LONDON LODGING

The capital has two new hotels with suites to suit all tastes

1 The hotel for… maximalists The Mandrake, Fitzrovia

The mandrake plant is known to have both medicinal and dreamprovoking properties, two qualities that this uber-luxe hotel hopes to embody in a multi-sensory way. Perfume specialist Azzi Glasser, who creates Bella Freud’s colognes, has designed fragrances to scent different spaces, and French electronic music producer PierreArnaud Alunni has put together transportative playlists. But the limelight-grabber here is the decor: the 34 bedrooms are replete with rich velvets, and in some suites, beds are raised on Carrara marble pedestals, with a roll top bath in the room alongside a drinks trolley. There is also a cinema and a courtyard bearing jasmine and passion fruit (standard double from £300 per night; themandrake.com).

2 The hotel for… aspiring Americans The Curtain, Shoreditch

American hotelier supremo Michael Achenbaum has brought his pedigree breed of New York luxe to his first London outpost. The purpose-built red brick building houses 120 bedrooms, a 24-hour gym and the first offshoot of Harlem’s beloved Red Rooster restaurant – which serves street-style chicken dishes along with live funk and soul music – with a tequila bar next door. The look is very industrial-nyc – factory-style steel windows, artwork by 1970s photographer Mick Rock and exposed brickwork. The best bit? The rooftop ‘ lido’ – a Moroccan riad-style swimming pool topped with a retractable glass roof, meaning you can enjoy the Côte d’azurinspired dishes at the poolside brasserie almost alfresco, whatever the weather (standard double from £240 per night; thecurtain.com).