Launched by a group of friends, and rejoicing in an ambience inspired by vibrant, bohemian Soho, this family-friendly hotel has exuberant decor, generously equipped bedrooms, a street café, a rooftop bar with wraparound terrace, a classy Italian restaurant and a spirit of sheer joie de vivre.

Art Deco interiors, Jazz Age glamour, a cocktail bar with outdoor terrace, the New York-style Colony Grill and a small spa combine to make this hotel at the heart of Mayfair one of London's most desirable.

The epitome of Edwardian grand-hotel luxury, with its liveried doormen, dazzling interiors, glamorous bedrooms, Michelin-starred cooking in the fabulously redesigned dining room, the Goring is, for all its cachet, welcoming and unaffected, with an acre of garden at the rear.

The Doric porch and white stucco exterior of a handsome 1830s terrace townhouse on a leafy garden square give no clue to the ultra-high-tech facilities at this Pimlico hotel, with its 'digital concierge' and adjustable beds with massage settings, though a human will bring bar food to your room.

A Bloomsbury Group theme runs through this lively hotel north of Soho, styled by Kit Kemp, with original artworks from that era, beautifully designed and thoughtfully equipped bedrooms and suites, a lounge, library, heated terrace, all-day dining, and Parisian-style pavement café tables

Behind a pristine, Greek Revival-style John Nash exterior, this family-friendly hotel is delightfully razzle dazzle, designed to within an inch of its life, with jazzy bedroom decor, a glamorous basement pool, library, gym, treatment rooms and all-day brasserie.

A handsome former diplomats' club in a quiet corner of Mayfair is today a high-end hotel, with plush bar, sleek bedrooms, spa treatments, concierge service, tapas and snacks in the bar and lounge as well as modern interpretations of 19th-century dishes created by Queen Victoria's head chef in the restaurant.

From the library and drawing room to the residents-only roof terrace, and from spa and gym to 1950s bowling alley, this is an exuberant, hip, design-conscious hotel, its bedrooms decorated with a sense of fun, while modern European dishes are served in a vast restaurant and on a heated terrace – all tucked away behind Piccadilly Circus.