Hotels

Not many hotels allow you to roll out of bed and stand Thames-side in front of Tate Modern within five minutes. Tucked away in super-central (but underrated) Southwark, the third London property from the Hoxton group – its Shoreditch and Holborn sites also come highly recommended – offers just that. The purpose-built, 14-storey building houses 192 rooms in five different sizes, all with refreshingly large windows.

The Ned – a co-venture between Soho House and The Sydell Group – is a grand and regally revived former bank building designed by Sir Edwin “Ned” Lutyens in The City proper. The atrium is dominated by verdite marble columns in parakeet green, plus listed former banking counters of oak, teak and cherrywood.

Despite its creative credentials, east London yields few options for those looking for a plump pillow and a good night’s sleep. An exception is the ornate Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green, built in 1910 and later extended in art-deco style. It’s now a welcome addition to the area’s gradually improving offerings. Opened in its current capacity in 2010, the 98-room hotel offers a few carefully preserved clues to the building’s municipal past. The one-time council chamber has been transformed into a meeting room replete with leather chairs and fold-down wooden desks. Upstairs there is another nod to Bethnal Green’s past. Sculptures and installations sit alongside marquetry (a technique of inlaying images into wood) by artist Debbie Lawson that chronicles Bethnal Green’s risqué history.