Arriving through the doors of the Merrion Hotel is like stepping back in time. Not as far back as 1756, when the first foundation stones were laid in the construction of the townhouses, nor 1997, when its current owners – Lochlann Quinn, Martin Naughton and Billy Hastings – first welcomed patrons to the hotel, but back just a few short months ago pre-pandemic. As the world enters the ‘new normal’, the Merrion Hotel has somehow maintained the essence of the ‘old normal’, exuding a pre-Covid lightness and charm, whilst still following all the HSE guidelines. I’m greeted by a doorman…