"This East London enclave should really have had its day. It’s been years since Shoreditch’s street-food stalls, concept bars and cutting-edge boutiques started taking off. Then came the smart stays, award-winning cocktail dens and Michelin-starred restaurants. Bright young creatives were quickly priced out of living here. Then, over the past 18 months, the once-buzzing streets went silent. A couple of big names closed for good and there was space for fresh players to shake up the re-emerging neighborhood scene. Mondrian, the city-slicking group dreamt up by Ian Schrager in the 1990s, was primed to launch a new London hotel after handing over the keys of its South Bank stalwart a few years ago. The company, helmed by the Reuben brothers, took over splashy members'-club-hotel The Curtain when it shuttered and brought in design studio Goddard Littlefair—also behind the 2016 facelift of Scotland’s Gleneagles—to switch things up. The loveliest of the 120 whitewashed, exposed-brick rooms have large balconies and skyline views, but this is the sort of place where you won’t spend much time in bed. Art fills the lobby—spot the double-height piece by British painter Fred Coppin—while ground-floor Christina’s serves glossy pastries by day and Espresso Martinis by night. There’s a members'-only rooftop restaurant with its own pool and co-working space where events and panels are held. And—the biggest coup of all—Spanish chef Dani García has opened the first UK outpost of his renowned BiBo brand downstairs. The best incentive yet to rediscover Shoreditch. Price: Rooms from around $296 per nightAddress: 45 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3PTClosest tube station: Old Street" - Condé Nast Traveller, Steve King
