The London EDITION

Ian Schrager and Marriott's EDITION brand took a Georgian building on Berners Street and turned its grand rooms into one of Fitzrovia's most design-literate hotels. The lobby sets the tone: original plasterwork and a carved fireplace meet a vast mirrored steel orb suspended over green-velvet seating, a pairing of period grandeur and contemporary art that reads as confident rather than self-conscious. Walk-in only, the Lobby Bar runs late and remains the social heart of the building.

Beyond the bar, the hotel keeps a tight collection of private spaces rather than a generic conference floor. The Punch Room is the standout, an oak-panelled cocktail bar inspired by the aristocratic punch houses of old London, with its own fireplace and a residents'-club intimacy. The Basement, once one of Soho's notable nightclubs, survives as a dramatic concrete-and-timber room with bespoke lighting by Patrick Woodroffe, a full bar and a serious in-house sound system with a resident DJ setup, the most music-ready space in the building. Two naturally lit Studios handle daytime gatherings and standing receptions, and a panelled Private Dining Room sits above the hotel's restaurant.

At the top of the building, the Penthouse opens onto a wraparound terrace with views across the city to the BT Tower, a full apartment of library, living room and dining space wired for sound. For an intimate, DJ-led evening in central London, the Basement and Penthouse give the venue genuine range.