BEST HOTELS IN LONDON | LUXURY & BOUTIQUE STAYS

Spread across a pair of Grade II-listed Georgian townhouses that were converted from private residences into a hotel in the 1980s (the current owners are also behind The Bath Priory and Gidleigh Park), this boutique hotel in London feels like staying in your very own pied-à-terre. The location, just off the Kings Road, couldn’t be better for Saturday afternoon shopping, browsing the food stalls at the weekly market in Duke of York Square or wandering around contemporary art exhibitions at the Saatchi Gallery. Rooms are light, bright and modern; the best come with a balcony while the ‘Room at the Top' has a roof garden with sensational views over South Kensington, Chelsea and beyond. There’s no restaurant for dinner (but plenty of choice nearby). At breakfast, opt for continental (soft boiled eggs, say, or porridge) or a dish from the kitchen: eggs all kinds of ways, American pancakes or a fry-up. 

Part of the four-strong London chain of Cubitt House pubs which also include The Thomas Cubitt in Belgravia and The Barley Mow in Mayfair, this Notting Hill outpost has the bonus of rooms too – meaning that after a late night of drinking and dining, all you need to do is head upstairs to bed. There are four rooms, all named after a different princess and furnished with patterned bedheads, wood-panelled walls, contemporary botanical wallpaper and pleated lampshades. Downstairs is a large horseshoe bar with leather stools, a dining room and light-flooded conservatory, plus, two splendid terraces by Jinny Blom (where tables are highly coveted in summer). Food is inspired by the Mediterranean, as well as British produce: think seasonal salads, the signature Princess Parmigiana, or baked cod with cannellini, chorizo and Shetland mussels. Portobello Road market and Kensington Palace are both within walking distance of this excellent London pub with rooms.

Set on a quiet street in the heart of Mayfair, just a few minutes’ walk from the designer fashion boutiques of Bond Street, Brown’s is the oldest hotel in London. Rooms and suites are sophisticated and elegant; the most playful is the Sir Paul Smith suite (the banana-shaped door handle sets the whimsical tone from the get-go) with a gallery wall of artworks in the living-dining space, and a built-in television at the end of the bathtub. This iconic luxury hotel manages to brilliantly blend tradition and contemporary cool: afternoon tea takes place in the wood-panelled Drawing Room, which also turns into a mid-week jazz club; Charlie’s restaurant serves up classic British fare with a modern twist such as venison en croute or roast beef that’s brought to the table on a gilded trolley and carved in front of you. Then there’s the subterranean spa for soothing Irene Forte treatments and Donovan Bar, a late-night drinking den adorned with 1960s photographs by its celebrated namesake, Terence Donovan, where innovative cocktails come courtesy of celebrated bartender Salvatore Calabrese.

With such tranquil surroundings overlooking Brown Hart Gardens, it’s hard to believe that this Art Deco-inspired luxury London hotel is only a stone’s throw from Selfridges. It reopened last year after a thorough spruce-up and looks better than ever, with handsome rooms and suites that exude quiet opulence, from the original paintings and prints on the walls to the grown-up colour palette and dark wood furniture. One unaltered stand-out is the famous ROOM by Antony Gormley, a suite in a three-storey crouching cuboid figure sculpture that juts out of a corner of the building. Dine in The Colony Grill, a New York-style grill with red leather banquette seating and hearty favourites (shepherd’s pie, the Beaumont cheeseburger, dover sole) on the menu followed by cocktails in Le Magritte, named after the Surrealist artist whose Le Maître d'École painting hangs pride of place behind the bar. There’s also a pocket-size spa, which includes a hammam, steam room, sauna and gym.

From its red-brick building with top hat-wearing doormen to the black-and-white chequered lobby floor and gentle sound of the pianist that greets guests arriving for Afternoon Tea in The Foyer & Reading Room, Claridge’s is one of the most iconic and recognisable hotels in London. Equally as renowned for its glamorous past (everyone from Hollywood A-listers to royalty has visited) as its elegant Art Deco design, it now has an international art gallery under its umbrella too, with the new opening of the first permanent London outpost of Perrotin. Drinking and dining spaces include the Bryan O’Sullivan-designed Claridge’s Restaurant (dramatic pendant lights, leather banquettes, marble, antique bronze), the blush-pink Painter’s Room bar with a contemporary stained-glass mirror by artist Annie Morris and The Fumoir, a moodily-lit hideaway for a nightcap. The spa is inspired by Japanese temples and gardens in Kyoto; fabulous rooms and suites are plush yet homely.