The kids pore over an iPad on a wall in the lobby, exploring and explaining these space-age solutions. Cooler still, the manager tells us that two of the hotel rooms are laboratories, monitoring energy, water and air quality as guests make use of them. A leading university is being lined up to study the data. We are desperate to know if we are staying in one, but no dice. Their location is top secret; not even she knows. “This is so James Bond,” whispers a child. 

But here’s the crucial thing: you never feel like you are part of an experiment. Mundane but important measures (motion-responsive lighting and heating, technology tucked inside shower heads to create powerful jets with 40 per cent less water) are invisible. The only sign that you are in eco heaven is a custom-designed bin allowing you to separate out your food waste (which is whisked away and turned into renewable energy, rather than going to landfill).

Playful interiors and a gem of a restaurant

Otherwise, every corner of our suite is gorgeous. The colours are playful, the design modern, the textures indulgent. Furniture and textiles are bespoke, commissioned from local designers and craftspeople within a 10-mile radius. The (refillable) vegan toiletries are richly scented. Nothing po-faced or puritanical. Even the lifts have bright, marbled wallpaper and Dali-esque melting mirrors. Carpets in corridors are made from recycled fishing nets.

There is just one thing I dislike. The name. Room2 summons visions of hostels and shared shower blocks. It’s a shame, because while the hotel is reasonably priced for London (from £129 a night) everything feels luxurious, from the small gym equipped with Peloton bikes to the 2pm check-out time and a genuine gem of a restaurant. Boca is headed up by Elisabetta Boi, who trained on the 31st floor of Aqua Shard. On brand, she sources her burrata from Shoreditch, her salami from Islington. The artistry, though, is all her own. She will tweak the menu to children’s tastes.