The Best London Hotels, by Neighbourhood 

London’s vibrant medley of neighbourhoods – each with a distinct flavour, rhythm and after-dark personality – makes choosing your perfect base half the adventure. Whether you’re here for pub-hopping, palace-spotting or just some quiet luxury, consider this your insider guide to the best London hotels.

The best hotels in Central London

Where Big Ben, royal pageantry and bucket-list landmarks meet – the city’s show-stealing heart for travellers who want it all on their doorstep.

The Royal Horseguards

Setting the bar high, The Royal Horseguards invites you to walk in the footsteps of statesmen and secret agents: this riverside grande dame, next to the old Scotland Yard site, was a wartime base for Winston Churchill and the MI5. Sweeping staircases, marble halls and gilded detailing set the tone for a regal stay, with Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye all within a 10-minute walk away. Dine like a royal at One Twenty One Two Restaurant, enjoy a traditional cream tea at The Green Parlour (a lounge dedicated entirely to afternoon tea), and, should the weather permit, sip bubbly al fresco at The Terrace.

The Clermont, Charing Cross

For first-timers in London, The Clermont, Charing Cross places the city’s cultural heavyweights – Covent Garden, the National Gallery, the West End – quite literally on your doorstep. Perfectly located, this grand hotel is a Grade II-listed landmark that balances old-world splendour with modern ease. Beyond the imposing staircase, ornate chandeliers and ruby-red carpets is a lively bar built for pre-theatre cocktails, as well as a rail-travel-inspired restaurant serving hearty British classics done just right.

COMO Metropolitan London

A favourite among A-listers and lovers of understated luxury, COMO Metropolitan London sits right in-between Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace. Its interiors favour serenity over spectacle, and an onsite Nobu restaurant seals the deal for discerning diners (black cod with miso lovers, rejoice). A rare treat in the centre of London, the hotel is also home to an award-winning COMO Shambhala Spa, offering pioneering wellness treatments from its Bali flagship, along with a 24-hour gym and steam room.

The best London hotels in Waterloo & South Bank

Follow the curve of the Thames to uncover a world of riverside galleries, endless strolls and nights that end with the city glittering beneath you.

H10 London Waterloo

Cross the Thames into Waterloo and check into the H10 – a sleek, glass-fronted high-rise with a knockout Sky Bar serving city views and sunset-ready cocktails. True to the H10 brand’s Mediterranean roots, the hotel features tropical, leafy patterns, pops of colour and wicker seating, with the Three O Two restaurant offering Spanish-leaning flavours and easy, unpretentious dining. 

Shangri-La, The Shard

When it comes to both height and standards of luxury, Shangri-La, The Shard – on floors 34-52 of the Renzo Piano-designed skyscraper – is on another level entirely. See all the sights without even having to leave the hotel (we’re talking million-dollar views of Tower Bridge, Big Ben and the London Eye), with binoculars provided in-room. Complete with a gravity-defying infinity pool on level 52 (London’s highest), subtle luxuries like heated marble bathrooms, infamous Shangri-La hospitality and GŎNG – the city’s highest cocktail bar – this is London at its most elevated.

The Hoxton, Southwark

This South Bank gem blends quirky Hoxton style with the building’s industrial past, layering concrete with warm timber, soft splashes of colour and letterpress-inspired details. Albie restaurant keeps things lively with all-day dining and live DJ sets, and the best part sits right at the top: Seabird offers an irresistible rooftop setting with swoon-worthy skyline vistas and London’s most extensive oyster selection – what’s not to love?

The best London hotels in Covent Garden & Soho

Grab your dancing shoes for a spin through Soho’s ever-evolving after-dark scene, or hit the theatre lights of Covent Garden – this is the neighbourhood that never sleeps.

NoMad London

Bringing a touch of New York swagger to Covent Garden, NoMad London has a fascinating past. What was once a former police station and courthouse (where Oscar Wilde and Vivienne Westwood once were held), is now a swanky city haunt with moody, modern glamour. The former police yard houses a three-storey glass-capped atrium with a courtyard restaurant and cascading greenery, while the hotel interior showcases a delicious blend of speakeasy spirit, Manhattan sparkle and plush velvet nostalgia.

