Soho Sanctum Hotel, London

You'd imagine a hotel owned by the management of the rock group Iron Maiden is going to be a bit different and the Soho Sanctum doesn't disappoint. With a basement boutique cinema and a really cool rooftop garden/lounge/bar- including hot tub - as part of the offering, it's a hotel with celebrities in mind.

I pretty much took the place over for a launch event, which meant I ended up in one of the loft suites, which go for around £400 per night. Comfortable, nicely designed, high quality of furnishings and fitments, the room was nice - however I wasn't blown away. There just seemed to be something lacking and I just couldn't put my finger on what. It had a stunning stand along hot tub nearby the bed, a disappointingly small bathroom for a room of this cost, a cool speaker which housed the mini-bar and a large, comfortable, king-size bed. Lot's of plus points, however the sum part of them all, didn't add up to something bigger if that makes sense.

The room was located the other side of the door into the rooftop lounge, which was great for accessing my event, however I'm sure it would be noisy if you had booked the room and a function went on a bit late, next door. I had a good look round all the rooms on a pre-inspection visit, they are a mix of crash pads and larger rooms, some with a heavy boudoir theme to them, which may not appeal to everyone, so check before you book.

Staff are welcoming and the intimate reception area, gives a nice feel to the place. The restaurant/bar is combined with the restaurant occupying the bulk of the available space, to accomodate all the Soho luvvies who'll be stopping by for lunch/dinner. It didn't feel like somewhere you could sit all night working on your laptop whilst having a beer, I guess the roof garden is where that should be at, providing there isn't a function on (again check before you book as access is limited).

Location wise, it's very good for the West End, being only a stones throw from Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street. Ideal for London meetings or sightseeing.

My Rating - 4P's. Mainly due to not feeling the WOW appeal from the room that I was hoping for. It's a great hotel, well worth a visit to make your own judgment and to have a beer or two in the roof garden and see if you can spot a celeb.

Dean Street Townhouse Hotel, Soho

Bang, smack in the centre of London's Soho, the Dean Street Townhouse is one of the best located hotels you can stop in if you want to be in the beating heart of Soho, close to the bars and restaurants.

When you eventually track it down, as it's not particularly obvious it's a hotel (I wandered in to the next door restaurant first), you'll be greeted by a small and intimate reception and public seating area. The hotel is about intimacy, combined with a comfortable, individually designed room. Fittings were of a high quality, i-Pod dock, Roberts DAB radio, LCD screen, nice toiletries, rain shower, bed linen etc. A bit of a home from home.

Prices range from around £140 upwards for a small room, escalating to around £290 if you look at their website. If you want to save on taxi's and be centrally located for Oxford Street, Soho and the West End generally, it's well worth considering.

My Rating 4P's.

Citizen M - Glasgow

What strikes you on arrival at Citizen M, is the informality of the place. There isn't the usual thirty foot long reception desk, but a bank of check-in screens, like at an airport, where greeters will help get you checked in quickly. It's the first sign, that the hotel operates slightly differently,that they've thought about their audience and the way their lives work.

The hotel is really well thought out in its public areas, with a lot of focus on bringing travellers together. The reception/bar/breakfast area/breakout seating areas are all on the same floor and flow as one space, with modern/contemporary furniture and workstations, which adds to the informality and sense of space.

Rooms are of a high quality for the price, compact but highly functional. They are about twelve foot wide, but about twenty five foot deep. Each room is equipped with a King Size bed which consumes the entire width of the room with a large LCD TV and a Philips Moodpad system which allows you to control pretty much everything in the room . A small open sink is in the room with a shower cubicle (rainshower style)/toilet and a small desk at which to work. For an overnight trip it was more than adequate, if there are two of you - it might feel a bit cramped if you've got luggage.

Close to both Glasgow train stations (about seven to ten minutes walk to both), it's well located for visiting the city. One major drawback is parking. The hotel is on a busy one way-street, with no lay-by to bag drop and the car park is around five minutes walk away. I was in quite a rush when I arrived as I needed to take a train to Edinburgh for a dinner, by the time I'd worked out how it all worked, parked, got back and checked in it added twenty minutes onto a tight schedule, just about made it by the skin of my teeth.

It wouldn't stop me from staying at the hotel again as nearly all city hotels have this problem, would just plan it better next time and ensure luggage is kept to a minimum. The main reason for this is that you have to put it in context of the whole experience versus the price.

My rate was round £90 for the night. This included free wireless internet and free movies in the room, which is standard in the hotel. Having a drink in the bar when I got back from dinner, I found the prices reasonable and the serving sizes really ample. A glass of wine was about twice what you'd normally get in a hotel, for around a fiver a glass. Staff were really friendly and made a point to engage me, seeing I was a lone traveller. It has a nice atmosphere to it, relaxed, informal and not threatening if you're travelling alone.

The Citizen M concept is really refreshing and it seems they have plans to roll it out further across Europe. I think other hotels could learn quite a bit from them, they've taken a fresh sheet of paper to the idea of a hotel, right from the basics up in terms of design and guest experience. I'd go back there and - relative to price - it's a smashing place to stay.

My Rating 5P's