TRAVEL writer KEN BENNETT goes behind the serene doors of some of the capital's most exclusive hotels to find out what tourists can expect on a visit.

Vanishing in the fat marsh-mallow of fluffy white sheets, I pondered whether I was slightly ruffled by the fact superstar Robbie Williams had slept in this indecently luxurious Elizabethan four-poster bed.

On reflection, I decided I was not.

The thought that comedy couple Lenny Henry and Dawn French may have cavorted on this ocean of decadence did not concern me either. Although I did wonder whether they might have exchanged some witty one-liners.

Truth is, slumbering on the same mattress so large and high, you need a box step and crampons to clamber on to it as living legends would make great conversation at any dinner party.

But perhaps the biggest personal kick was that I was lolling under the same canopy and gazing at the same cherub as possibly Queen Elizabeth I.

Because this magnificent antique bed came from Hampton Court Palace and was most certainly occupied by a lazy royal or two.

I learned that Robbie Williams tried to buy the bed in Room 13 at the fabulously fun Portobello Hotel in London's Notting Hill.

The hotel refused to sell it and, the story goes, the superstar has had a replica made.

After a night of unashamed luxury, I found it easy to understand why the hotel is a firm favourite among celebrities who come to chill out in the colonially-flavoured, whacky rooms.

Room 16, for example, is the home of the famous Round Bed. This is where rock legend Alice Cooper likes to sleep when he visits.

His snake occupies the adjacent bathing machine an Edwardian contraption resembling something out of a torture chamber.

The tub was allegedly filled with champagne by Kate Moss and Johnny Depp, who returned from dinner to discover a chambermaid had mistakenly pulled the plug on their luxurious bubbly' bath. Whoops!

"It's certainly a hotel with a difference," understates manager Hannah Turner, who ably juggles bookings to suit guests.

Everyone stars from music, modelling, movies and the media world and travellers like me are treated the same in this funky hotel. Its style. as London's first townhouse hotel, cuts through the fuss and stiffness of traditional five-star accommodation.

The hotel owned by Tim Herring which boasts the most eccentrically-decorated sleeping quarters in the country, including a Balinese four-poster, a ship's bunk and a bed made from an original opium den screen.

Meanwhile, you would be well advised to visit The Zetter; an urban inn and a former 19th century warehouse, across the city in Farringdon.

Justin Pinchbeck, the charismatic general manager, showed me around this newly-opened five-star hotel in a location where kings, noblemen and commoners used to take the waters at the spas in Clerkenwell.

The hotel is a swanky, state-of-the-art property, owned by Mark Sainsbury and Michael Benyan, with 52 stylish bedrooms and seven rooftop studios. It has its very own bore-hole which sinks 1,500ft below ground.

It is well worth a visit totally unpretentious and friendly; and offers the most incredible services for each room, including 15 TV channels; movies on demand; broadband internet access; shutters on the windows; hot waterbottles in hand-knitted covers; and second-hand books.

You have to see the rooms all different to believe them.

But, on a practical level, there is a vending machine on each floor selling everything from champagne to toothpaste and dispensing flavoursome, free coffee, tea and ice.

And the rooms' en-suites boast anti-mist mirrors and vanity basins the size of horse troughs. Wonderful!

A stay at The Zetter gives you guest list status at the fashionable Fabric nightclub round the corner. But whether you get in is another matter. Personally though, I was just happy to absorb the two hotels showbiz atmosphere Both hotels provide special event packages. Call The Portobello, on 020-7727-2777 and The Zetter on 020-7324-4444. Prices at both hotels range from £125-£275 a night.

Virgin Trains operate frequent services between London Euston and Manchester. Tickets, which include complimentary seat reservations, can be purchased online at www.virgin.com/trains, call: 08457-222-333. Alternatively, visit a staffed station or rail-appointed travel agent.

London Tourist Board was efficient and helpful and I booked a package (www.ba-londoneye.com) on the BA London Eye, a cruise and superb two-course meal at The People's Palace, Royal Festival Hall, overlooking the River Thames.

The restaurant is famous for its combinations of ingredients and its pecan and banana pudding with clotted cream and toffee sauce (020-7928-9999).

A London Pass gives you the chance to visit top tourist venues at bargain prices.

One day costs £27; two day, £42; three day £52; and bumper six-day, £72. It is great value with exclusive queue-jumping privileges at some attractions.

For an added showbiz touch, I went to the Reduced Shakespeare Company, London's longest-running comedy hit, at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus.

It's frenetic, funny and fantastic entertainment. Call Ticketmaster on 0870-060-2313.

A final must for all novice London tourists: buy a weekend travel pass. For £6.40, you can travel anywhere central for two days on the underground, bus and train. A real down-to-earth money-saver!

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) has launched an exciting new winter campaign this week, offering rail travellers the opportunity of 2 for 1 entry to a large number of top London attractions, including The Tower of London, Madame Tussauds, The London Aquarium and London Dungeon.

This is the fourth year that the scheme has run. Last year, it was so popular that it generated a staggering two million extra train journeys.

To take part in the offer, rail users simply collect vouchers at railway stations or download them from web sites, including www.london2for1.

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