Ham Yard Hotel

Offering more than its unassuming facade suggests, at Ham Yard Hotel you can stay and play with an onsite 1950s-style bowling alley, a rooftop garden with apple trees and beehives, and even an underground cinema – a great choice for families, or just big kids. Lose yourself in Kit Kemp’s signature riot of colour, bold patterns and commanding art (including a towering Tony Cragg sculpture in the courtyard), and make the most of the hotel’s prime location amid Soho’s creative buzz, just around the corner from Mayfair, the West End and Oxford Street.

The best London hotels in Kensington & Chelsea

Slow things down amid manicured streets, stately museums and boutiques that make window-shopping feel like an art form. Kensington and Chelsea is where slow luxury thrives.

The Kensington Hotel

Come for South Ken’s whitewashed terraces and Georgian facades, and stay for The Kensington Hotel’s irresistible period charm. A quintessentially London experience, this Victorian townhouse stay is all about cosy salons, open fireplaces and warmly lit reading nooks designed for unhurried luxury. Add in the hotel’s decadent afternoon tea, velvet-dark K Bar and easy access to the V&A and Kensington Gardens, and you’ve got a new favourite hotel.

Ellen Kensington

Once home to Victorian actress Ellen Terry and reborn as one of the area’s most coveted boutique hotels, Ellen Kensington still carries a touch of theatrical charm behind its townhouse exterior. Set across five interlinked residences, the property’s charming nooks include a traditional timber-and-brass bar (order the Old Fashioned with Borneo vanilla, or a Singapore Sling) as well as the intimate Lacquer Room restaurant, serving up British ingredients with a subtle Asian twist.

Beaverbrook Town House

With just 14 sumptuous suites – each named after a famous London theatre and dressed in velvet, lacquered wood and vintage flourishes – Beaverbrook Town House is boutique luxury at its finest. The Fuji Grill is a destination in its own right, known for exquisite nigiri and artful small plates. But it’s Sir Frank’s Bar that steals the scene, hidden behind an apothecary-style cabinet and mixing some of the neighbourhood’s most intriguing cocktails. Tucked along Sloane Street, the hotel places you within arm’s reach of Chelsea’s high-end boutiques and King Road’s creative thrum.

The best hotels in Notting Hill & West London

For pastel streets, lazy brunches and the thrill of discovering a new vintage gem, this is London at its most effortlessly charming and hopelessly romantic.

The Hoxton, Shepherd’s Bush

The Hoxton, Shepherd’s Bush brings a dose of low-key chic to West London, courtesy of the locally born brand that’s making waves worldwide. Set just off Shepherd’s Bush Green, this edition comes with a laidback lobby that doubles as a coworking hub by day and a social magnet by night, paired with a Thai-American restaurant that’ll make you reconsider everything you thought you knew about fusion. In classic Hoxton style, rooms are small but delightfully cosy and design-forward, while the up-and-coming address is within walking distance of the pastel terraces of Notting Hill.

The Laslett

Live out your rom-com dream in this heavenly Victorian townhouse complex, whose soft, sophisticated polish feels unmistakably local. Named after a founder of the original Notting Hill Carnival, the property incorporates nods to the neighbourhood’s cultural legacy, from Biba artwork to vintage books and vinyl curated by Portobello Road insiders. The onsite wellness room provides a soothing pause from the city, and The Henderson Bar & Kitchen is the ideal hangout for guests and locals alike, with tasty bites, signature cocktails and a sunny, leafy terrace.

The best hotels in East London

From indie galleries and design markets to rooftop bars and craft breweries, this corner of the city rewards curious minds and night owls alike.

art’otel London Hoxton

In keeping with East London’s creative spirit, art’otel London Hoxton doubles as a contemporary art playground, complete with two original Banksy works on the hotel exterior. An onsite gallery showcases exciting pieces from up-and-coming artists, while the property’s interior is shaped by unapologetically bold colour punches, pop-art details and the graphic edge of street artist D*Face. The hotel also houses a 25^th-floor bar and eatery for city-view indulgence, and a spa and indoor pool for total relaxation.

Mama Shelter London Shoreditch

A kaleidoscope of everything bright, bold and quirky, Mama Shelter London Shoreditch is the ultimate playground for grownups. Rooms come with playful touches including superhero masks and comic strip prints, while the rest of the hotel thrums with life from morning flat whites to late-night jam sessions in Mama’s much-loved, Japanese-inspired karaoke rooms. The restaurant plates up comfort food like fish and chips, holds bottomless brunches, and even has a dog menu with birthday celebrations for your furry companion.

Feature image: Shangri-La The Shard, London. Supplied.