Sun Street Hotel review: the decadent boutique digs changing the accommodation game in London’s Square Mile

In a nutshell: On the edge of London’s Square Mile, Sun Street is a new five-star hotel that brings a welcome injection of boutique luxe to an area more known for its corporate skyscrapers. Forget stark, white minimalism; decadent design here is all richly patterned wallpaper, velvet sofas and Victoriana-inspired artwork.

The neighbourhood

Sun Street Hotel is located, you guessed it, on Sun Street – right on the northern border of London’s Square Mile. Also known as the City, this famed area of the UK capital is the core of the financial district, home to bankers, traders and all number of corporate businesses. But, stretching south to the Thames, east to Tower Hill, north to Barbican and west to Holborn, there’s plenty within its confines that’s not all about the Suits: including St Paul’s Cathedral, Leadenhall Market and the buzzy food and drink scene around Liverpool Street. Which is why it’s a boon to have a luxe new design-focused accommodation option in the neighbourhood, a stone’s throw from Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations – a welcome escape from the FTSE 100 talk at shiny nearby All Bar One-esque spots. A short stroll north from Sun Street also brings you to the cooler crowds of Old Street and Shoreditch, with plentiful drinking, dining and doing options.

The vibe

The hotel manages to feel discreetly tucked away from the hustle of nearby Liverpool Street station, thanks in part to it being housed inside six Georgian houses (the work of architect George Dance the Younger in the 1800s).

Much of the hotel’s ground-floor is dedicated to a sumptuously designed, multi-roomed lobby area, just begging to be relaxed in. Forget stark minimalism or modernism – decor conjures up an image of reclining in an extremely chic, rich Victorian gentlemen’s (or women’s) club, with playful, exotic touches inspired by the Malaysian roots of the company that redeveloped the building. Think boldly patterned wallpaper, brown leather sofas and burgundy velvet curtains in one room; mismatching jade and sage-green chairs, antique trunks and jungle-print cushions in another. One end morphs into a stylish cocktail bar of an evening; with its perfectly judged mood lighting and subtle soundtrack, it makes a welcome change to many of the nearby noisy, chrome-dominated…