Hotel hunting: Uncovering eight of London's most memorable places to stay

By PAUL OSWELL

Bit of everything: Flemings in Mayfair beautifully combines classic elegance and modern chic


Finding a hotel in the capital is hardly difficult. Finding one you’ll remember is another thing entirely. Travelmail's Paul Oswell went looking...

Flemings
7-12 Half Moon Street, 020 7499 0000
Mixing it up in Mayfair, this luxury boutique bolthole keeps you on your toes with its eclectic design scheme. The lobby is as traditional as it gets, all liveried staff, effortless manners and period décor.

The rooms, however, yank you into the 21st century, from the chic colour schemes of the standard guest rooms to the state-of-the-art apartments, where televisions spring up in the bathrooms and a fully-equipped kitchen awaits your pleasure.

Treat yourself to afternoon tea in the Front Room – it feels incredibly indulgent, but after the first Martini, it’s hard to care.

Rooms from £190 excluding VAT, staying in a Classic Double Room
www.flemings-mayfair.co.uk

The Mandeville Hotel
Mandeville Place, 020 7935 5599
Fashionable Marylebone Village is a central spot you may not have considered, but with hotels like this one, there’s much to recommend it.
The rooms are modern, with warm, colourful tones, and offer great value compared with many of central London’s overpriced pads.


Unexpected hotspot: The Mandeville is round the corner from the wonderfully atmospheric St Christopher's Lane


The hotel’s highlight (after the fabulous De Ville restaurant) is possibly its bar, the DeVigne, relaunching in November 2010. Cheeky artwork peers down over the spacious lounge, which serves up a strong line in cocktails.

In addition to this, the hotel is round the corner from the wonderfully atmospheric St Christopher’s Lane, surely one of London’s most charming streets.

Rooms start at £140 excluding VAT.
www.mandeville.co.uk

Wyndham Grand Chelsea Harbour
Chelsea Harbour, 020 7823 3000
If you want to feel like a reclusive rock star/tycoon, then head to this, London’s only five-star, all-suite hotel, just revamped to include a new penthouse floor.


Room with a view: Guests in the Wyndham Penthouse can enjoy Chelsea's affluent harbour


Looking out across the millionaire’s marina of Chelsea Harbour, you can count Michael Caine and Elton John as near neighbours.

The rooms are classy with a kind of modern Art Deco feel, and have the only bathrooms I’ve ever been in with a remote control shower, including a pause button.

Many have private balconies, so you can take breakfast as the sun comes up over the river, keeping those sunglasses firmly on so the paparazzi don’t spot you.
Suites from £187 per night

www.wyndhamgrandlondon.co.uk


Top trip: 41 intriguingly boasts a hotel within a hotel


41
41 Buckingham Palace Road, 020 7300 0041
A hotel within a hotel is an intriguing enough concept, even without being, as this place is (at the time of writing), the highest ranked London hotel on TripAdvisor.

Kind of a luxury annex to the excellent Rubens Hotel in Victoria, entering 41 feels like being guided into a private club, all panelled wood interiors and hushed library rooms.

Personal attention is paramount, extending to the guest rooms, where they really have thought of every small detail, from fresh fruit and flowers to scented candles.

All the rooms are slightly different, but follow a striking black and white theme. Classic design, and service of the utmost quality.

Rooms start at around £340 per night, breakfast included.
www.41hotel.com

The Hempel
31-35 Craven Hill Gardens, 0207 298 9000
If the arrival of space tourism is proving slightly beyond your budget, then staying at this hi-tech hideaway provides the next best thing.
As you slide into the lobby, it’s like checking into the leisure wing of the international space station, a feeling that only increases as you explore your guest room.


High-tech: There is distinctively futuristic feel when checking into The Hempel


Clean white lines make it a minimalists’s dream, and you won’t find any florid flourishes in the bathrooms, either. This kind of aesthetic isn’t for everyone, but if your dream vehicle would be the space shuttle, then it’s hard to think of somewhere more perfect for you.

Superior Rooms start at £179 room, excluding VAT.
www.preferredboutique.com/hempel

The Connaught
16 Carlos Place, 020 3147 7200
Granted, this is a hotel for a special occasion. Historic, stately, yet somehow also at the cutting edge of fashion, this incredible Mayfair property pulls off all kinds of magic tricks.


Special occasion: A night at the The Connaught really can be an experience that you'll remember for a lifetime


It has a boutique feel, but on exploration opens out into any number of impressive spaces, from the Helene Darroze Michelin-starred restaurant to the exclusive Aman Spa.

Magic also happens in the Connaught Bar, where globally-renowned bartender Agostino Perrone works miracles in mixology.

If you can, save up for a suite and have a hotel experience that you’ll remember for a lifetime.

Superior Queens start at £490 excluding VAT.
www.the-connaught.co.uk

The Royal Horseguards
2 Whitehall Court, 0871 376 9033
I live on the South Bank, and looking across the Thames, people have pointed to the chateau-like roof across the way and asked, “What’s that building?”. I never used to know, but now I proudly do.


What's that? Royal Horseguards is a well-kept secret, almost the 'best-kept secret' in London


Peaking out regally over Victoria Gardens, the Royal Horseguards is a revelation. If the phrase ‘best kept secret’ weren’t such a cliché, I would use it right now.

Classically elegant and with views across the river that must have other hotels crying into their penthouse suites, this hotel exudes Victorian splendour, and to be more central you’d have to sit atop Nelson’s Column. Utterly splendid.

Room only from £200 per night excluding VAT.

www.guoman.com/theroyalhorseguards
The Cumberland
Great Cumberland Place, 0871 376 9014
Yes, this is a good quality hotel, with a lobby like an art gallery and service that belies its size. However, it has one exceptional feature for anyone who has ever harboured any kind of rock star fantasy, and that is room 5001 - the Jimi Hendrix Suite.


One for the fans: The Cumberland offer a unique Jimi Hendrix experience
Decked out like a psychedelic dream, it’s hard to know whether to be more impressed


with the way out bedroom murals or the holographic chandelier. Accessories include a wall-mounted electric guitar, iPod loaded with Jimi’s best and a bottle of his favourite bourbon. Check in, sit back and rock out.

Jimi Hendrix Suite is £399 per night including VAT, based on two people sharing and includes bed, breakfast, bottle of Smokehead Scotch - Jimi’s favourite tipple and evening turndown.

www.guoman.com


source: dailymail