Hotel Indigo London Paddington

The first of four boutique properties planned for London from the people behind Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn has a relaxed all-day bar-restaurant, sharp-witted and friendly staff, and rooms with all mod cons (excellent walk-in showers rather than baths) – the smaller and cheaper attic rooms have most character.

The decor is a bit try-hard: a clinical white foyer gives on to acid-bright striped carpets and wardrobe interiors that are an assault by psychedelic swirl. Photographs of Paddington past and ingenious ceiling strips of sky show how less could have been more. A second Hotel Indigo (142 Minories, EC3N 1LS, 7265 1014) opened in 2010 on the eastern edge of the City.