The chain stores of Oxford Street are so near and yet (praise be!) so far from this gastropub with a pavement terrace for outdoor drinking and dining.

The absurdist wit and whimsy of the Victorian poet and painter Edward Lear coupled with an imaginary wicked Uncle Seymour inspired the whacky design of these two brick-and-stucco Georgian terrace houses.

‘A cherishable place of curious individuality', this somewhat old-fashioned Edwardian hotel, spread across four Georgian town houses, continues to delight trusted readers with its slightly idiosyncratic charms.

With a mix of Jazz Age glamour and New York chutzpah, The Beaumont is one of London’s modern-day ‘grande dame’ hotels.

Close to Soho and the West End theatres, this Firmdale hotel raises the curtain on a burst of colour and contemporary British art.

All is bello indeed behind a Doric portico at this one-time haunt of rock-and-rollers – it remains a veritable carnival of stylish eccentricity, occupying twin stucco mansions in raffish Notting Hill.

Step out of the hurly-burly of London into a cocoon of quiet but gracious living in this historic town house hotel.

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

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

Conveniently located a short pace from the Eurostar terminal, three 19th-century town houses on a leafy public square have been converted into one contemporary hotel.

Vintage furnishings and modern artwork make a lively mix at this ‘elegant, sophisticated’ Firmdale hotel in the heart of Theatreland.

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 the museums.

A hop, a skip and a grand jeté from the Royal Opera House, this small hotel, named for the 18th-century novelist Henry Fielding, is a ‘good-value’ option in a central location.

Guests receive the royal treatment at this chic, discreet hotel on the fifth floor of a historic building close to Buckingham Palace.

London’s last grand hotel of the Edwardian era, The Goring is the epitome of old-fashioned luxury, from its silk-lined walls and liveried footmen to Michelin-starred dining and a secret garden.

Through the conventional entrance – with its Union Jack proudly flying – of this smart Victorian town house in the heart of Chelsea lies a luxurious hotel brimming with character.

Occupying a pair of Grade II listed Georgian town houses, Charlotte and Matt Goodsall’s peaceful, personably run Belgravia hotel is within walking distance of some of the city’s most popular tourist spots.

Conveniently close to both Victoria station and Sloane Square, this former brewery on the corner of a leafy Pimlico square is a popular neighbourhood pub and restaurant topped by four lovely rooms.

At the touch of a button, guests take control in this intimate Pimlico hotel on a tranquil garden square.

You can drop in for a Pinot, a Peroni or passion fruit cooler in the café, club room or under a striped awning on the front terrace at this local hang-out and hip hotel in leafy residential Pimlico. g

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

Just across the cobbled square from the mothership (previous entry), in an area described by George Gissing in the 1880s as one of ‘abortive streets, of shadowed alleys’, today as hip as you please, a pair of Georgian town houses have been reinvented as a one-off small hotel.

In a once run-down neighbourhood of clockmakers and communists, now a hive of creativity, the former home of the Zetters football pools company was reborn in 2004 as a cool, child-friendly, eco-friendly hotel.