A slice of literary history in lively Soho, this former home of English essayist William Hazlitt creaks with authenticity.

‘Remarkably quiet’ considering its prime position in bustling Covent Garden, this small hotel with a pretty, plant-decked Georgian exterior is a ‘good-value’ option in an ideal central location.

The leafy rooftop garden at this arty, design-conscious Soho hotel provides a tranquil escape in an animated neighbourhood.

A short pace from the Eurostar terminal, this zany hotel is in a row of 19th-century town houses on a leafy public square.

A gleeful mix of vintage furnishings and striking artwork defines this ‘elegant, sophisticated’ Firmdale hotel in the heart of Theatreland.

‘A superb little hotel, very well run’, Henry Togna’s Victorian town house provides ‘a sense of privacy’ close to Piccadilly Circus. Laurie Smith has long been the manager

‘We’ve been raving about it to everyone!’ enthuses a recent guest of this zany boutique hotel on Clerkenwell’s St John’s Square.

Housed in a converted Victorian warehouse, this design-conscious boutique hotel is a perfect fit for east London’s creative hub.

Powder your wig and imagine you’re arriving by sedan chair at this singular hotel, occupying a Georgian terrace and presented as a piece of living history.

In a quiet Mayfair cul-de-sac, this sophisticated hotel (Althoff Collection) houses silkily decorated bedrooms, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and a plush, velvet-seated bistro and bar.

‘It has an air of luxury and style,’ says a trusted reviewer, of this ‘quiet and peaceful’ hotel on a garden square in Mayfair.

There is an Edwardian, clubby feel about this hotel, occupying four Georgian town houses, and celebrating a centenary in the care of the Miller family.

You can graze throughout the day at this dining-pub-with-rooms in an area of trendy independent shops dubbed Portman Village, two minutes from the homogenous stores of Oxford Street.

Mark Sainsbury and Michael Benyan’s second Zetter town house hotel is every bit as eccentric as the first, the design conceit here being that it was once the home of ‘wicked Uncle Seymour’ (the inspiration for Seymour being Edward Lear, former incumbent and real-life eccentric).

Style-conscious, budget-friendly and well located – a winning combination for this ‘excellent-value’ hotel within easy reach of the financial and cultural quarters.

Overlooking Buckingham Palace, this chic, discreet hotel on the fifth floor of a historic building gives guests the royal treatment.

A complimentary glass of cava – a nod to the hotel group’s Spanish origins – welcomes guests to this good-value hotel within walking distance of the National Theatre and the South Bank.

A long-time favourite of its royal neighbours, this Belgravia grand dame is ‘charmingly old-school’, with red-liveried footmen, Michelin-starred restaurant, and one of the largest private gardens in London.

‘Distinctly cool’, this City hotel is liked for its ‘friendly staff’, ‘beautiful rooms’ and ‘tasty breakfasts’.

A peaceful retreat, Charlotte and Matt Goodsall’s Belgravia hotel occupies twin Georgian town houses within walking distance of some of the city’s most popular tourist spots.

A one-off, this eccentric hotel in gentrified Spitalfields commemorates the novelists, politicians and silk merchants of the area, along with its petty thieves, tarts and vagabonds.

High-spec technology fuses with ‘domesticated heaven’ at this smart Pimlico hotel, on a tranquil garden square within easy reach of a major travel hub.

In turns style-conscious and spellbinding, this modern Pimlico hotel holds surprises for wizards and Muggles alike.

Amid the historic streets and squares of Pimlico, a 19th-century pub has been reinvented as a hip hotel, with café and cocktail bar.

A stroll from Hyde Park, this elegant hotel is spread over three mid-19th-century town houses, a comfortable, homely atmosphere between them.

All is serene at this handsome 1860s town house hotel, just minutes from Hyde Park.

With unbeatable views over the Tower of London, this youthful hotel, part of a Dutch chain, delivers good value and bundles of style.

London’s only Relais & Châteaux hotel sprawls over four red brick Victorian town houses built by Lord Chelsea, its sleeping quarters reached by a warren of staircases and hallways and serviced by a ‘very old-fashioned lift’.

A pocket-handkerchief-sized park with London plane trees and a statue of the young Mozart lies just across the road from this stuccoed Victorian pub in Pimlico, now a buzzy bar, café and restaurant with four guest bedrooms.

A former grammar school for boys near Tower Bridge has been overlaid with Indian opulence to make a classy hotel.

On a quiet street moments from the King’s Road, two red brick Victorian mansions, built in what Pevsner describes as the ‘semi-Dutch, semi-Queen Anne style’, conceal a veritable palazzo.

Victorian social reformer and brewer Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton lends his name to this modish gastropub in Spitalfields.

In buzzy Bermondsey, this zestful hotel offers good-value accommodation in a bright, modern setting.

Close to the museums, the Royal Albert Hall and Hyde Park, this intimate hotel (part of the Bespoke Hotels group) occupies one in a row of white-painted Edwardian town houses.