1Courthouse Hotel – London
Fancy having a kip in the cells where the Kray twins were detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure? Once Old Street Magistrates Court and Police Station, the Courthouse Hotel is one of Shoreditch’s hottest new hotels.
Opened on 1 June and doing time here is now something to be grateful for thanks to spacious rooms and suites, a cinema, bowling alley and spa. Period features have thankfully been retained and rooms quirkily repurposed – Courtroom Number 1 hosts the main restaurant, Courtroom Number 2 is a members’ bar, while on the roof, the Shoreditch Sky Terrace bar will be the spot to have a cocktail in Summer. Lock us up.
The Courthouse Hotel can be found here.
2Hilton London Bankside – London
Once synonymous with conference rooms and erm… Paris Hilton, Hilton hotels have seriously upped their game in the design stakes. London Bankside has all the style and smarts you’d want in a hotel within easy walk of the Tate Modern, Shard and the Southbank, home of the Udderbelly festival (sponsored this year by the hotel brand). Inside, the design has been influenced by the creativity of the local area, with original art and sculpture and comfy, quirky bedrooms, have secret urban fox sculptures to spot. The Distillery bar serves up its own craft beer and a gin menu to do a London proud.
The Hilton London Bankside can be found here.
3The Mandeville – London
This is far from new but when Maison Christian Lacroix has redesigned your entire fifth floor, that’s exciting in anyone’s books. Couture meets interior design at Marylebone’s Mandeville Hotel, with the recently unveiled renovation taking inspiration from the French Riviera.
Choose from bold rooms with hints of everything from the botanical gardens of Monaco, to Grace Kelly’s unforgettable To Catch a Thief. If you have to come down to earth, the hotel’s ground-floor Reform Social & Grill has leather banquette dining that includes a special Yorkshire pudding menu to root you back in the fabulous city you’re residing in.
The Mandeville can be found here.
4The Hollies – Norfolk
An exciting hotel in Norfolk. What a time to be alive.
The Hollies in the Georgian village of Snettisham, on the Norfolk coast, may only have five rooms, but they all pack a design punch with hand-printed wallpapers and fabrics, as well as an interesting line in modern collectibles. Created by designer Shaun Clarkson, this is one turbo-charged B&B. Each room has it’s own star turn, such as a raised bed in the Versace Room, and a private lounge in the Cabin Room. The 400-thread count Egyptian cotton sheets and REN beauty treats come as standard.
Venture out to golden sweep of Snettisham beach and walk just a few minutes to 2015’s Pub of the Year, The Rose and Crown. Weekend. Sorted.
The Hollies can be found here.
5The Pig Hotel – The Coombe, Devon
Any Hotel than puts a large emphasis on food is a plus in our book and The Pig Hotels so just that.
The latest addition to this ‘restaurant with rooms’ boutique brand opens in July after a £9 million renovation to turn Devon’s Combe House into a Pig hotel. The estate, which includes an Elizabethan manor and thatched longhouse, will offer 27 rooms in the house’s loft and stable yard. The hotel restaurant menu will feature the farm-to-fork creations so central to the Pig’s success. Dishes will be made from local produce, including Devonshire cheeses, locally reared meat and fresh ingredients from the kitchen garden and surrounding 3,500-acres of land. Let the feast commence.
The Pig Hotel can be found here.
