Rosslyn

Rosslyn is a four-star guest house in a tall red-brick Victorian terrace on Empire Terrace, one of the streets set back a block from the Douglas seafront.

Off the terrace

The frontage is painted deep red at pavement level, with the name above the door and bay windows stacked above that. Steps lead up from a small raised forecourt where planters and a couple of tables stand under a parasol. Inside, the house has kept its period proportions: high ceilings, deep bays and parquet underfoot.

The lounge in the front bay

The guest sitting room takes the front of the ground floor, with leather sofas and a tub chair drawn round a low table and a television, and a tall bay window looking out along the terrace. There is a dining area, and a shared kitchen with a kettle for guests who want to put something together themselves.

The rooms upstairs

Doubles, twins and singles are spread across the upper floors, each with its own bathroom. The decoration changes room to room: patterned wallpaper and chocolate-brown bedding in one, a red feature wall behind twin beds in another, wooden floors and paired bedside lamps through most. Bathrooms are tiled, some with a bath and a shower over it, others with a glass cubicle. Every room has a flat-screen television, a hairdryer, an alarm clock and a kettle.

Down to the bay

Empire Terrace sits behind the promenade in Douglas, so the beach and the long curve of the bay are a walk downhill, with the town centre and its shops carrying on from there.

Who it suits

Visitors who want a well-kept, unfussy base within walking distance of the seafront: weekenders, race-week regulars and anyone over for a few nights on business.