Hotel of the week

Cambridge Varsity Hotel & Spa

WHERE AND WHY

Tucked away on Thompson Street, but in the heart of Cambridge, it’s mini-break heaven. In a location ideal for sightseeing and with facilities you actually want to use, this boutique abode is guaranteed to impress every guest.

Park your car and fill it with petrol, sir? No problem. What time would you like to eat? Feel free to borrow a bike. The breezy, helpfulness at reception was a joy.

The Conran-designed hotel is a six-storey modern building, while its spa and River Bar Steakhouse are next door in a 18th-century warehouse conversion with exposed brickwork on the banks of the River Cam.

The 44 rooms are individually designed, with bold feature wallpaper, velvet sofas and headboards and some with luxury additions such as Victorian freestanding baths in the bedroom, enormous walk-in showers, fourposter beds and decked balconies with views across the city.

All guests get complimentary fast wi-fi, 24-hour room service, bathrobes and slippers. Rooms come with free access to the gym. Or relax in the spa with its sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi, sunk into the floor with river views. The glass is one-way so while you can nose passers-by, they can’t do the same.

ON THE MENU Begin your evening in the hotel’s swanky rooftop bar, to drink in the city skyline with a gin cocktail. There’s a celebratory atmosphere with locals and tourists up there among the spires.

Step down a level to SIX, the hotel’s airy brasserie with wrap-around, floor-to-ceiling windows and terrace. The menu is fun and user-friendly, offering hard-to-resist starters such as tempura prawns and salt and pepper squid, as well as grills, pizzas and plant-based dishes. Starters from £8.50/mains £15.50.

At River Bar Steakhouse and Grill on the quayside the atmosphere is cosy. The menu is just as comforting, and the steaks are practically a science project, with every cut from fillet to Chateaubriand for two and Wagyu steak. Starters from £8/mains £16.50.

WHILE YOU ARE THERE Admire the Mathematical Bridge, King’s College and Bridge of Sighs from the comfort of a punt. While the number of university-affiliated museums is overwhelming, if you have time for just one, find The Fitzwilliam and get noseto-nose with 2,000-year-old Grecian busts or marvel at Monets, Picassos and Van Dycks.

WAKE-UP CALL Rooms from £179 a night, thevarsityhotel.co.uk