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.

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.

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.

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.

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

A saunter from Hyde Park, this elegant hotel is spread over three Victorian town houses on a tree-lined avenue.

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.

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

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

‘Distinctly cool’, this City hotel, designed with playful flair by Terence Conran, is filled with eye-catching works of contemporary art.

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.