‘The house is changing, but the feeling isn’t’ – inside a guesthouse with a difference in Dublin

But it wasn’t until last week that I finally got a chance to check in.

Ariel House is a 37-bed stay straddling three Victorian buildings within a drop-kick of the Aviva stadium on Dublin’s Lansdowne Road. Run by the McKeown family for 22 years, the hideaway has now embarked on a journey of change, joining Ireland’s iNua hotel collection and splashing €500,000 on a revamp of its ground floor and 14 bedrooms.

It’s a tantalising balancing act — bringing the place up to speed while preserving the warm character of a heritage hideaway beloved of regular guests.

“The house is changing,” as general manager Keila De Souza puts it. “But the feeling of the house isn’t.”

Stepping through the door, a sense of townhouse cosiness quickly wraps me up. There’s a drawing room stocked with an honesty bar and seductive couches; a table laden with browseable books, water jugs and homemade cakes.

A reception desk is tended 24/7; staff in white shirts and waistcoats are friendly and unflustered. I can’t decide whether it’s a guesthouse or hotel.

Or maybe both?

“I want it to feel like a home from home,” managing director Jennie McKeown says.

The breakfast room is a stylish little conservatory with sage-green chairs and a tiled fireplace discovered during renovations. Reception is bathed in a cornflour blue. Menus, signage and even water cartons feature blue-on-white illustrations of birds and natural scenes, adding a layer of frilly refinement.

McKeown also shows me a guest directory she’s working on, spotlighting tips like Mae and The Chophouse (Ariel House doesn’t do dinner).

The place is like a Tardis, with thin corridors and tight, steep stairwells leading to dozens of rooms dotted around the buildings and a garden extension. These range from a master ‘suite’ with high ceilings, bay window and mahogany four-poster to fairly dull standard doubles. Bathrooms are disappointingly dated but next in line for upgrades.

Detailing dips in other areas but could easily be tweaked to further elevate the tone — the room number selotaped to my leather keychain, for example, or some planting or colour to soften the tarred extension roof stretching into the garden. It takes from the conservatory view.

Breakfast is a treat, a labour of love by chef Rose — from homemade banana bread, granola and pastries in a cupboard station to à la carte options like pancakes and O’Neill’s streaky bacon, Gubbeen chorizo scrambled eggs or veggie and meaty versions of the full Irish.

Around me, guests range from couples to North American tourists and midweek business travellers. When we head out into the world, Rose does breakfast for the staff, too.

Hotel or guesthouse, the feeling I get is similar to Stauntons on the Green or Number 31 — Ariel House works both as a base in the city, and a respite from it. Exactly the kind of layover you might like for your little black book.

B&B from €170. Pól stayed as a guest. arielhouse.ie