Nottingham is a city that has a huge amount to offer for a weekend away, from local lad Paul Smith’s very first shop to countless high-end bars and restaurants. If you’re looking for somewhere to stay, then the acclaimed Lace Market boutique hotel is a truly excellent option, as it’s widely recognised as the city’s finest.
Set in an 18th century merchant’s house in the Lace Market area of Nottingham (hence the name), it’s a stylishly converted building that features luxurious rooms in several categories, up to the ‘studios’, which are lavishly appointed suites with all the trappings and fittings that you would expect. The charming thing is that it’s still recognisably a Georgian house, with high ceilings and bay windows giving a wonderful feeling of spaciousness and size.
The David Collins-designed Merchant’s restaurant is acknowledged to be one of the city’s best places to eat, and its lavish setting (complete with suitably plush red leather velvet banquettes) is a suitable accompaniment to a seasonally relevant menu, where you might begin with seared Isle of Skye scallops or braised pork belly with sweetbread ravioli, and then follow it up with butter poached fillet steak or seared Cornish sea bass. Make sure that you book well in advance, as it’s extremely popular. And if you fancy a nightcap, head either to the trendy Saint Bar for a cocktail, or if you fancy something more traditional, there’s a great range of ales and beers at the Cock & Hoop, the next door gastropub, which also has a superb reputation for its food.
Although the charming staff are much too discreet to name names, it’s known that the hotel plays host to all the major visiting bands and acts who stay in Nottingham, and it’s not hard to see why. With its mixture of old-school sophistication and cutting-edge contemporary style, this is a fantastic place to stay on a visit.
29- 31 High Pavement, Nottingham NG1. www.thefinessecollection.com/lacemarket
