The Sir Thomas Buxton pub and hotel, Brick Lane,42 Osborn Street, London E1 6TD

In London's East End, this former Victorian pub brings an airy escape to the streets of Spitalfields. Ideal for staycationers, solo travellers and loved-up duos alike, The Buxton hotel invites you to explore the streets of Shoreditch before heading to its panoramic rooftop for sundown cocktails. We love a rags-to-riches story, so this Eliza Doolittle-esque tale of an East End boozer given a modern East London makeover warms our Cockney cockles. Housed in a former Victorian pub, The Buxton is a big-hearted homage to Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, a 19th-century MP and previously the owner of the nearby Truman Brewery (itself now a hub for creative businesses and a weekly street-food market). In his day Sir Thomas was committed to abolishing slavery, founding the RSPCA and raising money for the local weaving community - acts of generosity that The Buxton nods to through its work with neighbourhood charity Cardboard Citizens, which uses theatre to tackle the issue of homelessness. Its present incarnation is the work of the team behind nearby Spitalfields gastropub The Culpeper, of gigantic rooftop-gherkin fame. Architect Gareth Roberts and business partner Nico Treguer have revamped the building by adding two extra floors, a rooftop terrace and a stonking street-level restaurant/bar, a much-needed addition to the kebab shops that more commonly characterise this end of Brick Lane. Interiors avoid the traps of steampunk junk and Edison bulb-lit bareness, instead balancing whitewashed walls and potted plants with cleverly sourced vintage elements such as a Rosso Levanto marble counter, sapphire velvet chairs in the hallways and a 50s terrazzo-patterned floor. While the rooms are compact to say the least, for a flat rate of £100 (including a welcome drink and breakfast) it's a seductive option for staycationers, solo travellers and loved-up duos who fancy travelling no further than a few flights of stairs when going from dinner to duvet.