If you’re looking for afternoon tea after trawling Marylebone’s chichi emporia, you’ll find freshly baked cakes and pastries in a clubby atmosphere at this much-loved bolt-hole.

The elegance is timeless, the style is Jazz Age glamour, the feel is New York fun, all of which makes The Beaumont, in the heart of Mayfair, one of London’s leading luxury hotels.

‘In a discreet building that could be a private residence', this 'beautifully designed' guest house is at the end of Portobello Road.

From its jaunty striped awnings over pavement café tables and bright-patterned dining chairs to its walls hung with contemporary British art, this Firmdale hotel dazzles with colour.

Beyond the Doric portico of a white stucco neo-classical mansion, this boutique hotel captures the eclectic charms of glamorous and bohemian Notting Hill.

You can imagine nodding off in an armchair over the latest issue of Samuel Johnson’s Idler, or William Hazlitt’s polemics in the Tatler, when you step into this time-warp hotel and close the door on trendy Soho.

In an animated neighbourhood, a Tony Cragg bronze sculpture seemingly in motion greets visitors in the tree-lined courtyard of this design-conscious Soho hotel.

This intimate hotel, in a quiet corner of Mayfair, oozes exclusivity from its Michelin-starred restaurant and classy bistro-bar to its sleek bedrooms and smart concierge service.

On the edge of hipster-ish Camden, five minutes from King's Cross and St Pancras International, this quirky, contemporary hotel on leafy Argyle Square fits right in.

The 19th Century John Nash-designed building (the architect of Buckingham Palace) is as classically impressive outside as it is gorgeously colourful inside.

One in an elegant row of white stucco Edwardian town houses, this small hotel is a short walk from Hyde Park, the Royal Albert Hall and London museums.

A grand jeté from the Royal Opera House, this small hotel is ‘remarkably quiet’ considering its prime position in bustling Covent Garden.

Guests receive royal treatment at this ‘superb, wonderful’ and discreet hotel on the fifth floor of a historic building close to Buckingham Palace.

'Traditional with a capital T’, The Goring epitomises grand Edwardian luxury from its silk-lined walls and liveried footmen to its brass-trimmed lift and secret garden.

A home away from home in the heart of Chelsea is the aim of these red brick Victorian town houses, which have been converted into a luxurious hotel of dazzling individuality.

An affordable oasis in one of London’s smartest neighbourhoods, Charlotte and Matt Goodsall’s peaceful, personably run Belgravia hotel occupies a pair of Grade II listed Georgian townhouses and is within walking distance of popular tourist spots.

On the corner of a leafy Pimlico street, close to Sloane Square, this handsome cream-coloured stucco building has relaxed and smart interiors that make it a popular neighbourhood eatery topped with four airy bedrooms.

The classic, white-painted, 19th-century façade of this family-run Pimlico hotel, on a uniformly attractive and tranquil garden square, gives no clue to the high-tech boutique interiors.

Eccentric, fun and colourful, this Pimlico town house in a leafy residential street is as much neighbourhood hang-out and art gallery as a place to sleep and eat.

By turns ‘whimsical’ and stylish, this Pimlico hotel holds spellbinding surprises for wizards and Muggles alike.