Best Hotels in London
So much choice and so many options to sift through - fear not! - we have the best hotels in London ready for you to consider.
The Best hotels in London
We've picked out the top 10 hotels in London for you so find your perfect hotel option, make your booking and get set to enjoy your trip!
Click any of the hotel names to check availability and book your chosen room with ease.
1: Shangri-La at the Shard (London Bridge)
When you are looking for the best hotels in London you need look no further than Shangri-La at the Shard!
Possessing the 34th to 52nd floors of the Shard (London's most notable high rise) the Shangri-La is London's most noteworthy lodging. The floor-to-roof windows in the hotel rooms, café, bar, amazing restaurant, the exercise area of a frankly brilliant gym and even the Infinity Skypool on the 52nd floor offer unrivalled all encompassing perspectives on the city.
Exquisitely finished rooms contain extra large beds, binoculars and coffee machines as well as all the expected luxury touches from a high-end hotel room in London.
Marble restrooms are furnished with Washlet toilets and Acqua di Parma toiletries, and keeping in mind that every one of the 17 suites even comes with an individual butler service that you can avail yourself of, the Shangri-La Suite likewise adds even more luxury with its very own Jacuzzi to soak in your own private bubbles.
Asian influence is obvious on the menu menu of TĪNG, the in-house eatery, with visitors given their preferred choice of ingredients from the nearby Borough Market, while LÁNG provides home-made chocolates and delicious cakes.
The GŎNG bar on the 52nd floor serves exemplary English delights and makes an incredible spot to watch the sun go down while sipping on cocktails and drinks such as the yummy Yuzu Martini and the decadent Rosemary Bubbles.
When finalising a ranking of the best hotels in London the Shangri-La at the Shard simply has to be featured. It is expensive but the absolute height (literally and figuratively) of London hotel luxury.
2: The Connaught (Mayfair)
The center point of Mayfair from 1815 onwards, and a short stroll from luxury stores and London's best shops, the Connaught is the place full of charming quintessentially English appeal and where history meets the modern age.
The great wood staircase, individual butler services and exquisite high-end rooms created by Guy Oliver all hark back to the days when the famous visitors included French president Charles de Gaulle. Conversely, the rooms in the new wing are brilliant, contemporary and fairly oriental in structure; washroom highlights incorporate Japanese Toto warmed loo seats for an added touch of comfort as well!
Families are well catered for in interconnecting rooms that adjoin so there are no problems housing your travelling party if you are on a trip with children. Bespoke menu items as part of a menu that caters brilliantly for pint-sized travellers and a choice of kids' books and the twice-day by day, family swimming sessions at the Aman Spa pool all add to the service for families.
The celebrated restaurants features the two Michelin-starred Hélène Darroze which serves the absolute best French food in London underneath the works of Damien Hurst.
Visitors get to choose up to a maximum of nine items from the ingredient selection options and then and let the culinary specialist wow them.
The Connaught Bar, named Best Bar in the World in 2015 and popular for its mark Connaught Martini, runs mixed drink masterclasses, directed by celebrated mixologist Agostino Perrone.
3: Soho Hotel (Soho)
Concealed in a circular drive, this boutique lodging is found directly in the middle of Soho, with fantastic feasting and nightlife directly on its doorstep yet soundproofed against the outside clamour.
The whole property is highlighted with brilliant hues and peculiar, fun loving design features that the co-proprietor Kit Kemp is known for, from the strong wall paintings behind the bar and the oil cans in the hotel's restaurant right through to the Botero feline figure that greets guests as they enter the main lobby area.
All rooms were exclusively created and fashioned out of the talented mind of Ms Kemp, and you will no doubt be impressed with the brilliant interior design touches like the luxury wallpapers that compliment the rest of the room in a really lovely way. You will also find little extra touches like a mannequin and a striped umbrella that add to the character and flair of the hotel. A few rooms are interconnected to suit travellers with families. Restrooms have the luxurious free-standing baths that continue the high-end feel, plus his-and-hers sinks and Rik Rak toiletries.
Visitors can unwind in the library or in a drawing room that they will share with numerous statues and figurines, while availing of a 24-hour bar. A full-scale exercise area and gym is available, spa treatments and massages are bookable as well. The Refuel in-house restaurant serves a great selection of contemporary European dishes and there's a different kids' menu.
4: Sea Containers London (Southbank)
With excellent perspectives on the Thames, Sea Containers Hotel (in the past known as the Mondrian) sits on the riverside walkway, a couple of minutes' stroll from the London Eye, Borough Market, Globe Theater and Tate Modern. Nautical influences, from the copper-clad 'ship's hull' that makes up the reception area for the hotel itself, to the chain link standout piece of sculpture that is to be found in the lobby, are intended to pass on 1920s feel of luxury ship transport style and to pay tribute to the Sea Containers shipping company who were the first inhabitants of the structure back in the day.
