Bethnal Green's romantic Town Hall Hotel — Photo courtesy of Town Hall Hotel
London's Town Hall and Apartments Hotel in Bethnal Green combines Edwardian grandeur and style-a-plenty. Dripping with marble and art deco furniture, striking flower displays and perfectly poised clocks meet you as you make an entrance. It might be a grand building, but its nostalgic refit means that you'll soon be transported to a time when holding the door open for one's partner was de rigeur. Sweeping down the grand staircases for a pre-dinner cocktail or booking a tete-a-tete in the romantically dimmed restaurant, Viajante, means that if it wasn't already, marriage might well be on the cards pretty soon. And, the beauty of having a hotel and restaurant combined means that you don't have to leave the privacy of your plush bedroom for very long at all if the mood takes you.
If making your own food is more your style of showing love, then look no further than the beautifully appointed suites in this hotel. The De Montfort suite with its five stars and more takes your breath away, quite literally. It's already hosted a number of celebrities and private parties, and you really are in the lap of luxury here. The only problem will be leaving when your romantic getaway comes to an end. If this could break your budget, then the hotel has some slightly smaller suites too, all with fitted kitchen, free WiFi, ensuite bathrooms and daily maid service.
The Studio suites offer the option of a private chef in your room, thus providing Michelin cooking without ever leaving your bed; what could be more romantic than that? In the double rooms things are a little more business-like, but style has not been spared. Bespoke bathroom furniture and daily turn-down service means you can still relax in a big comfy bed and indulge your passions until dawn breaks the next morning.
There is loads to do in the local area, and if your romance tends to the gothic, then you might like to visit a former cemetery in Tower Hamlets just off the Mile End Road. It hasn't been open for burial since the sixties, and got bombed in the war; today it's a nature reserve, but the old marble and stone graves and ivy-covered headstones, statues and trees make it a relaxing and interesting place to walk hand in hand, working up the appetite for another romantic meal.
