Ace Hotel London (CLOSED)

You just have to peep inside Ace Hotel´s vast lobby-bar-coffee shop on pretty much any day or night of the week to see the place is a permanent hive of creative activity. It´s not just the free wifi and lattes from in-house cafe Bulldog Edition that provide the buzz – Ace is a destination in its own right, thanks to its prime location on the fringes of the City and the heart of Shoreditch (right by the fantastic shops of Redchurch Street), and its own inimitable brand of cool. Shoreditch High Street is the first European location for the uber-hip (and fast-growing) Ace chain, which started life in Portland, Oregon.