A stone’s throw from Baker Street, Marylebone and Marble Arch stations sits Z Gloucester Place – a smart location that’s designed well enough to instantly become a home-from-home experience. With 114 bedrooms spread over six townhouses, Gloucester Place provides easy access to both the bright lights of Oxford Street and genteel Marylebone. You’ll be close to London Zoo too, as well as the grandeur of the Royal Parks, with boutique shops and fine food just a short stroll away.

Food and drink

Z Gloucester Place is great at bringing guests together by hosting cheese and wine in the café from 5pm to 8pm every night (also open to guests for £17.50 each). A heavy, wooden, communal table gives a very European-style vibe to the atmosphere, with guests able to greet each other and socialise over an unlimited, complimentary buffet-feast. As well as four/five different cheese blocks and a healthy selection of four red wines, four whites and one rose, there are also chutneys, honeycomb, oat crackers, bread, olives, hummus, chocolate and even small tubs of ice cream available. There are non-alcoholic alternatives too, as well as tea and coffee.

Breakfast is served here from 6:30am until 11am on weekdays and 11:30am at weekends. Here you’ll find similar set-ups to the cheese and wine hosting, with casual layouts of hot drinks, cereals, fruit salad, natural yogurt, pastries, bread for toasting, spreads and jams, cheese, cold meats, boiled eggs and smoked salmon – all of which guests can help themselves to. We would, however, recommend you order a hot bacon sandwich! It’s good – trust us.

For lunch you’ll find a selection of sandwiches, wraps, flatbreads or salads.

Rooms

What Z Hotels lack in size, they certainly make up for in comfort. One of the reasons why rooms are usually smaller than typical hotels is due to the listed nature of the buildings; Z at Gloucester Place does offer two larger categories – Z King and Z Junior Suite, which are designed for slightly longer stays.

The Inside Queen rooms (smallest category apart from Single) are not huge, but comfortable enough for a night’s rest. Queen rooms and King rooms are slightly bigger and have windows. Style is minimal, with white walls, dark flooring and clean lines. En-suites have frosted-glass showers and some have bathtubs. All rooms come with supremely comfortable custom-made beds, televisions, water, tea and coffee-making facilities, hairdryers, shampoo and soap.

Service

The service here is absolutely brilliant. Every staff member I met greeted me with a smile and happily chatted to me. On top of their friendliness is their willingness to help you with your luggage and explaining the buffets in the communal area (the café), and sharing their local knowledge of the area.

This is a good place to relax with your laptop and a coffee during the day if you have to work, and there’s an array of daily newspapers and a large television, as well as a small walled courtyard outside.

For affordable luxe in a prime location of London, Z Club at Gloucester Place is certainly the way forward.

For more information visit www.thezhotels.com/hotels/gloucester-place