We've come a long way since the unveiling of Brown's Hotel in 1837, the first luxury accommodation facility to open its doors in the British capital, and the oldest stay in the city to never have been renamed, rebuilt, or relocated elsewhere. Nearly 100 years on, the thing uniting the best hotels in London is a celebratory appreciation of the past, their star-studded guest books — Brown's alone welcomed anyone from US Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt to crime writer Agatha Christie — culture-wide inspirations, and an ability to anticipate the future through their talent-scouting art collections and innovative interiors.
Still, with thousands of accommodations available across the Big Smoke, finding the best hotels in London to experience its cosmopolitan playground from within can be harder than you'd think, especially without any insider knowledge. So what's the secret to making the most of your time in the capital, and what criteria guide us in identifying the must-have reservations of 2025?
