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

There is still bags of bohemian spirit in this legendary rock and roll hotel converted from two neoclassical mansions, thanks to its eclectic collection of rooms containing many pieces from nearby Portobello market.

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.

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

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

Visitors can live like a local at this eclectic Victorian house close to Portobello Road, in chic, characterful Notting Hill.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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).

‘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.

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

Wide, striped awnings jauntily shelter the café tables lined up outside this Firmdale hotel, close to Soho and the West End theatres.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

A style-conscious place occupying five white stucco Victorian houses, this modern hotel draws inspiration from its eclectic locality.

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

Tied up in Royal Victoria Dock, near ExCel London, this floating hotel offers contemporary accommodation ‘with a cause’ – the charitable business channels profits into local and international social initiatives.

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

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’.