Picture this: you’re lying on a luxurious quilted bed propped up by thick feather pillows, jazz is quietly playing on the radio and two ice-cold Peronis have just been delivered to the door.

The room is cool and quiet, painted in subdued Farrow & Ball colours with wood floors and rich leather furniture, and an earthy fragrance permeates the air.

You would be forgiven for thinking you are at a country retreat, but you’re actually only a few steps away from one of the busiest tube stations in London – at The Hoxton hotel in Holborn.

A quick peek through the heavy, blackout curtains confirms this. Ant-like crowds bustle around the streets below, but you can’t hear a thing.

As much as I love London, being able to escape its madness and step into an oasis of calm is like gold dust, which explains why this hotel has enjoyed rave reviews since opening in September 2014.

With its Trip Advisor rating sitting at a welldeserved four-and-a-half stars, the hotel is one of a chain of three, with the founding one in nearby Shoreditch and another in Amsterdam, which I’m dying to try out.

With prices ranging from £69 to £269, you can’t go far wrong.

Our dinner was booked for 8.30pm in the Brooklyn-style Hubbard & Bell restaurant – one of three eateries on site.

The main reception area doubles up as a bar in the evening and when we finally dragged ourselves away from the comfort of our room, it was already humming with people, lounging around on low leather couches, sipping cocktails and enjoying the DJ’s muted house music.

At £9.50 each, the cocktails are not cheap, but this is London, and the cooler-than-cool surroundings more than make up for it.

A super-attentive waiter seated us in an orange leather booth at the back of the restaurant, which is canteen-like, with long benches, Ercol-style chairs and an open kitchen. Long industrial metal lamps hang off the high ceilings and hover above the tables, creating the perfect low-light ambience.

The menu was just as I like it, written on one side of A4 in a simple and functional way, which lets the food do the talking.

To start we ordered bone marrow (£7) and tartare (£10). Both dishes were absolutely divine – to the point where I would consider revisiting just to taste them again. The crispy ciabatta with warm butter was the perfect accompaniment.

My companion’s main course of lobster (£25) was also top notch, with a sweet tang and cushiony texture. My rare rib-eye steak (£25) was good – if a little overcooked – but I had a tragic case of food envy and eagerly gobbled up any spare morsels of lobster reluctantly thrown my way.

When the dessert menu arrived we plunged into the salted caramel and pretzel cheesecake (£6.50) without a shred of hesitation. I don’t think I need to tell you how good it was.

After washing it down with a bottle of wine, we ventured into the outside world to walk off the feast.

The hotel is in such a great location – in just five minutes on foot you can reach both Covent Garden and Soho, for restaurants, museums, shops and bars galore.

In the other direction, you could explore Leather Lane market with its treasure troves of vintage bric-a-brac and foodie stalls, and then wander further along to St Paul’s Cathedral.

We opted for the bars of Soho and eventually weaved our way back to the room, stopping briefly to pick up some £1.50 Peronis from behind reception – have you ever heard of such prices in London?

When morning arrived, we were oblivious – the black-out curtains made it feel like the world had stopped.

If you are less forgetful than us, you can hang a card on the door to get a free morning delivery of croissants, orange juice and granola. But if you do forget, you can always can head downstairs to tuck into any number of breakfast delights.

Check-out is at the relaxed time of midday, but for £5 an hour you can extend your stay to make the most of the peace and quiet, the flat-screen TV and luxury double shower.

After we checked out, we headed for Covent Garden, which was buzzing with tourists and street performers, and had a long, lazy lunch.

However, after a slow amble to pick up the car, it slowly dawned on my companion that he had left his car keys in the room. But no fret.

Reception staff organised a messenger boy to drop them off at a pub in Clapham, where we lounged in the sunshine with a cider, leaving the taste of a perfect getaway fresh in our minds.

Factfile

The hotel has 174 rooms in four different categories: Shoebox, Snug, Cosy and Roomy.

The hotel also has an in-house salon where guests can indulge in a cheeky manicure or stock up their beauty bags.

There is also a collection of meeting rooms with a fully stocked kitchen. Room rates are priced from £69 to £269. 199-206 High Holborn, WC1V 7BD thehoxton.com