Hotel AMANO Covent Garden

You're walking past the theatres and tourist traps of Covent Garden when you stumble onto Russell Street and find yourself in something altogether different. AMANO feels like it belongs in Kreuzberg, not WC2—all exposed brick, reclaimed wood, and that deliberately unfussy German sensibility that makes you realise how over-designed most London hotels have become. The rooms are compact but clever, with quality linens and the kind of shower pressure that actually wakes you up. What matters more is the ground floor: a proper bar and restaurant space where you can sit with a coffee or cocktail and watch the neighbourhood move past the windows, which is genuinely rare in this part of town.