Portobello Hotel, Notting Hill, London

For the past three decades The Portobello Hotel has been a true original in a world of overwhelmingly bland hotels. The eccentric outsider, it kick-started the current trend for small, offbeat hotels where the interior design is cutting-edge, staff are attentive but discreet, and lobby and rooms alike are intended to feel as intimate as home. This is a nesting experience without the drudgery of tidying up.