Now it is a popular central choice for budget travellers. Ask for a room with an en suite bathroom. These start at £59. Rooms with shared bathrooms are from £49. Family rooms are from £79 for two adults and two children, with a shared bathroom.

The lobby has an Irish pub and a Harry Ramsden’s. In the basement there’s the trendy Atlantic Bar and Grill.

Details: Regent Palace Hotel (020-7734 0716, www.regentpalacehotel.co.uk), Glasshouse Street, W1. From £49.

POLITICAL INTRIGUE

City Inn Westminster: £119

CITY Inn is five minutes’ walk from the Houses of Parliament and offers spectacular views from the higher of its 14 floors. The hotel is popular with politicians, and Tony Blair, Michael Howard and Charles Kennedy have all been interviewed here.

The 460 rooms have clean, modern furnishings, well-equipped bathrooms and windows that open if you dislike air-con. My only gripe was that the mattress was soft. There’s a good brasserie and a cocktail lounge, with a strong whisky list (and lots of gossip flying about). Suits couples.

City Inn (020-7630 1000, www.cityinn.com), 30 John Islip Street, SW10. B&B weekend rates from £119.

TRENDY NEIGHBOURHOOD

Malmaison, Clerkenwell: £99

THIS six-storey hotel is on Charterhouse Square, a quiet spot close to Smithfield Market’s trendy bars and restaurants. A former nurse’s hostel, with 97 warm, non-minimalist rooms — lots of purples, greens, greys and burgundies.

There’s a small cosy bar next to a restaurant with subdued lighting. The menu is uncomplicated: my char-grilled steak with béarnaise sauce was excellent-but-expensive (£21.95). Two-course set meals are £17.95; good wine list. Rooms are quiet and comfortable, with CD players, big TVs, mini-bars stocked with champagne and smart bathrooms.

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