WEEKEND TRIPS to Charleston, London and Rügen

Look no further than Fitzrovia for an LONDON urban oasis in the heart of that will transport you from staycation to exotic outpost via opulent design details

If you’re opting for a staycation this summer, going for one inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is a pretty escapist place to start. Taking up a plum spot on Fitzrovia’s Newman Street, The Mandrake spreads over four floors centred on an atrium courtyard.

Here, poised on a rattan chair in dappled light, surrounded by heady jasmines, feathery parlour palms and passion flowers, it’s easy to forget you’re in central London. Eclectic and exciting are the key words when it comes to the moody (sometimes riotous) interiors. If Salvador Dalí artwork and a 30-candle Game of Thrones-meets-Roman church chandelier don’t draw you in, a cabinet of curiosity and troop of quirkily styled faux taxidermy should keep your eyes darting. The 34 rooms undulate from understated luxe to all-out opulent, and while some are on the small side, for a weekend break with the capital at your door, it can no doubt be forgiven.

Subtly themed around the medicinal (read: hallucinogenic) qualities of the mandrake flower, holistic-led events – think sound healing and meditation – are set alongside a rolling special art and lifestyle series. Elsewhere, dishes at Yopo take a globetrot that starts with British ingredients and ends in on-trend South American plates served under a cabana; or book next door to the UK outpost of Hong Kong’s Michelin-lauded Serge Et Le Phoque. Finish with an ‘ethnobotanical’ cocktail at the Waeska bar. BG. Doubles from £280. 020 3146 7770, themandrake.com