One of London's most modern hotels comes with its own unique way of getting about, finds Adrian Caffrey.

The helicopter was taking off not 50 metres from the window of our hotel room.

Yet, such was the quality of the floor to ceiling triple-glazing, we could hardly hear the whirling of its blades.

My wife and I had come to expect nothing less during our weekend at the new Hotel Verta in Battersea, the only hotel in Europe next to a heliport.

Opened in September, the hotel has quality written through it like the word Blackpool is written through the seaside town’s sugary rock.

There are 70 bedrooms, many with views of the Thames, all with ultra-modern furnishings, underfloor heating, Wi-fi internet access and a huge plasma TV with Sky channels.

The hotel has been designed to evoke the golden age of travel... a glamorous and sophisticated era when every need was taken care of and every demand met.

The website says “visiting our hotel is like watching a classic film on the latest technology” which is all very well unless, like me, you’re a technophobe.

There was a TV above the bath taps but I couldn’t even work out how to switch it on, although that was probably for the best because I would have sat soaking there all weekend.

When I went to the bathroom in the night I couldn’t turn on the light without illuminating the bedroom like a disco floor, much to the chagrin of my other half.

And my disastrous attempts at using the espresso machine meant I wasn’t in the housekeeper’s good books.

The state-of-the-art equipment in the subterranean gym was equally confusing but thankfully there was always someone on hand to explain how things worked.

Hotel Verta is part of the London Heliport complex, which is the only commercial heliport in London, recently celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The heliport is an exclusive staging post for the world’s rich and famous who need look no further for somewhere to crash for the night (if you’ll forgive the phrase).

Its departure lounge is definitely the place to be seen and hotel guests with a special occasion to mark can book 20-minute pleasure flights over the capital (£650 for four people).

The hotel also forms part of the regeneration of the Thames riverfront at Battersea where apartments change hands for silly money.