Be our guest and have a good rest

One Dublin couple has such a good guest bedroom that they enjoy plenty of visitors, writes Robert O'Byrne

ACCORDING to English humorist Max Beerbohm, "One might well say mankind is divisible into two great classes: hosts and guests."

While representatives of the former category receive nothing but praise, unfortunately guests are inclined to be less highly appreciated, often regarded as something akin to parasites or spongers.

"No guest," declared the Roman comic playwright Plautus, "is so welcome in a friend's house that he will not become a nuisance after three days," - a verdict subsequently updated by Benjamin Franklin who pronounced that guests, like fish, "begin to smell after three days." To which the only retort must be that Mr Franklin's home lacked adequate bathing facilities.

That certainly isn't the case in Kieran Moore's central Dublin apartment where lengthy and regular stays by guests appear to be not only welcomed but even encouraged.

"I'd say the guest room is used at least once every two weeks," he remarks, before calculating that a minimum of four friends have, to date, been given a key to the apartment.

He and his partner moved into the building six years ago, having bought their duplex home before on-site work had been completed. This allowed them to design the interior with architect Mary O'Donoghue and specifically to make adequate provision for a guest suite. "The secret," Kieran explains, "is having everything so well set up that we wouldn't even know whether there's a guest in the place or not."

"To be a good guest," the 19th century French essayist Joseph Joubert argued, "one need only enjoy oneself." And how could any guest not experience a sense of enjoyment in this particular bedroom?

It's on the apartment's upper floor, well away from the hosts' quarters, and fitted out to be self-contained.

Kieran is managing director of The Firm, a recruitment agency that specialises in finding senior management for the Irish hotel and catering industry. "Because of what I do for a living," he says, "when guests come to stay here, they get everything you would find in a five-star hotel."

That begins with the generously proportioned bed where, as Kieran notes, "the most important thing is a good mattress."

His guests sleep on a chiropractor-endorsed King Koil mattress, bought from long-established Irish company Kayfoam Woolfson. "It's just fantastically comfortable," says Kieran, before pointing out that the bedlinen is pure Egyptian cotton brought back from Egypt - "it lasts forever".

With its handsome quilted cover and cushions, the bed stands at the centre of a room with walls predominantly composed of floor-to-ceiling glass. In addition to abundant natural light, this provides views over the building's central courtyard on one side and into the apartment's livingroom on the other. But that doesn't mean guests are constantly on display, since the room comes with specially made blackout curtains ready to be drawn whenever necessary. "One of our friends refused to stay until we had those installed."

The two primary needs - comfort and privacy - have now been covered. Next come all those details that distinguish a superlative guest bedroom from one that is merely adequate. A full-length screen behind the bedhead conceals a small service area filled with treats such as extra clean towels, a clothes rail with plenty of free hangers, a tray with clean glasses, water and even a few sweets to assuage hunger pangs and finally a mini bar (for once without the deterrent of a prohibitive charge sheet).

Meanwhile, beside the bed is one of Eileen Gray's chrome and glass tables bearing a lamp, an alarm clock and an interesting selection of books. There's more reading matter, together with a Roberts radio and fresh flowers, found on another glass-topped table that stands on the room's highly polished parquet floor next to a comfortable leather recliner and footstool.

Since the entire apartment has wireless broadband, guests can stay in their quarters reading and sending emails or, as Kieran suggests, "booking their flights home".

Naturally, this guest bedroom comes with its own bathroom, one so well kitted out even Benjamin Franklin couldn't complain about anyone's odour.

The sink is well-lit and surmounted by a large mirror, the shower delivers a powerful blast, there's abundant hot water and guests hardly need to bring even a toothbrush since Kieran provides them with everything necessary for ablutions.

"And it's important to have good products, such as Aveda and Molton Brown."

Aesthetic interests are taken care of here thanks to a fine Louis le Brocquy print.

"To be an ideal guest," said the American journalist Edgar Watson Howe, "stay at home."

The problem is that Kieran Moore's guest suite feels just like home, albeit somewhat more luxurious and comfortable. No wonder so many visitors have come to enjoy the company not just of their hosts but of Joan Doyle who keeps the place spic and span.

"Our regular guests give Joan Christmas and birthday presents," says Kieran. "And they leave gifts or notes for her." Emily Post, that doyenne of social arbiters, believed the good guest ought to be almost invisible but, most importantly, should enjoy "the generous hospitality of the hosts." In Kieran Moore's guest bedroom, it would be hard to do otherwise.

 Guest bedroom: essentials

1 A good bed - otherwise your guest will have a sleepless night and resolve never to visit again

2 An en suite bathroom (if this isn't possible, always leave out a clean dressing gown for your guest)

3 Towels - lots and large - and a spare blanket or two

4 A bedside light - there's nothing worse than having to stumble around an unfamiliar room in the dark

5 Decent reading material, preferably chosen to reflect your guest's interests

6 A carafe of water. Smart hosts also like to leave a flask of whiskey for nightcaps and a small container of biscuits to satisfy midnight hunger pangs