Hotel La Tour Hotel

Albert Street Birmingham

A stroll from New Street Station, this is a fine base for a weekend in the second city. Rooms are contemporary and compact, but clever design means they pack in all you need (plus more pillows than you can fight with). Aalto restaurant is a joyous revisit of 70s Scandinavia – dark, stripped wooden floors, brown veneer tables, and magnolia velour lampshades. Somehow it works – and avoids the aircraft hanger feel, with a curved bar segueing organically into the room and a horseshoe shaped chef’s table. The kitchen, run by Daniel Pears with input from Marcus Wareing, serves innovative seasonal dishes. GR Rooms from £85.