AFTER years of minimalism and tidying away the mess of domestic life, hotel design now seems to have gone to the other extreme. Yes, you can have velour trimmings inside and a credit crunch outside - and not every extravagant design comes with a bill to match. But what is it like to sleep in?

The new Crazy Bear hotel in Beaconsfield is a good place to do a crash course in OTT. The Crazy Bear group started cultivating its extreme style 15 year ago and hasn't looked back. It now has a farm shop, an outré bar in London and unleashed its fourth venture in September in this prime chunk of stockbrocker belt.

When I first came to the door I was dazzled and distressed in one go. It was like being hit on the head with an ornate slipper. Pass through the dark entrance and you discover a style that is Regency meets discotheque, Elvis with a hint of Habsburg. Velvet this, lacquered that, each room was bold and utterly unashamed. Some had copper baths, others exposed beams and even two toilets side by side, but the aesthetic was undeniably consistent. I was hypnotised.

“Our guests,” said Jason Hunt, the owner, “all come back.” The Crazy Bear group restores and revamps buildings with a panache that has earned it a cult following. It spent four years on this 15th-century coaching inn, and from badly behaved footballers to the genteel Buckinghamshire crowd, everyone has a favourite room.

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I stayed in Room 10, and it was like spending a night in Elton John's wardrobe. Everything was black, gold and silver; it was textured and tailored from leather floor to mirrored ceiling. The Mary Whitehouse part of my brain wanted to find it seedy, the rest of me loved it.

The English-style restaurant served up food that seemed a little tame in taste after the onslaught of décor in every direction: gold leaf on the ceiling, crystal-studded seats, 1930s chandeliers from Alain Delon's flat in Paris, all finished off with pony-hair wallpaper laid on silk, with a laser-cut pattern. I was exhausted. The menu was pricey, but it was worth it for the adventure alone.

I slept soundly and emerged feeling like a naughty child - if only I had booked in for nine nights more, to try every other room.

B&B starts at £175 a night; www.crazybeargroup.co.uk.

Exclusive offer for Times readers: 50 per cent off Sunday-to-Thursday in February, if you quote times2401 when booking. (Subject to availability.)

NINE MORE WILD BEDROOMS IN BRITAIN

Pelirocco, Brighton

With room names such as “Rough Trade, Rough Night”, “Betty's Boudoir” and “Pussy” - you get a reasonable idea of the tone at this wacky hotel. The “Dotty” room is covered with dots and the “Nookii” room has a sign saying: “Peep Show: Beautiful Girls”. Details: Hotel Pelirocco (01273 327055, www.hotelpelirocco.co.uk), 10 Regency Square, Brighton BN1 2FG. £50, B&B.

Milestone Hotel, London W8

Room 109 at the Milestone has a Savile Row theme, with a ghostly mannequin dressed in concierge style headlessly observing proceedings. Walls are covered with cartoons of gentlemen in top hats . The price? A stitch-up, of course. Details: Milestone Hotel (020-7917 1000, www.milestonehotel.com), 1 Kensington Court, London W8 5DL. £572, room only.

Crown Hotel, Bawtry, Doncaster

Room 501 is something else: vast, brightly purple, with an enormous bed and a giant picture of a human leg with a flower poking out between the toes. The overall look is airport executive lounge meets paint factory. Details: Crown Hotel (01302 710341, www.crown hotel-bawtry.com), High Street, Bawtry, Doncaster DN10 6JW. £155, B&B.

Pavilion Hotel, London W2

This self-styled “fashion rock'n'roll hotel” has attracted the supermodels Naomi Campbell and Erin O'Connor. Rooms have crazy themes. Highland Fling is decorated entirely in tartan. Honky Tonk Afro is lime-green with a disco ball. Details: Pavilion Hotel (020-7262 0905, www.pavilionhoteluk.com), 34-36 Sussex Gardens, Hyde Park, London W2. £60.

Athenaeum Hotel, London W1

The Wild Suite is almost totally black and white, with curtains that resemble barcodes. The walls and ceiling are painted black - and the bed has a black and white cover. The overall look is of an elaborate, large, comfortable coffin. Details: Athenaeum (020-7499 3464, www.athenaeumhotel.com), 116 Piccadilly, London W1J 7BJ. £462, room only.

May Fair Hotel, London W1

Barbara Cartland would have liked the Schiaparelli suite at the May Fair - almost everything is decorated in fuchsia pink. Ornate decorations abound and the bedroom has a large gilded bed. It feels as though you've stepped into a strange jewellery box. Details: May Fair Hotel (020-7769 4041, www.themayfairhotel.co.uk), Stratton Street, London W1J 8LT. From £1,500, B&B .

Malmaison Manchester

Go for gold in the peculiar Theatre of Dreams suite at the Malmaison Manchester, where everything glitters in gold: the velvet bedspread, the cushions, the walls, the decorative sculptures, the decorative twigs in a vase, and the candleholders. Details: Malmaison Manchester (0161-278 1000, www.malmaison-manchester.com), Piccadilly, Manchester M1 1LZ. From £395.

Marriott Newcastle MetroCentre

How about a visit to Gateshead's MetroCentre, staying in the Arabian Room at the Marriott? The designers have gone for a “Bedouin-tent” style, with great drapes of red material billowing from the ceiling. The bed has a mosquito net. Details: Marriott Newcastle (0800 221222, www.marriott.co.uk), Gateshead, NE11 9XF. £145, B&B.

The Fallen Angel, Durham

Perhaps the most unusual new UK hotel - the Sci Fi room features a Tardis, the Cruella room is decorated almost entirely in black (it's like sleeping in a coal pit), and Le Boudoir has red walls and a red chandelier hanging above a large four-poster bed. Details: The Fallen Angel (0191-384 1037, www.fallenangelhotel.com), 34 Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HN. From £120, room only.

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