This completely refurbished, listed Georgian townhouse opened as a guesthouse in 1999. It was built in 1807, and it still holds many of its original features, which have been maintained and sensitively incorporated into the property. As you climb the short staircase, protected by iron railings, you enter the hotel through the bright red door with its concrete columned frame. The reception area is subtlety set back out of view and in pride of place is the stunning lounge with its tall ceiling, light paintwork, comfortable chairs, and impressive candelabra as the centrepiece. This is a communal area and was very pleasant to sit in whilst waiting for friends.

The staircases are typically very steep and the view back to the arch hallway is well setoff by the classic balustrade and spindles. All of the fourteen en-suite bedrooms were upstairs, and although not huge, were of adequate size. Tea- and coffee-making facilities were in the room with an ample supply of beverages (ask for more if you run out), the bed was comfortable (although only a standard size), and the TV reception good. I have to say that the view from our room was not even half-decent as we overlooked dingy back yards and fairly ordinary slate roofs.

Breakfast was served in the basement in a light, bright, and modern dining room. Plenty of drinks served on-demand and a buffet area for cereals, bread-rolls, and jams, but a custom-made cooked breakfast freshly prepared from a small kitchen. This was indeed a "proper" breakfast to set you up for the day!

The young owner was very accommodating in her approach, as can be demonstrated by our experience one night. We’d booked a taxi to take us to our chosen restaurant, where we’d booked a table. On advice, we’d asked the people carrier to collect us in plenty of time, but despite pursuing the taxi firm, the cab didn’t arrive. We had to cancel our table and were unable, on this Saturday night, to find a table for six. The guesthouse "opened up" the dining room for us and we bought in Fish and Chips and numerous bottles of wine. After our makeshift meal we adjourned to the lounge and enjoy a glass or two of Irish whiskey.

The guesthouse was about a fifteen-minute walk to O’Connell Street, but we never did find a bus route from here. However, the walk was interesting, with a variety of small local shops and pubs on route.

This guesthouse proved to be a great choice; we were well situated in easy reach of town, but not subjected to the noise of being in the centre, and we had a great ‘landlady’ who provided us with local knowledge and was very friendly.