Past the serene-seeming minty exterior of the Alma Hotel and Lounge, the hotel is a riot of colour and style. Jewel-coloured walls meet Art Deco-esque mirrors. Bold red carpets adorn dark wooden floors. Plump velvet armchairs are nestled in corners. Grand beds are piled high with pillows atop chequerboard tiles. And that’s just some of the guestrooms, which range from the simply “Deluxe” to suites deemed to be “Executive” level. The bathrooms, meanwhile, showcase rolltop tubs, jet showers and luxe Bvlgari amenities. Overall, there is an air of bohemian theatricality in the decor, balanced with chic sophistication throughout.

While the rooms put guests in easy distance of the city centre, with sweeping views out over the White City, many visitors to the Alma Hotel come for dinner at the Alma Lounge restaurant. Overseen by award-winning chef Yonatan Roshfeld, the Lounge serves a wide range of dishes that mix Mediterranean and Israeli flavours to delicious effect. Meanwhile, for guests, the food and ambience here more than makes up for the hotel’s lack of other amenities (WiFi is the limit for business travellers, while spa seekers will need to look elsewhere for treatments). A quick jaunt upstairs brings guests to the rooftop where the sparkling lights of the city provide a beautiful backdrop to a night of cocktails under the stars.