The Vibe: Sleek.

The Area: Located in East London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Stratford International station, right next to the hotel, offers high-speed connections to St Pancras (six minutes) for the Eurostar as well as Kent, while the Jubilee Line will take you to Zone One in 15 minutes. Take the DLR to North Greenwich (nine minutes) for the O2.

The DNA: Conceived by Harry Handelsman (St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Chiltern Firehouse), The Stratford is inspired by the glamorous long-term residents of New York’s legendary hotels in the 1950s. It’s part of the Manhattan Loft Gardens project – which also includes 248 fully furnished apartments for short or long-term stays -, a 42-storey double-cantilevered building, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). The hotel’s light-filled public spaces – which includes the lobby, Mezzanine bar and Allegra, the 7th floor restaurant – feature a muted colour palette, rich, tactile materials – like natural woods and warm metals – and clean-lined, softly curved upholstered shapes that are revealed through a mix of bespoke pieces, and furniture from Space Copenhagen, Gubi, Stellar Works and Benchmark.

Suite-Me-Up: Rooms are set on the lower floors of the development and split across seven categories. Design is more muted than public areas, with neutral walls accentuated by pot plants and pops of colour in furnishings. Marble bathrooms have sleek black matte fittings, some with huge double-ended freestanding tubs.

From: archdaily, Architizer, Wallpaper*

Accolades: Wallpaper* Best Urban Hotels 2019

✅ free Wi-Fi • size matters: 145 rooms & suites (23-65m2) (248-700 sq ft) • hotel opened: 2019 • architecture: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) • interior design: Space Copenhagen • bathroom amenities: REN • parking possible on-site (charged) • pets allowed • 24-hour front desk • wheelchair accessible