Establishment Hotel

First, the bad news: no swimming pool, just a well-appointed fitness center, and only the penthouse suites have much in the way of views—but one could just as reasonably complain that too few hotels hand out hundred-dollar bills at reception, or that your bellhop is never Orlando Bloom. This place is near-perfect, a thirty-one-room boutique that, as they say, does exactly what it says on the tin; offers chic and comfortable lodging in a convenient city location, and attracts the town's best and brightest young things to its bars and restaurants.

Rooms are either strikingly Japanese, with black floorboards and loft-style timbered ceilings, with dashes of vivid color, or soothingly international, all blonde woods and soft tones for a more calming experience. Beds are sumptuous and generous in size, and flat-screen TVs, DVD players and Bose stereo systems are standard. Look for Bulgari amenities in the massive stone bathrooms—never the sign of a corner-cutting hotel. That is, of course, if you can tear yourself away from your hotel-issued iPad 2, pre-loaded with music, movies, and all the information they used to try to pack into that little binder next to the telephone.

The Establishment bar, at one hundred and fifty feet, is the city’s longest, and on some nights the queue for admission is longer—which you’ll bypass, as a hotel guest. The Tank nightclub is a rowdier affair, and the Hemmesphere is more relaxed, with club chairs and divans for luxurious lounging. There are three restaurants as well, Est for fine dining, Sushi E for, well, sushi, and the Garden Bar for weekday Thai lunch.

Travel advisory: Passport and visa requirements differ from country to country. Please check with your local authority before booking.

Please note: Children are welcome in the hotel, although there are access limitations in the bars for persons under the age of 18.