London has everything you need for a romantic break, be it an anniversary, honeymoon or a long weekend. Days can be spent learning something new at one of the world-famous museums and art galleries or splashing the cash in one of the many shopping arcades. Come nightfall a smart cocktail bar is usually within strolling distance and excellent restaurants can be found in nearly every postcode. The tricky part is deciding where to hunker down. From grandes dames near Buckingham Palace to boutique hotels with rooftop bars and stirring views, these London pads provide breakfast in bed, colossal bathtubs and Michelin-starred dining that’s sure to make you swoon.
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1. Shangri-La The Shard, Southwark
Best fora room with a view
Set across floors 34 to 52 of the tallest building in western Europe, Shangri-La The Shard has some of the most stirring views in the capital. Floor-to-ceiling windows encase rooms providing a city backdrop to your stay in just about every spot; from landmark-spotting in the marble bathtubs to waking up to vistas of the River Thames and beyond. Planning something special? The events team are well versed in creating bespoke proposal set-ups that range from rose-strewn dining scenes to “marry me” neon signs. Not going quite as big? There are several restaurants and cocktail bars that will still wow with more of those striking views.
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2. The Hoxton, Southwark
Best fora rooftop restaurant
The Hoxton started life as a Shoreditch car park before being turned into one of the neighbourhood’s buzziest spots, with freelancers in the lobby during daylight and after-work drinkers at the concrete bar by nightfall. The third London iteration is a bit less City than its older sister and the first opening south of the river. Close to Borough Market, Tate Modern and the Southbank, the Hoxton Southwark has bedrooms inspired by tanneries and factories, which means there’s a lot of exposed brick and concrete paired with jade green-tiled bathrooms. Maison Premiere, the acclaimed New York seafood bar, is behind rooftop restaurant Seabird. While you’ll most probably come here for the views and Miami-style interiors, there’s a Mediterranean and oyster menu if you’re peckish or fancy an aphrodisiac; the Oyster Happy Hour provides £2 oysters and £6 martinis.
3. Artist Residence, Pimlico
Best fora secret cocktail bar
When Justin Salisbury took over the family-run B&B in Brighton, little did he know it was the start of one of the UK’s quirkiest boutique chains. The signature art-crammed theme is found in this former Pimlico pub, with each of the ten uniquely designed bedrooms filled with limited-edition prints and vintage furniture. For a bit of extra romance, The Loft has a 1930s bathtub in the open bathroom. The bottom floor is home to a neon light-strewn dining room that serves up takes on breakfast and brunch. Carry on down to the basement to find the Cocktail Cellar, a speakeasy-themed space that’s all exposed brick, parquet floors and black leather sofas.
4. Boundary, Shoreditch
Best for east London cool
Surrounded by Redchurch Street’s independent and arty shops and in skipping distance from several excellent restaurants, Boundary is the work of Sir Terence and Vicky Conran. As one would expect from two of the UK’s most influential designers, any vestiges of the warehouse’s former life have been gutted to create a design-led hotel. Each of the 17 bedrooms is inspired by a different designer or movement, from Bacchus to a Sir David Tang suite. Fondue and champagne are served on the festoon-light-lit rooftop and at street level there’s a bakery and cocktail bar. Columbia Road flower market is a short stroll away and Brick Lane’s Sunday market is just across the road.
5. Hazlitt’s, Soho
Best forexploring Soho
This plush hotel in the heart of Soho is named after the essayist William Hazlitt, who lived here in the 1800s. Bars and nightclubs hum on the doorstep, while inside warren-like corridors and period features make it feel like not much has changed in the 152 years since Hazlitt’s days here. Rooms are named after prominent guests of the writer and provide a step back in time with sumptuous red tones, roll-top baths and carved wooden headboards. Breakfast is served to your room — on silver trays for dining in bed — while a downstairs library is full of signed first-edition tomes and there’s an honesty bar for late-night sips.
6. Brown’s Hotel
Best forhistory buffs
London’s oldest hotel and the site of the very first phone call by Alexander Graham Bell in the capital, Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair has hosted royalty, writers and celebrities throughout its many years. Now part of Rocco Forte Hotels, it underwent a multimillion pound makeover in 2004, with subsequent upgrades in recent years. Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book here and is honoured by the Kipling suite, an Olga Polizzi-designed space with a marble bathroom, his-and-hers showers and a framed letter by the author. Queen Victoria also favoured Brown’s for her afternoon tea, which is still served in the drawing room. Pack a collared shirt and leave the trainers at home — there’s a strict dress code.
