Dorsett City London

They know what they’re doing, these international hotel groups. So it’s hardly a shocker that things at this new Aldgate addition to the Dorsett group were already running as smooth as a baby’s bum on my visit, just a month after opening. This is actually only the group’s second London hotel (they launched in Shepherd’s Bush back in 2016) but with two more soon to come it looks like this big-player in the Asian market is looking to quickly grow its footprint in the capital.

And judging by my stay, that’d be welcome. Sure, rooms are compact but every inch of space is packed full of super slick and expensive fixtures and fittings – all with an easy-on-the-eye east-meets-west slant that carries all the way from the lobby to the (very impressive) rooftop bar. But if that doesn’t do enough to help the Chinese middle classes (surely a target market) feel right at home? Mandarin translations everywhere and authentic Nong Shim Shin Cup noodles in the mini-bar should do the trick.

The food and drink output should draw the eye of locals, too. It’s got one of the capital’s best doers of dim sum (Shikumen) and the 24-hour VQ downstairs – a bar and restaurant from an admirably reliable stable with outposts in Bloomsbury, Notting Hill and Chelsea. Plus there’s that gorgeous sky-high bar (Jin Bo Law) fourteen floors up, where you can either gaze out across the east London landscape or, like me, simply contemplate why there were three massive breasts on one of the walls. My conclusion? An homage to Total Recall. Alternative answers on a postcard.