Claire Smith, co-owner with her husband of this three-bedroom establishment near Blackpool Pleasure Beach, a recent winner of VisitBritain's best UK B&B, is vehement. “I hate technology,” she says. “I hate it even more when it doesn't work.”

She was referring to the wi-fi. An icon on my laptop said: “Signal strength excellent”. But another warned: “Limited or no connectivity”. The result was that it didn't work. Smith, a cheery woman with a rapid-fire conversational style, sighed: “I'll ask my son to have a look.”

We had already spent 20 minutes getting to grips with the remote-control lighting system and the whirlpool bathtub. I shouldn't have been surprised when the bath turned on two minutes after the water drained. “It's cleaning itself,” Smith said. “Do not press any buttons!” If I wanted sound on the TV in the bathroom, however, I had to press a button on a “Skytronic two-way loudspeaker selector” next to a CD player and a 42in flat-screen TV in the bedroom.

For a place with a co-owner who professes an aversion to technology - apparently the others involved are the techies - Number One in Blackpool certainly has a lot of gadgets.

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The B&B is a short walk from Blackpool Pleasure Beach station, over a bridge on which a large graffito exclaims “**** Life”, and down a terraced road with old fridges rusting in front gardens. Not the most pleasant of spots for a weekend, you might think. But, in fact, the hotel is on a quiet corner, hidden behind large hedges, with a stylish fountain and a mini putting green in the front garden.

The building is described as “period” on the website and my guess would be the 1950s period. Rooms are immaculate and lavish. My bed had a fake bearskin cover. The headboard was of brown leather. There was a brown leather sofa. Arty close-up photographs of orchids adorned the walls.

I went to Blackpool Tower on a tram along the waterfront. I ate some Asian food and had a pint on the way back at the Burlington pub, a huge old building around the corner from Number One.

The internet had started to work in my absence: the son had saved the day. After silently cursing the confusing lighting system, I ate decent smoked haddock for breakfast. Then I tried to check out. But the hotel's main computer was not working. “I hate technology!” Smith cried. Eventually, it worked. The gadgets may be OTT, but Number One is more than OK for a place to stay in Blackpool.

Number One, 01253 343901; www.numberoneblackpool.com), 1 St Luke's Road, Blackpool, FY4 2EL.

Mystery Guest paid £75 for a B&B double

Room 7 out of 10

Food 7 out of 10

Service 8 out of 10

Value 6.5 out of 10

Score 7.13

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