7. The Mandrake, Fitzrovia
Best fora five-star stay with a difference
More Amazon rainforest than just off Oxford Street, the Mandrake is as beautiful as it is bonkers. The hotelier Rami Fustok has transformed an office block into a riot of modern art, including works from Salvador Dali and a Frankenstein’s monster-like snake-ostrich creature in Yopo, the South American restaurant. Bedrooms are themed around dusk and dawn — or light and dark — though it’s worth paying a little more for the Terrace rooms, which overlook the hanging garden of jasmine and passion flowers. For some added naughtiness, several rooms have a red button in the shower. Push it at the same time as your neighbour and the screen between you turns clear.
8. The Culpeper, Spitalfields
Best forfeasting on seasonal plates
Named after Nicholas Culpeper, the 17th century herbalist and astrologer, the Culpeper is an old East End boozer that’s been given a glow-up worthy of east London’s hipster crowd. The second-floor bedrooms nod to Scandi style with muted walls, wooden-stump side tables and preserved fireplaces. For dinner, the first-floor restaurant sources seasonally and as locally as possible, including flavouring their ever-changing menu with herbs grown on the roof. Guests have a choice between the sash-windowed ground-floor bar, which serves smaller breweries’ beers, or the plant-filled rooftop that looks out across Spitalfields and the City.
9. The Ritz, Piccadilly
Best foran extra special occasion
Nowhere does opulence and old-school glamour quite like The Ritz, which has entertained Queen Elizabeth II, Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Onassis in its 115-year history. Bedrooms and suites are largely done in Louis XVI style with lemon yellow furnishings, gold leaf and marble fireplaces. The rest of the building is equally as impressive. No stay is complete without afternoon tea in the Palm Court, where you can choose between 18 types of loose-leaf tea selected by Giandomenico Scanu, the certified tea master. The Michelin-starred restaurant is set in a Versailles-inspired dining room, sporting marble columns and a beautiful painted ceiling. Recent additions to the hotel include an art deco cigar shop, a casino and summertime outdoor restaurant, the aptly named Secret Garden.
10. Town Hall Hotel, Bethnal Green
Best fora longer stay in the capital
A rather grand slice of history in one of London’s buzziest neighbourhoods, Town Hall Hotel has gone from a council building to movie set to an award-winning hotel. Much of the original 1910 design has been kept in the public areas, including grand marble staircases, stained-glass windows and an imposing courtroom which now doubles as a wedding space. Couples can hide away in the hotel’s suites and studios, which have self-contained kitchens — and in the largest room, a grand piano for crooning love songs. Foodies are spoilt for choice too: onsite restaurant Da Terra holds two Michelin stars for its blind tasting menus, while brunch-leaning Corner Room is an Instagram favourite with its hanging lamps and potted plants.
11. The Goring, Belgravia
Best forfeeling like royalty
The only hotel to hold a royal warrant and across the road from Buckingham Palace, the Goring has long tempted the monarchy out for a visit — including the Duchess of Cambridge, who spent the night before her wedding here. Opened in 1910 and still run by the Goring family, the hotel is perfect for a special occasion. Service is impeccable, complimentary cocktails are whipped up as you head to your room and for guests in the Royal or Belgravia suites, there’s a bevy of staff to attend to your every need. The Michelin-starred restaurant focuses on British plates, but for something a little more indulgent, afternoon tea is served on the veranda (other than on Sunday), which overlooks a garden filled with more than 100 types of herbs.
12. Hotel 41, Victoria
Best forsleeping under the stars
At one point the home of a ham and tongue dealer, the site at 41 Buckingham Palace Road has a varied history. Its latest incarnation is a five-star luxury hotel set across the fifth floor of the Edwardian townhouse. The bedrooms are all in monochrome; the most beautiful is the Conservatory suite, which has a carved wooden bed underneath a glass-domed ceiling, perfect for falling asleep under the stars. Pampering is taken seriously at Hotel 41, starting with the glasses of champagne on arrival, continuing with evening canapés served in the wood-panelled drawing room and finishing with the help-yourself pantry stocked with cheeses and nibbles. Work it off with a private yoga class on the rooftop or strolling around the nearby St James’s and Hyde parks.
13. NoMad London, Covent Garden
Best fora trip to the theatre
Little did Oscar Wilde, the Kray twins or Emmeline Pankhurst know during their trials at Bow Street Magistrates’ Court that the ground beneath their feet would eventually become one of London’s most lauded hotels. The first NoMad site outside of the US, the Covent Garden hotel has 91 rooms, the largest of which — the Royal Opera suite — has a freestanding, claw-foot bathtub. Social spaces include the glass-roofed NoMad restaurant, a guest-only library and Side Hustle, a kitsch take on the British pub, serving up Mexican and LA-influenced plates. Theatres and London’s most famous shopping streets are only a short walk away, but for those wanting to learn more about the history of the hotel, the next-door police station has been turned into a museum with cells housing artwork.
