Hyatt Place London City East, London

We enjoyed the sense of being in the heart of the real working city - it's gritty, but in a good way.

The hotel's City location - beside Aldgate East tube - means it's close to the bars of Shoreditch and Brick Lane, as well as the shops of Spitalfields
By car: the hotel is 4 hours from Manchester, 2 hours 30 mins from Birmingham and 7 hours from Glasgow. Public parking is available from £4 per hour.
By train: Liverpool Street Station is 15 minutes' walk away. Kings Cross and Euston stations are around 30 minutes away in a taxi. thetrainline.com

Great for hipster couples looking for an alternative view of London. The rooftop bar, Pocket Square, has an outside terrace with fabulous views across to the Docklands.

The manager has endless enthusiasm for the hotel's location. Some floors are pet-friendly.

• Bar
• Restaurant
• Terrace
• Fitness centre
• Public parking
• Free Wi-Fi

Room 802 is one of the corner rooms with windows on two sides bringing the entire cityscape in as a backdrop. It also has an outdoor terrace. Those staying on the first-floor are treated to views of a multi-coloured geometric mural spanning the entire outside wall space.

King, Twin, King with sofa bed, King with balcony, King with terrace
Facilities include: ensuite bathroom with complimentary toiletries, hairdryer, dedicated workspace, TV, sofa, free Wi-Fi

The combined ingredients of the cocktails tell a story, which is written in the menu and shared by serving staff when you order. Downstairs in the basement restaurant a sharing platter of homemade baba ganoush, hummus, guacamole and lamb kofta is full of flavour.

Zoom East: sicilian, arabian-italian cuisine. Open daily 12-10pm.
Pocketsquare: rooftop bar, drinks and cocktails. Open Mon-Wed 5pm-midnight and Thu-Sat 3pm-midnight.
Breakfast bar: Complimentary items and snacks to order, open daily till 10.30am.