Within a Georgian house in a trendy corner of East London once home to Huguenot silk weavers, Peter McKay and Douglas Blain set out to weave a fantasy of their own.

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

The designers have gone to town on this city sister to Cliveden and Chewton Glen (see index), spread over a row of Georgian townhouses on Half Moon Street in swanky W1.

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.

A Bloomsbury Group theme runs through this lively hotel with pavement café tables, thoughtfully equipped bedrooms, lounge, library, heated terrace and all-day dining.

This is an exuberant, hip, modern hotel, from its residents-only roof terrace to buzzy basement bar, bedrooms decorated with a sense of fun, vast restaurant, spa and 1950s bowling alley.

Guests are treated like royalty at this luxury hotel overlooking Buckingham Palace's grounds, with sophisticated chocolate-and-cream bedroom décor, marble bathrooms and opulent Grill Room.

Under the south tower of One Crown Place, on the Shoreditch/City border, six 18th-century town houses form the front of this new hotel.

A former diplomats' club in a quiet corner of Mayfair is today a high-end hotel, with plush bar, sleek bedrooms, spa treatments, concierge service, Michelin-starred restaurant and more informal bistro-style bar menu.

The Doric porch and white stucco exterior of a handsome Victorian terrace town house on a leafy garden square gives no clue to the ultra-high-tech facilities and modern décor at this Pimlico hotel.

Beyond a pristine, Greek Revival-style John Nash exterior, this family-friendly hotel, bursting with colour, has a glamorous basement pool, library, gym, treatment rooms and all-day bistro.