You can imagine nodding off in an armchair over the latest issue of Samuel Johnson's Idler, or William Hazlitt's polemics in the Tatler, when you step into this time-warp hotel and close the door on trendy Soho. It was here, on a Georgian terrace in the 1820s, that essayist Hazlitt penned his valediction, and antiques and furnishings keep faith with a bygone age.

A1950s office block in central Bristol has been reimagined as a cool B&B, with neat bedrooms, shiny rooftop caravans, a relaxed vibe and a courtyard garden, all providing affordable accommodation beside St Nicholas market, minutes from the bars and restaurants of Wapping Wharf.

York's most unusual B&B is part of England's oldest working convent, where guests can sleep in modern comfort, enjoy a light lunch or tea and cake in the café and Victorian atrium, share the sisters' peaceful garden and visit the domed chapel.

In the buzzy Georgian quarter, the warehouse for a Victorian carriage works has been reimagined as a hotel, with industrial-chic style, a spa, pared-back bedrooms, rooftop suites with a terrace and spa bath for two, a bistro-style bar menu and a restaurant specialising in modern British cooking.