4 Best Hotels in East London, London

The design throughout this trendy East London lodging is contemporary—but not so modern as to be absurd; in keeping with a claim to combine a country-lodge lifestyle with true urban living, a fire crackles in the lobby. The chic but casual restaurant is packed with friendly youth; the comfortable guest rooms have Frette linens and down comforters; the bar is popular with local office workers; and the Hoxton Grill combines American steak-house style with French bistro chic. You'll be hard-pressed to find another hotel of this quality, near the center of town, for the price.

Formerly the supercool Curtain hotel, the Mondrian takeover has only raised the hipness stakes here, thanks to a glossy but subtle refurbishment that sees the industrial look of the place toned down to offer a more elegant feel. Book direct for all-day access to the rooftop pool, which is otherwise limited to 7 am to 11 am. 

Nobu's first European hotel combines ravishing design (think soothing Japonism-inspired patterns and palettes alongside bold statements of industrial chic) with slick service, in a backstreet location in the heart of Shoreditch.

An Art Deco town hall, abandoned in the early 1980s and turned into a chic hotel 30 years later, is now a lively and stylish place, with the best of the building's elegant original features intact. In keeping with the Town Hall Hotel's hip image, the excellent Da Terra restaurant serves South American food with an Italian twist. Guest rooms are bright and airy, and bathrooms are visions of white and chrome, but some sacrifice too much in the name of design, with only a curtain separating them from the bedroom.