The design brainchild of American engineer Warren Platner during the 1970s, the property was finished by British creator Tom Dixon and typifies the two societies. Red and crimson accentuates copper lighting that sits in great contrast to the impartial tones and smooth structure of the sumptuous rooms.
Each room is decked out with hand crafted furniture, including the bespoke seats planned by Dixon and Platner. Washrooms include showers that cascade water down like a lovely constantly warm rain and all rooms come complete with Malin + Goetz toiletries.
Visitors at what we must admit is one of the best hotels in London can test their imaginations and palettes with pre-blended cocktails by amazing mixologist Mr. Lyan at the Dandelyan Bar and watch gourmet experts at work in the open kitchen of Sea Containers in-house eatery that stands as a great example of considerable authority when it comes to British and American dishes.
The glass-encased Rumpus Room bar that is to be found on the roof has an unhindered perspective on London's main riverside attractions and Wednesday is live jazz night.
Youngsters are made to feel welcome with bikes and scooters, a children's menu and a cast-iron swing in the entryway.
5: ME by Melia (West End)
Smooth, monochromatic ME is only a few years old and sits directly amidst West End activity – minutes from the theatres and famous Covent Garden area. The lodging has unpretentiously lit hallways and jazzy rooms, brightened with in impartial tones. All rooms will give you access as standard to all-in-one media centres and contemporary washrooms with brilliant showers that are consistently warm and very relaxing.
ME's most striking component is the dark marble pyramid that slices through the core of the property and houses the main entrance's lobby and staff. You can look down into the pyramid from the Rooftop Radio Bar, famous for its mixed drinks, its open air porch sitting above St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge and the London Eye. DJs play night sets at the bar from Wednesday to Sunday.
Environmentally lit STK is ME's in-house eating alternative, representing considerable provenance in steaks from the UK and the US. Inside ME's anteroom, metal "radio wave" structures pay tribute to Marconi House – the previous central command of the BBC from which the first radio broadcast was made in 1922.
6: The Rookery (Clerkenwell)
Inside three of the final eighteenth century Georgian houses left on Peter's Lane in Clerkenwell, with its medieval paths and superb eating options, the Rookery is a 100% must when ranking the best hotels in London with a lovely warm hotel that has supplanted the pickpocket & prostitute filled ghettos that this part of London was once renowned for earlier in the city's history.
Booking a room here gives you your very own extravagant, overly complex Georgian home with innumerate halls making up something of a luxurious labyrinth, made up of recovered wood framing, classical furnishings, period beds with four-posts and statues in the loos.
All rooms are named after Londoners who once lived here. Both the Dr Theophilus Garencières and the Sir Walter de Manny junior suites include vintage showers, toilets that are basically thrones and big showers that you can walk into and use the complimentary Ren toiletries. The most excellent component of the Rook's Nest duplex penthouse suite is the luxurious bed, flanked with blackamoors.
Some portion of the highest floor used to be the workers' quarters, and the rooms are cozy and environmental, with low roofs and bay windows. Definitely an option that works well for female on solo travels and couples, this is a calm retreat where you can unwind from the manic noise of London outside the door. Read at firelight as the conservatory's authentic fire roars away and sip on a well made tipple or two. Maybe have a lovely tea like a local.
There is no lift but the able-bodied traveller will have no issues with this as the hotel is not enormous with endless stairs so fear not.
7: The Ritz London (Piccadilly)
It would be essentially difficult to deliver an honest ranking for the best hotels in London without including the famous Ritz on this list. Possibly the most famous hotel in the world.
From the wonder of its Long Gallery, hung with extravagant mirrors and light fixtures, to the liveried concierges, the Ritz has been a precept for old-world extravagance since 1906. Sitting above Green Park and close to Buckingham Palace, the Ritz has played host to innumerable VIPs, from various royals, motion picture stars and legislators to Noel Coward.
Winston Churchill and Eisenhower met in the Marie Antoinette Suite during WWII to talk about war tactics and in modern times, a scene of "Downton Abbey" was shot in the Ritz Restaurant. Brought about by London-and Paris-based experts, the high-ceilinged rooms are enriched in exemplary Louis XVI style, in unobtrusive pink, blue, yellow and peach, the image of extravagance finished with lavish old fashioned decorations and overwhelming silk wraps.
The three Signature Suites accompany all have an inclusive butler service that is for your own private use when staying in any to those rooms. Complete with frescoed, marbled extravagance and housing the epitome of haute cuisine, the Ritz Restaurant produces exemplary French dishes utilising the best of British ingredients, while the Rivoli bar is a cosy social place for drinks.
