One Aldwych by Matthew Barker

Swish, modish boutique-type affair with 30s-style trimmings (the startling lobby can only really be described as fascist). Big, good-looking rooms, with plenty of sleek, chic fittings and arty add-ons (the hotel has a collection of 350 pieces of contemporary art). Buffed-up Edwardian exterior. 93 rooms (12 suites). Member of The Leading Small Hotels of the World. They say: "More than just a top London address, it's a hotel offering subtle luxury, award-winning design...and underwater Mozart" (Australian Vogue)

Hotel Attractions: The Axis restaurant is a stylish basement (complete with Richard Walker mural taking up one wall) and has a fine mod European menu with comfort leanings; there’s also Indigo and the Cinnamon Bar. The fitness centre has an indoor swimming pool, steam and sauna rooms, beauty and massage therapies and gym. State-of-the-art screening room and Woodhams in-house florist.

Local Attractions: On the edge of Covent Garden, Soho, Theatreland and the outskirts of the City, with the law courts and Fleet Street around the corner. The newly re-opened Somerset House and the Courtauld Gallery are just across the road. Sunday lunch at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - one of the city’s oldest pubs - is a must; Bank and High Holborn are two notable eateries in the area and do drop in to Simpson’s-in-the-Strand for a slap-up full English breakfast. Shoppers should head north into Floral Street and surrounds (Paul Smith, Jones, Nicole Fahri).