The Westbury Hotel

Possibly the most conveniently situated of all the central Dublin hotels, The Westbury Hotel is a very small stone's throw from the city's premier shopping street and has all the benefits of luxury hotels - notably valet parking (limited, €20 per night) - to offset any practical disadvantages of access to the location.

Unashamedly sumptuous, the hotel's public areas drip with chandeliers and have accessories to match - like the grand piano on The Terrace, a popular first floor meeting place for afternoon tea, and frequently used for fashion shows.

Accommodation is similarly luxurious, with bedrooms that include penthouse suites and a high proportion of suites, junior suites and executive rooms.

With conference facilities to match its quality of accommodation and service, the hotel is understandably popular with business and corporate guests, but it also makes a great base for a leisure break in the city.

Conference/banqueting (220/200). Business centre. Secretarial services, video conferencing, free broadband wi/fi. Laundry/dry cleaning. Fitness Room, sauna, steam room. Children welcome (cots available free of charge; baby sitting arranged). No pets.

Rooms 205 (1 Presidential Suite, 7 suites, 18 junior suites, 22 executive rooms, 189 no-smoking, 3 for disabled). 24 hr room service. Lifts. Room rate from about €169. SC 15%. Car park (limited, €20 per night). Open all year.

Wilde The Restaurant:

This Dublin restaurants décor gives a nod to Art Deco, albeit with a modern, very glamorous twist - and there's an attention to detail that’s carried through to the food.

Before ordering every table is brought a showcase tray of beautiful Irish Black Angus (the star attraction on the menu) in various cuts, from rib eye to sirloin, T-bone to fillet. Cooked to order, each cut is served with grilled Portobello mushrooms and a choice of six home blended mustards, all offered in attractive glass jars.

The house Caesar salad is a fun affair, tossed tableside with your choice of ingredients, including anchovies and pancetta. The prawn and crab cocktail, another signature dish, is served with a mini bottle of Tabasco, lime wedges and sea salt.

Fish eaters are well catered for as well, with an appetising choice of mains, including grilled Atlantic lobster. Side dishes are unusual too and, in keeping with the classics, desserts combine retro favourites - Wilde banana split, perhaps - alongside modern treats like Valrhona white chocolate soup with berries.

A broad-based wine list has plenty of choice in the €30-40 range, 12 wines by the glass and several half bottles. Overall the food is reliable and, from the warm welcome on arrival to the excellent coffees and petit fours at meal’s end, and Wilde is an asset to the Westbury.

*On the ground floor Café Novo offers an eclectic, international bar and brasserie.