Think of UK city breaks, and plenty of options spring readily to mind.
From great nights out in Newcastle to the historical splendour of York, we're not short of choices when it comes to spending a couple of nights away without having to get our passports out.
While some enjoy the bright lights of a big city and others prefer a more relaxed break in quieter surroundings, it can seem like few destinations offer the best of both worlds.
But in Chester we may just have the perfect option for the traveller who wants to get the most out of a weekend away while taking things very much at their own pace.
The walled city, eminently walkable and compact but packed full of quirky sights and some of the finest historical buildings in the country, has always been a draw for tourists.
But for many years its hotel offering seemed stuck in a bit of a timewarp, with few options within the city centre and a limited offering for younger travellers looking for a more up-to-date experience.
All that seems to be changing, with a number of new hotels springing up in recent years offering a fresh take on staying in a historic city, among them the Moxy Chester.
Promising a "playful stay" with a stylish approach, with "small but smart" rooms and an emphasis on affordability, Moxy hotels are popping up around the country and the concept certainly feels new for Chester.
For our Saturday night stay we arrived over an hour before the 3pm check-in time, happy to wait if needs be - but staff could not have been more accommodating, with our room already good to go and free cocktails to welcome us at the striking lobby bar, which also serves as check-in desk and the general heart of the operation.
Speaking of welcomes, the staff pride themselves on crafting personal welcomes on the bathroom mirrors, and after informing them in advance I was a Liverpool FC supporter, we were greeted by a pretty impressive rendering of a Liver Bird.
The room itself certainly delivered on the brand's promise, with a real city break feel and a view of the canal alongside which the hotel sits. While it certainly wasn't the largest room, it wasn't too small either - in fact it was perfect for a low-maintenance stay where you're eager to get out and experience the place you're visiting.
And Chester, as ever, did not disappoint on that front. From our location in Boughton, a short walk up City Road from the railway station, we weren't far from Westminster Park and the banks of the River Dee.
A stroll through the park took us down to the river before we crossed back up via the Roman amphitheatre and gardens towards the heart of the city.
Just as the accommodation scene in Chester is changing, so is the range of bars, cafes and restaurants on offer. While the city centre was once dominated by retail, it's increasingly home to independent outfits focused on food and drink. There's a real sense of a city finding its feet again after the devastating loss of the Debenhams-owned Browns department store and the decline of a number of other high street names.
Aside from offering plenty of eating and drinking options, this transformation really accentuates the beauty of the city, whose architecture draws as much on Tudor times as it does the Roman era for which Chester is rightly celebrated.
We enjoyed drinks at the Brewery Tap on Lower Bridge Street, which makes the most of a historic great hall as the perfect venue for real ales and traditional pub food. We also visited the atmospheric Boot Inn - the sole surviving Samuel Smith's pub in the city after the closure of the historic Falcon - and Metronome Jazz Bar, a tiny but effortlessly cool space where I enjoyed a bottle of rarely-spotted Wrexham Lager before dinner at Ristorante Sergio, a classic Italian restaurant which has been a fixture in the city for 40 years.
Breakfast the next morning was buffet-style, with a focus on cold options which would be easy to grab and go - perfectly in keeping with the hotel's overall approach. Checkout, too, was a straightforward affair - we simply had to drop our key card off and get going.
It's that approach which characterised Moxy Chester for us, taking out the parts that get in the way of getting out there and making the most of a short break without compromising on some of the small luxuries you'd expect at any city hotel.
BOOK IT:
Rooms at Moxy Chester start at £62. Find out more here.
For details on things to see and do in Chester, head to visitcheshire.com/chester
