41 Hotel, London, United Kingdom

Adjoining the Rubens, but a world apart, 41 hotel is a boutique hotel that is a far more exciting proposition. Ring the unmarked door and you’ll be let into a smart little lobby with two huge black leather armchairs to sit in (and prints of old Vanity Fair cartoons to admire) while you wait for staff to come down and meet you.

The facilities

Sober dark wood panelling and black-and-white marble floors are set off by a dramatic arrangement of orchids. This sets the tone for the rest of 41 Hotel: a smart, graphic black-white-grey palette and beautiful mahogany furnishings, relieved by the occasional exotic touch – here a huge antique gilt-and-sepia globe, there a zebra-print chaise longue.

A lift goes straight up to the fifth floor of this luxury hotel where a single room, under a skylight, serves as reception, breakfast room, bar and lounge. Two high-backed bishop’s chairs and a high-backed sofa create a private cordon around the fireplace – perfect for plotting over a scotch.

The rooms

Each of the 18 bedrooms and suites of this luxury hotel are slightly different but all have the same amenities. There are enormous carved mahogany beds and cupboards, a spacious desk and leather chair for work. Utilized the high-tech wireless Internet, TVs and energy-boost vitamins in the snack bar. Most rooms have fireplaces. 41 Hotel’s suites are on two floors with a library and sitting room downstairs. One has a skylight above the bed which whooshes closed at the touch of a button. Bathrooms at this luxury hotel were made in Germany and are as voorsprung-durch-technik as you’d imagine. However, not all have a separate shower.