Hotel Altamont

This is the hotel equivalent of Stella McCartney designing a collection for H&M – luxury on a sensible budget. The Altamont (part of the Eight Hotels stable) is housed in a colonial Georgian mansion that has been given an elegant, thoroughly contemporary makeover. There are skylights throughout the hotel, a glass-fronted, light-filled lobby and lounge, heavy custom-built wooden beds and dressers in the very spacious bedrooms, and a lovely, ornate Tuscan roof terrace. The loft suite was once the VIP room of the famous Cauldron nightclub, frequented by the likes of Mick Jagger and accessed by a stairway hidden away from the lenses of roving paparazzi. Rooms range from the said airy suite with its soaring ceilings and walk-in wardrobe to family rooms suitable for six with a combination of bunk beds and king or queen beds. Unsurprisingly, it’s hugely popular, so it’s best to book well in advance. Bar. Internet (wireless high-speed). No smoking. Parking ($15). TV (cable/DVD). Rates $109-$129 double. Rooms 15. Credit AmEx, MC, V.