Sleepover: Number 31 - A bed for the night in Dublin

Where is it?

Hidden in a mews, behind a creeper-covered wall, in Georgian Dublin.

What's it like?

A once-famous party house now run as a b&b by Noel and Deidre Comer. It's split in two parts: ancient and modern. The reception and breakfast room are set in two converted 19th-century coach houses, modernised in the 1950s by the controversial architect Sam Stephenson. He made the place his home and Dublin's hang-out for the rich and powerful in the swinging Sixties, with guests including Ted Kennedy. Cathedral-high windows look out over the garden, at the bottom of which is 30 Fitzwilliam Place, a Georgian house containing most of the bedrooms.

What's its USP?

Breakfast on the terrace: not for the view but for the fantastic food and convivial atmosphere. The groovy sunken lounge, lined with leather sofas, and the mirror-ball former bar they now use as reception. The perfect hosts. The astonishing value for money. Take your pick.

Rooms?

Deeply tasteful: it feels more like a boutique hotel than a b&b. Soft creams and whites on the walls provide the perfect showcase for elegant French antiques and luxurious fabrics and rugs, complemented by the contrasting textures of wood, brick, tile and stone. Twenty en-suite bedrooms: 15 in the Georgian house, five in the coach house. Doubles from €120 (£80) to €190 (£127) per room per night.

Food?

A breakfast you'll never forget rustled up on the spot. First help yourself to a ladle of fresh fruit or home-made granola and order a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Then choose from fresh kippers, full English (veggie or carnivore). Whatever you do, don't miss the potato cakes with chives.

Service?

Unparalleled hospitality. Noel is clearly an old hand at the hosting lark: he'll welcome you like a long-lost friend, but he won't get in your face.

Clientele?

Savvy holidaymakers and business folk.

Things to do?

Explore Dublin. Marvel at the workmanship of the Book of Kells in Trinity College. And, on your way out, don't miss the copy of the Proclamation of the Provisional Government from 1918. Artist Francis Bacon's studio has been transported untouched to the Hugh Lane Gallery on Parnell Square North.

Address?

Number 31, 31 Leeson Close, Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2, Ireland (00 353 1 676 5011; www.number31.ie).