35-39 Waring Street, Cathedral Quarter, Belfast (028 9023 4888; www.themerchanthotel.com)
The Merchant, housed in the former headquarters of the Ulster Bank, is the perfect place in which to nurse the sort of hangover that's brought on by a full-throttle Irish wedding.
The building is an elegant ochre pile dating back to 1860, in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter - a buzzy part of town where shiny new bars and galleries stand out among their derelict neighbours. Parts of Belfast can feel like they're still stuck in the Seventies - a testament to the Troubles - but at the Merchant, the vibe is forward-looking.
Wall-to-wall stripey carpet, reminiscent of a Jim Lambie artwork, links the hotel's dimly lit corridors and bedrooms, and the aubergine walls are hung with Venetian mirrors and paintings in gilt frames, but somehow the overall look manages to remain contemporary.
The rooms are grand but comfy, with great big beds from America (the mattresses are so thick you almost need a leg-up). The ample marble bathrooms still have the feel and proportions of the old bank. There is, though, the faintest whiff of tobacco when you cosy up to the bedlinen, as if someone had been smoking in the laundry cupboard. And finding anything in the wardrobe is almost impossible because of the low lighting.
It's not just a hotel, but a social hub with a large and welcoming entrance leading to a sumptuous restaurant where guests and locals dine beneath a stained-glass domed ceiling or mingle over martinis at the bar.
Rumour has it that a local businessman ordered the famous rum cocktail - at a cost of £750 - last month, though recent hotel guests the Kaiser Chiefs chose not to follow suit. Visitors with thinner wallets can slope off next door to the Cloth Ear, the Merchant's much-talked-about watering hole, where cool but friendly staff serve drinks and food to a younger crowd, and moose heads hang above the long bar.
Those who really want to set tongues wagging can arrange to be collected from the airport in the Merchant's Bentley (cost from £35).
The price: Doubles from £220 per night, including breakfast.
What we liked: The most comfortable bed I've ever slept on.
What we didn't like: The erratic room service.
Verdict: A rare example of style and substance.