Both those staying at the hotel and those who have not booked a room can book to have "Tea at the Ritz" each day at the richly decorated Palm Court where the in-house piano player will regale you with unobtrusive background music - he is pretty good having used to play with Frank Sinatra!
Given that this is no ordinary hotel, there is an understandable minimum level of dress code throughout the entire hotel. Keep this in mind when making use of the facilities.
8: The Savoy (Covent Garden)
In the core of West End, the Savoy is the celebrated 'old lady' of central London hotels. - its list of past visitors including Monet and Laurence Olivier.
When you advance past cat-shaped topiary upon entering and being greeted by the top-hatted doormen, you are quickly met by the lovely staff and swept up to your room; there is no reception as such.
In keeping with the Savoy's chronicled past, the rooms are either English Edwardian or Art Deco in plan, however both styles still come with completely present day bathrooms and powerful showers.
Visitors remaining in the suites are looked out for at any hour of the day by the hotel's butlers. Family get-away bundles, little luxuries for children and connecting rooms are available for the family travellers.
Top notch food is particularly part of the Savoy experience. Pick between Gordon Ramsey's Savoy Grill for exemplary British food with French influences (you will need to keep in mind the dress code when dining), or alternatively have supper at Simpson's-on-the-Strand or fish dishes at the casual Kaspar Bar and Grill, in the midst of a lovely Art Deco environment. The Savoy is perhaps the best place in London to appreciate afternoon tea for which it is famed for and really delivers to a high standard.
The in-house bars are similarly famous: the unbelievable American Bar is London's most established and prestigious for its drink and cocktail options, while the Beaufort Bar is the Lalique-style bar that serves unique libations to all who enter.
In the entryway make sure you look out for the statue of Kaspar the famous resident cat, who stands in as the fourteenth visitor to keep diners from having bad luck if a dinner table is unlucky to have only 13 diners.
9: Claridge's (Mayfair)
For more than 150 years, Claridge's has characterized London's extravagance and offers a real luxury London experience. Its exquisite craftsmanship and high-end decor inside creating a lovely space that has played host to royals, celebrities and many, many VIPs.
In the rooms, hand-chosen furniture, tasteful prints and luxurious textures are found throughout, alongside modern highlights, for example, iPod docking stations.
The hotel offers a service is tactful and mindful of privacy and discretion. Those residing in either the normal suites, independently developed by designers including David Linley (the Queen's grandson) and Diane von Furstenberg, are looked out for by private butlers that form part of the exceptional staff at the hotel. At Michelin-star restaurant Fera, commended culinary whizz Simon Rogan plans imaginative takes on British food that takes advantage of local menu items that rotate depending on which ingredients are in season. Visitors are urged to meander into the kitchen to watch the experts at work or even to feast there on occasion.
On the off chance that you need to figure out how to cut a particular type of meat or make customary British puddings, you can partake in private masterclasses. Afternoon tea in the luxurious Grand Foyer is a feature for all visitors regardless of whether they have a room booked I the hotel or not. Claridge's Bar is the spot to test vintage champagnes and a portion of the world's best wines, while Fumoir is an alluring space to withdraw to for a signature drink, for example, the Black Pearl.
10: St Pancras Renaissance (Kings Cross)
A London landmark that every local will see as they travel through the city, the St Pancras Renaissance is a famous hotel that is both historically-noteworthy and new.
The renaissance of the nineteenth century Midland Grand, it is a property whose impressive red Gothic Revival façade mixes easily with that of the St Pancras International railroad station.
The English Heritage building was the venue for scenes in the Harry Potter film series and the Spice Girls' video 'Wannabe' before formally reviving as the Renaissance hotel in 2011.
Wonderfully reestablished, it kept a significant number of its unique aspects – restored and replica versions of the carpeting and wall coverings compliment the vaulted roof over the fabulous staircase and high-ceilinged rooms are memorable and luxurious.
There's another wing that is newer with business-style rooms. Restrooms come furnished with powerful showers; suites have free-standing baths for an extra luxury touch; a point that sets them apart even in a luminous list of the best hotels in London.
The Booking Office in-house dining option serves exemplary British dishes and Victorian punchbowl beverages still holds the old ticket windows from the building's former staton use.
The most prominent eating option is the Gilbert Scott (100% has a dress code that needs to be adhered to), with the best of British cooking reproduced by Chantelle Nicholson.
If you have a hotel room booking then you are also offered complimentary tours of the property and masterclasses, for example, paring restored meats with the appropriate alcoholic drink.
There are also spa treatments and massages plus an indoor pool if you are looking to relax.
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