The Boundary

After a stay at the cozy 12-room and 5-suite Boundary hotel in London’s uber trendy Shoreditch neighborhood, you may just decide you want to move to London (we did).

Housed in a gorgeous Victorian warehouse (with a 2-floor addition added in 2008), the Boundary is a pet project of acclaimed designer and home stylist Sir Terence Conran. His three-year project to convert the warehouse into its present state was a painstaking process that left many of the building’s original features intact, like the sash windows and recessed brick archways in the double height basement, which now houses a lovely fine dining open-kitchen French restaurant.

Rooms are designed after or by a clutch of the world’s top designers, including Charles Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Andree Putman and of course Sir Terence himself, who actually claims the suite done by Sir David Tang to be his personal favorite (we actually prefer the Conran room!).

The centerpiece of the hotel is not the fancy French restaurant in the basement or the wonderfully designed rooms, but the stunning rooftop lounge, which is best enjoyed when the weather is a bit cool— it has a log fireplace, copious heaters and London’s best hot mulled wine! Try the scrumptious sausages cooked on the roof terrace’s very own Robata grill.

The first floor of the hotel features the Albion, a three-in-one restaurant, bakery and British foods store. Here you’ll find straightforward UK fare, like fish ’n chips, cottage pies and an assortment of stews and traditional puddings. Few things can match the Albion’s fresh-baked buttery croissants or Chelsea Buns.

Don’t expect a lobby or common area for hotel guests (just a small desk in front of the elevator), but you’ve got three bars and restaurants to hang out in. And even though you’re a guest in the hotel, it’s better to make reservations in advance for the hotel’s dining options, which can be fiercely popular among Londoners. Just outside of the hotel is one of the most charming parts of London, so be sure to devote plenty of time to explore areas around the hotel itself.

The Boundary is not all fine dining and fancy bars though. Our favorite (and we're not alone in thinking this) is the quaint and cozy Albion, a cafe and bakery that doubles as a British foods store. Albion is a very popular local brunch spot, as well as an ideal place to pop into for an afternoon tea, made heavenly with Albion's freshly baked tea cakes and breads. The Boundary truly has created a magical little enclave here in the backstreets and laneways of Shoreditch.