Stay Here: Batty Langley’s, ShoreditchBy Claudine Levy

Down a cobbled lane in the east end, lives a hotel built from more than simply bricks and mortar. Batty Langley’s is weaved from the stuff of dreams. Hidden from the throngs of hipster Shoreditch, the little hotel is like a secret in the heart of London – somewhere not quite yet discovered – it’s an escape from the pace of the city.

Part of the Hazlitt group, this boutique hotel lives just by Spitalfields, and is a recently finished renovation which somehow manages to feel like a time-machine. Entering Batty’s feels like a scene plucked straight from The Duchess – it’s a fantasy world of regency dresses, antique bureaus, roll-top baths and four-poster beds – and seamlessly manages to make you feel like an aristocrat.

The magical enclave on Folgate Street oozes opulence in every nook and cranny – think gold leaf wallpaper, crushed velvet bedspreads, goose-down feather pillows and ornate copper taps which make even the mundane act of washing your hands feel like the most luxurious thing in the world.

Downstairs there’s a cosy library, which has the immediate effect of making you feel intelligent as soon as you walk in, as if it were possible – by osmosis – to instantaneously absorb the array of books which line the walls. There’s also a sophisticated ‘Honesty Bar’ – where you can relax with a G&T and a happy conscience after helping yourself to drinks and writing down what you owe. The bar sits next door to a bright and pretty courtyard by the grand staircase that leads to the rooms above.

Each room is unique, and with its own name, because Batty Langley’s “don’t believe in numbering their guests”, naturally. The recurring theme which ties the hotel together is the fact that every detail has been carefully considered, curated and agonised over. A copy of Voltaire’s philosophical musings sits on the night-stand, alongside bedside lights which omit a warm and fiery glow, enough to give any energy-efficient light-bulb a mid-life crisis.

All rooms have an Apple TV, which is hidden behind a discreet mirror (so as not to shock one’s aristocratic sensibilities) and connects to your Spotify, which in turn is synced with the speakers in the bathroom. Said bathrooms feature cavernous bathtubs and REN toiletries, making them the ideal spot for luxurious bubble baths which are ludicrously difficult to leave.

There’s nothing as gloriously self-indulgent as breakfast in bed, and Batty Langley’s seems to be well aware of this fact. Accordingly breakfast is brought up to your room (or can be taken in the Library downstairs) and consists of freshly baked breads, croissants, gorgeous granola and fresh fruit.

A stay at Batty Langley’s is special. Spend just one night here and we guarantee it will be a gold-leafed memory in the making.