Tr avel report CAMBRIDGE

decidedly disappointing. These days it’s a different matter.

There’s no university houses of yellow stone, nor any steeples on the immediate horizon – but it’s a modern concourse befitting the city’s lofty reputation. Now the view is peppered with busy eateries, their tables spilling out from restaurants onto the pedestrianised walkways, and it’s no longer framed by forgettable office blocks but a glossy, glass-fronted development, still some way off completion, but which speaks of regeneration and healthy investment. At its centre, a short

The hotel’s name references the 16th century play about an ancient central Asian ruler – written by Christopher Marlowe, a former student at Corpus Christi College in the city – and there are Middle Eastern-inspired designs throughout the place, from the geometrically patterned carpets to the hexagonal tiling in the grand reception area.

It’s a 20-minute walk from here to the main attractions – think King’s College, punting on the River Cam – but the hotel interior reflects just what visitors to the city might be expecting.

So there are wooden shelves stacked with old leather-bound books, a library lounge area and an atrium decorated with abstract art.

It’s quirky, but having spent something in the region of £50m on the place, the O’Callaghan Hotel group presumably wanted a little bit more for their outlay, so the building also ticks boxes in terms of design.

Quirkiness with a great deal of style, if you will.

The attention to detail extends to the bedrooms.

‘Fresher’ rooms are decorated in Cambridge Blue with leather chairs and floor-to-ceiling windows while ‘Scholar’ rooms, found on the upper levels, have glass-fronted balconies.

At the top, the three-bedroom