South Place Hotel

3 South Pl, London

In a way, South Place is exactly what you’d expect from a D&D hotel – it’s plush but not too posh, swish but not too flash. So while you can appreciate the quality of the group’s debut in the capital, you don’t feel overawed by it. Not that they don’t like to point out the little details, such as the Josephine Home cotton bedlinen, which, if you’ve heard of it, is presumably a good thing – I hadn’t, James Heeley St Clements smellies (ditto), the Bang & Olufsen TVs (I know them), etc. That said, you have to admire the understated style of the rooms, all muted tones of grey, black and white, Italian marble bathrooms, cashmere covered mattresses (I can’t sleep without one) and, of course, artful lighting that makes the bed ‘float’. Rooms get a splash of colour courtesy of individual pieces of art from Hoxton Art Gallery. South Place knows it’s cool and the games room proves it. Essentially, it’s a bachelor pad fantasy come true, complete with pool table, Pop art, drinks cabinet, board games, vinyl record player and James Bond paraphernalia (it is named after a baddie in Casino Royale – Le Chiffre – after all). The gym does the trick in terms of facilities, and both restaurants, Angler and 3 South Place, are of the standard you would expect from a quality restaurant group. There’s a garden bar – a place to smoke cigars – and they do a mean negroni in both bars too. While the hotel is aimed at city folk, don’t let them have it all to themselves; weekend rates are almost £100 cheaper (at £179) and it’s a perfect base from which to explore London. AM. southplacehotel.com