Imagine a glamorous, French grandma living with her streetwise granddaughter and their interior design compromise would resemble the Neo Hotel. Elegant antiques, old Chinese dressers, and Louis XIV chairs are blended into a mix of shabby-chic and Regency opulence, spun with a thread of Oriental allure.

Gorgeous, high-quality wallpapers are a central feature, and each of the 12 guest rooms has a different colour theme inspired by a unique print, with furniture sourced from designer stores and flea markets, giving the feeling you're staying inside an extravagant dressing-up box.

The woman behind the hotel's transformation from a stuffy boarding house popular with builders working in town to a chic B&B is Steph Harding. Formerly an interior designer and stylist for Elle Decoration, she reopened the Neo nine months ago after a year of renovations.

I stayed in one of the king size doubles. It had a vampish cabaret sensuality, with a vase of black feathers, red drapes, a white marshmallow bed and silver 1930s Florence Broadhurst flock print wallpaper, covered in luscious red blooms. All rooms have TV and DVD, most have black tiled ensuite bathrooms with chrome fittings.

The tiny bar is a hip red cocoon for lounging, with no one doing it better than Kushtie the resident haughty Persian cat; black wooden floors, white leather sofas, a long copper bar, and after a couple of the Apple Mule cocktails, Brighton's roaring nightlife, just minutes away, seemed less appealing.

Breakfast the next day was the perfect antidote; fluffy blueberry pancakes served with creme fraiche, organic Canadian bacon and maple syrup, fresh coffee and strawberry milkshake, showing quality service lies behind the beautiful decor.

· The Neo Hotel, Oriental Place (01273 711104; www.neohotel.com). Rooms from £85 per night. £1,000 a night to rent the whole hotel.