4 Best Hotels in East London, London

Wonderful modern art lines the walls of this former Victorian pub a mile east of the Tower of London, which has been beautifully restored and converted into a modern bed-and-breakfast. It's all the work of Julian Cole, the gregarious and charming owner, who spent decades making arts documentaries for the BBC. Guests can use the sitting room, which doubles as the breakfast room in the morning. There's also a roof terrace, overlooking a striking historic mural that covers one side of a nearby building. Titled The Battle of Cable Street, it commemorates a clash between local Jewish protestors and British Fascists that took place here on October 4, 1936.

A contrast to the wildly expensive business hotels that proliferate in this part of the East End, right on the edge of The City, The Corner is a modern and surprisingly affordable option in a trendy area of town. Sleek and cheerful public spaces have a self-consciously irreverent edge, with wry "thoughts for the day" placed around the hotel by staff. Mismatched pieces of furniture have been recycled from industrial materials, and guest rooms are decorated in bold, outlandish color schemes. What could easily get stale stays nicely to the side of playfulness. 

The first London outpost of the fashionable French hotel brand, the rooms and public areas here have the feel of an upmarket design hotel—think marble-top tables, bold fabrics, and atmospheric designed lighting—but at a fraction of the cost.