I have to admit a personal fondness for the Mal Birmingham, located in the magnificent big red Mailbox. When I was a relief postman, back in my student days, the Mailbox was a giant Royal Mail sorting office which backed onto Gas Street Basin. Nowadays this whole area -and Birmingham's canals in particular - have become trendy and the Mailbox is a great place to shop, especially if you like having Harvey Nichols and Emporio Armani under the same roof as your hotel. The Mal offers 189 bedrooms with the usual massive beds, power showers and dramatic lighting. You even get a bottle of Malbec wine in the room. Malmaison are excellent at branding. You'll find there is a Malbar downstairs with some excellent cocktails recommended to restore your spirits at the end of a busy shopping day.
Hotel du Vin has just turned 20 and the old Sugar House in Bristol is one of its newest hotels. This is a dark, cozy place to warm yourself up after hitting the shops in Broadmead and Cabot Circus. Here you'll find chains like House of Fraser, River Island and New Look in easy reach of the hotel but more individual shops like Makers, Blaze and Rag Trade if you walk up the aptly named Christmas Steps to Colston Road. Before heading to your duplex room in the hotel's luxurious loft make sure you call into the Janneau Bar and Library on the first floor for that well-earned drink.
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