THE VIBE Authors Virginia Woolf, EM Forster and Vanessa Bell were some of the members of the Bloomsbury Group who were united in their belief in the importance of the arts. Their London stomping ground was the leafy area surrounding The Bloomsbury hotel, which references the group in numerous artworks and portraits as well as in its interior design. The Bloomsbury set loved colour and their homes were a riot of dusky blues, burnt orange and aubergine. The hotel channels this exuberance, from the flamboyant Dalloway Terrace to The Coral Room bar, where the quote “Mrs Dalloway is always giving parties to cover the silence” adorns the entrance. The hotel feels like a modern literary salon, reinforced by the impressive wood-panelled Seamus Heaney Library on the first floor, filled with first editions and vintage reads, some still bearing the stamp of the YWCA Central Club Library which once stood on the site.

ROOMS The 1928 Grade II-listed building by Sir Edward Lutyens was originally modelled on Queen Mary’s dolls house. That doesn’t mean the (153) rooms are small or inconsequential, rather they mainline style and are hard to fault. The twelve spacious Studio Suites have 1920s touches – elegant parquet floors, Colefax wallpapers and velvet chairs – with large monochrome bathrooms complete with Malin + Goetz toiletries. Top notch reading material, well-stocked minibars and tea and coffee-making facilities all mean it’s easy to linger. For added decadence, in-room spa and beauty treatments can be arranged.

DINING Breakfast is served in the Club Dining Room, while the flower-filled Dalloway Terrace is popular for brunch. For night owls, The Bloomsbury Club Bar is a seductive boîte, where a new tarot-themed cocktail menu references the Bloomsbury set’s exploration of spirituality.

VERDICT Cerebral, comfortable and central. The hotel offers historical walking tours of the neighbourhood and is near the British Museum and Somerset House. Bibliophiles have oodles of nearby bookshops to explore – from the London Review Bookshop on Bury Place to Persephone Books, which champions forgotten female authors, on Lamb’s Conduit Street, where you’ll also find Ben Pentreath’s interiors shop full of ceramics and nostalgic knick-knacks, as well Folk Clothing for luxurious laidback pieces, rather like the dress code of the Bloomsbury Group in its heyday. Rates start from £306; www.doylecollection.com.