14. Ham Yard Hotel, Soho
Best for date nights
The work of hotelier and interior designer Kit Kemp, Ham Yard Hotel has 91 individually designed bedrooms, all sporting her signature style of bright patterns and block colours. Soho’s nightclubs and bars are on the doorstep, but the Croc, a 1950s bowling alley imported from Texas, is just as fun. For something a little more low-key, keep an eye out for screenings in the electric blue cinema. Half urban garden, half rattan-sofa-filled lounge, the roof terrace is only open to in-house guests and is perfect for a quiet cocktail. Look out for the sweeter concoctions — honey is sourced from the two beehives on the terrace, which are tended by their own beekeeper.
15. Rosewood, Holborn
Best fora couples spa experience
Previously an insurance company’s headquarters, the grade II listed Rosewood feels a lot older than its 100 years. The hotel’s entrance, on the busy thoroughfare of High Holborn, is a grand affair, found through iron gates and across an Edwardian courtyard. The on-site Sense Spa has seven treatment rooms, one of which can fit two, and provides couples’ massages, alongside a list of solo treatments. Retox upstairs at the art deco Gin Bar, which has one of London’s largest collections, with more than 500 gins.
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16. Bingham Riverhouse, Richmond
Best fora countryside feel without leaving the city
With only 15 bedrooms and a long garden that stretches down to the Thames, Bingham Riverhouse is a slice of tranquillity in Richmond. The Georgian house was once owned by Katherine Bradley and Edith Cooper, who wrote under the pen name Michael Field. The bedrooms have been named after Field’s poetry, with several overlooking the water and others sporting deep hand-forged copper tubs that have enough space for two. Downstairs, there seems to be a Penguin Classics-stuffed bookshelf in nearly every room, including in MasterChef: The Professionals winner Steven Edwards’s eponymous restaurant, which serves seasonal tasting menus. For something a little more casual, the garden is transformed according to the time of year, from cute pop-up igloos in winter to a cocktail terrace in summer.
17. L’Oscar London, Holborn
Best fora little bit of extravagance
At one time the site of a Baptist church, L’Oscar in Holborn has been given a sumptuous makeover by the Parisian designer Jacques Garcia. The result is a grown-up decadence as mirrored ceilings and purple-tasselled sofas are combined with original stained-glass windows and marble floors. The 29 bedrooms are equally as bougie, from red walls and black velvet headboards in the smaller Deluxe rooms to free-standing baths and chaises longues in the Oscar suite. While not set in the buzziest of areas, L’Oscar is a ten-minute walk from Covent Garden — or stick to the Baptist Bar. Found in the octagonal chapel, the bar mixes up cocktails from an Old and New Testament menu and has regular DJ nights and live jazz bands.
18. Treehouse Hotel, London
Best forcouples who like to party
Don’t be put off by the unattractive 1960s office-block exterior; Treehouse Hotel is one of the city’s most fun hotels. Taking its name quite literally, the hotel is inspired by childhood tree-climbing and fun — and the views from the long windows give the sense of being above the clouds. Bedrooms could be a little twee with teddy bears and vinyl record players but concrete ceilings and black-steel windows keep it grown-up. Mexican restaurant Madera is the first UK outpost of LA celebrity-favourite Toca Madre and the same cool Los Angeles vibes can be found here as brunch is served with punchy margaritas and come evening a DJ turns the music up. For a nightcap, The Nest is a little quieter and has two outdoor terraces for alfresco cocktails in warmer months.
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19. Beaverbrook Town House, Knightsbridge
Best fora Valentine’s day surprise
Sister hotel to Surrey’s Beaverbrook Country House — which is the former home of press baron and wartime MP Lord Beaverbrook — this Sloane Square property is inspired by his city life. Two Georgian townhouses have been knocked together to create 14 rooms, each named after a different London theatre. In keeping with the theme, four-poster beds are draped in “stage curtain” canopies and a complimentary bar trolley is stocked with British-sourced drinks. The Japanese Fuji Grill serves sushi, sashimi and robata-grilled fish but for an extra special treat, book in for the Omakase Experience. Guests are seated at the sushi bar with a front row seat to the kitchen as a chef creates 20 different courses. Still got space? The cocktail menu at Sir Frank’s bar is an inventive list named after famous wartime faces and renowned plays.
20. The Zetter Townhouse, Clerkenwell
Best fora quirky weekend break
An ode to British eccentricity, the Zetter Townhouse is based around the fictional character of Aunt Wilhelmina, an heir to a fortune made from trading spices. The Georgian townhouse is filled with mementoes — keep an eye out for the stuffed kangaroo — and mismatched vintage furniture, all of which lends a feeling of homeliness. The Union Jack seem to have inspired most of the bedrooms’ interiors, whether it’s a blue or red colour scheme or a giant flag hanging from the four-poster bed. A cooked breakfast menu is served in the ruby red lounge, though for something a little harder, work your way through the cocktail list; many of the drinks are mixed with homemade cordials and tinctures.
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