Marian Guesthouse

We like the quirky Marian Guesthouse, which is located along a stretch of Upper Gardiner Street, chockablock with other guesthouses and bed-and-breakfasts. It’s not the fanciest place around, granted, but it does the trick with its reasonable rates.

The Marian’s 17 guestrooms have a plain, homey vibe. Each has wall-to-wall carpet and a television. These rooms are mismatched like your lost uncle’s room, with lots of floral imagery—from the duvets, to the framed prints, to the artificial flowers in vases (also decorated with flowery images). Flowers aplenty, in other words.

About half of the rooms have a private bathroom, some of which are located outside the room. The remaining rooms share baths.

There’s an eccentric character to the place that lifts it above its competitors. We are speaking, naturally, of the lawn ornaments in the front and the animal figurines in the mirrored entryway. Both suggest an alternative sci-fi universe that might go by the name of “Gnomeland.”

Breakfast is included in the room rate and Wi-Fi is free throughout.