museum is we have history
that I don't think any other hotel in the city has.
It's hoped this menu will be served in The Saddle Room Restaurant all year
but that depends on the reactions of tonight's guests.
Garry won't have to wait long to know what they think.
In today's world of social media, there are no press deadlines.
I've done more events here in the ballroom where you'd be
just about to serve the main course and they're like I'm at the event at The Shelbourne.
It's fantastic. So that gives you a little lift.
But if you weren't to get it right, how many people are going to find out that it's not right?
The whole team are waiting anxiously to find out if tonight's launch is a success.
The first tweet is looking forward to the new 190 year menu
in the wonderful Constitution Room at The Shelbourne.
They're all in there taking their pictures and
eating which is good.
To be able to recreate what chefs have done in the past is pretty amazing.
Maybe some day in the future someone might recreate what I've done
here in The Shelbourne.
Wow. Now that's what I call a dessert. From #190 menu.
We only pass through The Shelbourne.
Somebody else will be in after me.
It's the middle of the night.
While the guests sleep, the night team complete their tasks.
Kitchens need to be cleaned, breakfast cards collected,
the guests' shoes polished
and the building kept secure.
There is also another team working tonight.
Two brothers who are here to clean the hotel's 39 chandeliers.
Tonight's task, before any guests wake up, is to polish the hotel's
oldest and grandest chandelier that hangs in the Lord Mayor's Lounge.
The Waterford company has now shut down so this is an antique now.
They don't make chandeliers like this any more.
It's probably worth 60,000-70,000.
It's just a bit of crystal fell.
We clean the chandeliers in The Shelbourne every year.
Twice a year.
We also do some of the main hotels in London Town.
Also The Palace we do.
And Windsor Castle. Places like that.
It's a very delicate job to do.
You have to take your time, don't rush anything.
You have to have the patience of a saint.
The patience of a saint.
It's taken all night but the grand chandelier is now clean.
The group of guests leaving early for the airport never saw a thing.
Hollywood legend Omar Sharif is enjoying a bite to eat,
under a gleaming chandelier in the Lord Mayor's Lounge.
It's his first visit to The Shelbourne but he's no stranger to hotel life.
He currently lives in a hotel in Paris.
It's nothing extraordinary to be in a hotel.
A lot of people live in hotels.
They bring me the food and bring me everything.
I'm very happy. I say hi darling. Come on.
How is it? What did you do?
I'm happy.
It's cold darling. It's cold.
In the Princess Grace Suite, the guest relations team are
getting ready for some more VIP's.
I'm doing the final snag.
The suite is named after Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco,
who was a regular guest.
For the next 2 nights it's playing host to an elite party
who have also booked another 8 suites.
They have numerous special requests.
Their total bill for 2 days will be around 20,000 euro.
I can't unfortunately say where they're coming from.
Just in case that's confidential.
But where they do come from is perhaps the Middle East region.
They've requested to have prayer mats in their rooms.
So I just want to make sure that they're all there.
I also have signs printed off in the direction of Mecca.
The hotel are making every effort to ensure their guests
get the most luxurious treatment that money can buy.
It's extremely intense when you know that you have some very high profile guests.
You don't just want to get it right. You want to go above and beyond what they've asked for.
You don't just want them to leave and say that was sufficient.
You want them to leave going wow, that was pretty impressive.
So an awful lot of thought goes into it.
Right now, JD's thought process is concentrating on just one thing.
Where should the prayer mats go.
I want to get southeast.
The most basic response, I would say Dun Laoghaire is that way.
That's the best way.
Now where will I put this?
Will I leave it on the table?
I would lay it on the floor. Really? Yeah.
I think a prayer mat needs a prayer mat area.
At the end of the bed there you've pretty much the space required.
I think we're just going a bit too much.
It is a demanding world but I have to say we wouldn't be doing
our jobs if we didn't know what it was.
It's most unlikely that a guest request is ever going to throw at us
a question that we'll say I wasn't prepared for that.
Or we've never heard of that one before.
In the marketing department the papers are in but
unfortunately the 1916 historical re-enactment of staff feeding
ducks didn't get a national front page.
We're happy that we got in The Irish Times.
Even if it was the business section not the front cover.
We're happy with the feature.
Katie is making progress with the Easter eggs.
Soon they'll be ready to meet the public in the hotel's lobby,
before they are donated to charity.
Film producer David Puttnam is settling down a for a cup of tea.
He's been a regular guest at The Shelbourne for nearly 30 years.
I'm very familiar with the history of the hotel because
my dad was a photo journalist and I was brought up on the history of this hotel.
My dad happened to be a big fan of Michael Collins.
More than I probably fully appreciate, I'm drawn to the history of the hotel
and the fact of who's been there and what happened there.
Yeah, it's important.
Mary O'Carrol's relationship with The Shelbourne dates back nearly 80 years.
Her parents owned a department store in Roscommon and
they would regularly stay at The Shelbourne on business.
It was THE place. It wasn't a cheap hotel.
It was more the gentry I think who came here.
Mary made her first trip to The Shelbourne when she was 4.
There was a man with the tall hat, as there still is at the front door.
As children, that was wonderful.
This big man opening the door for children.
There were boys in the hall that wore uniforms.
Yes, that was typical. Loads of buttons down the front.
We used to call them buttons. I don't know what they should be called.
They used to bring us over to Stephen's Green and walk us,
like dogs, around Stephen's Green for half an hour or something.
Then come back and deliver us back upstairs again.
I don't think it's any accident that a fair number of movies get set in hotels.
In a sense, they are enclosed worlds.
I think it all helps to make hotels slightly magical places.
I think that things have souls.
I really do believe that things have a soul.
I think it's possible to insert yourself into the soul of something
and benefit from it.
All of us I think dwell on our own history.
Who we are, where we are, what we've been through.
I've had a long and remarkably happy life.
So when I pull up at this hotel and look at the exterior,
it and me become somehow co-joined.
It's part of the way that I see myself and my life
and my sense of continuity. I think that's important.
It is part and parcel of my own sense of continuity.
Before she goes, Mary wants to visit the hotel's museum.
Her father died shortly after her first visit to The Shelbourne.
She's hoping to find a record of him in a visitor book dating from the 30's.
It would be the time of the horse show. August.
I'm hoping that I'll see a signature of my father and mother who would've
been staying here for the spring show or the show in the RDS in August.
These are The Croftons.
They were the gentry in Roscommon, from Moate Park.
So we're getting closer.
Look. Mr. & Mrs. G O'Connel.
My father died when I was just barely 4.
He was only 39 at the time.
I'd never seen his writing, ever.
You'd never think it was important but it's just when you see it.
I never saw his signature before.
It's really wonderful.
It just brings it all back.
I think historically now it's a wonderful thing to be
able to trace what people where and what they did and
the sort of people they were.
To have a record like that. It's so important.
I suppose you could never chronicle the social history of a building like this,
because of the amount of people who've gone through the doors over the years.
There is no explaining the emotion and the feeling
of how much enjoyment people get out of walking around the hotel.
Being tuned into really how important this place is.
Next week on The Shelbourne, the business of love
as hotel staff get romantic.
He is going to be proposing to his hopefully soon-to-be fiance.
We're filling a room with flowers.
It's certainly catching my attention.
: Tracey Carr, RTE 2014.