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Global Traveller
• Confidence is returning to the business travel sector, but companies are not expecting a lightning improvement
• Playing golf is often used in building contacts and professional relationships
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1. The Sanderson
Londons most stylish hotel is cool, minimalist and thrillingly expensive. Behind a 1950s office-block exterior, plain walls are punctuated by Dali-lips and Louis XV sofas, while wafting curtains and oil paintings decorate the ceilings of the sparse bedrooms. Facilities include a sauna, gym and spa. Check for special break deals.
- 50 Berners Street W1
- 020 7300 1400
- £££££ (over £200)*
- http://www.sandersonlondon.com/
2. One Aldwych
In a former 1908 bank building, this is a relaxing designer hotel with art-filled lobby and corridors, two good restaurants and an 18-m (60-ft) pool with underwater music.
- Aldwych WC2
- 020 7300 1000
- £££££ (over £200)*
- www.onealdwych.co.uk
3. St Martin’s Lane
The Sandersons sister hotel was designed by Phillipe Starck. Rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and even the bathrooms (all with big tubs) are 50 per cent glass.
- St Martins Lane WC2
- 020 7300 5500
- £££££ (over £200)*
- http://www.stmartinslane.com/
4. myhotel Bloomsbury
Just off Tottenham Court Road, this hotel is an oasis of calm, with a mystical, Oriental style and attentive staff. The rooms are light and feng-shui assured, with white orchids, fishtanks and candles for decoration.
- 11–13 Bayley Street WC1
- 020 7667 6000
- £££££ (over £200)*
- www.myhotels.co.uk
5. Charlotte Street Hotel
One of the most tasteful and comfortable hotels in London, where leather armchairs and antiques mix with contemporary works of art, and log fires burn in the drawing room and library. The bustling Oscar bar and brasserie attract Charlotte Street diners.
- 15 Charlotte St W1
- 020 7806 2000
- £££££ (over £200)*
- www.charlottestreethotel.com
6. Mercure City Bankside
Opened in 2000, and just a stones throw from Tate Modern, this seven-storey hotel has pay TV and video-games in every room.
- 75 Southwark Street SE1
- 020 7902 0800
- £££ (£100–150)*
- www.mercure.com
7. Number Five Maddox Street
Glass, steel and bamboo feature in these high-quality Japanese-style serviced apartments, with on-call chefs to cook for you, Ben and Jerrys ice-cream in the fridge and full Internet facilities.
- 5 Maddox Street W1
- 020 7647 0200
- £££££ (over £200)*
- www.living-rooms.co.uk
8. The Hempel
When you walk into this dazzling white, Zen-inspired hotel, youll think youve reached Nirvana. Immaculate and stylish, it has a central atrium from which five floors radiate. Each room is individually designed in a minimal Japanese style. The restaurant serves Thai-Japanese cuisine.
- 31–5 Craven Hill Gardens W2
- 020 7298 9000
- £££££ (over £200)*
- www.the-hempel.co.uk
9. Metropolitan
Contemporary and stylish, this was one of the first of the classy modern hotels in London, with black-clad staff, cool interiors and minimalist Oriental-style bedrooms. Go celebrity-spotting in the Met Bar or in Nobu, its fashionable Japanese restaurant.
- Old Park Lane W1
- 020 7447 1000
- £££££ (over £200)*
- www.metropolitan.co.uk
10. Halkin
A startlingly beautiful hotel in a Georgian town house, which has been given a thoroughly modern overhaul with marble, glass and dark woods and oriental details. The restaurant overlooks the garden and the rooms are equipped for communications and sound.
- 5 Halkin Street SW1
- 020 7333 1000
- £££££ (over £200)*
- www.halkin.co.uk
