13 Boutique Hotels in London Beloved By Our UK Editors

The loveliest boltholes for intimate stays in the capital.Will Pryce/Chelsea TownhouseWhile some of the most famous accommodations in the capital will always command attention, the best boutique hotels in London offer something different: intimacy, character, and a more personal stay. For many, staying somewhere that feels hidden away from the madding crowds actually holds more appeal. These are the places that feel like home from the moment you arrive, and suit staycations just as much as international trips. Where interiors are bespoke, service is personal, and dining is a moment in itself. From converted townhouses in central Soho to secret spots on west London's residential streets, below are our picks of the best boutique hotels in London.The Zetter Bloomsbury Lucy BrutonThe Broadwick Soho Sarah JamesOur top picksMore editor-recommended boutique hotels in LondonFrequently asked questionsMore London recommendationsOur top picks:Best for a central location: Broadwick SohoBest for privacy: The Twenty TwoBest for an affordable price: Lime Tree HotelBroadwick SohoWhile some of the best hotels in London tend to be either palatial grande dames or discreet unmarked townhouses, Martin Brudnizki’s 57-room project is an attention-seeker. His trademark opulent interiors—clashing leopard print and zebra stripe; DJ booths jutting up against silk walls; flamingo-pink parrots floating on green paneling—draw comparisons to his other projects, especially Annabel’s, but Broadwick Soho is a one-off. That’s partly down to the vision of owner Noel Hayden, a tech entrepreneur inspired by the 1970s Bournemouth hotel he grew up in, playing Space Invaders on the arcade machine while his glam mother and magician father entertained guests. That vaudeville spirit survives here. A barman whips up cocktails in the gold-dipped café-bar that spills onto the street, and there’s art by Francis Bacon, Bridget Riley, and Andy Warhol on the way to rooms that feel almost pared back compared to the textural riot elsewhere. Wallpaper embroidered with elephants and tigers shimmers in the chandelier light. The enormous brass minibar is shaped like an elephant, handmade by craftsmen in Jaipur. The rooftop bar, Flute, has cork paneling, sequins, geometric lines, and stellar views. The vibe is sultrier at the basement restaurant Dear Jackie, named after Hayden’s mother, with crimson walls, intimate blue booths, and a menu that transcends the traditional Italian vibes. Finally, a hotel worthy of the madcap fun of Soho. —Sarah JamesAddress: 20 Broadwick St, London W1F 8HTClosest tube station: Piccadilly CircusRead Full ReviewThe Zetter BloomsburyBloomsbury is one of those rare neighborhoods that feels magically and curiously like the London of old. Bookshops buzz, the scent of freshly baked treats wafts through the air, and rows of elegant Georgian townhouses line the streets. Zetter Bloomsbury is spread across six of these townhouses, complete with an expansive, secret courtyard that backs directly onto the British Museum. Stepping inside feels like entering a particularly stylish home—all cozy corners, warm tones, and soft furnishings. In keeping with its museum neighbour, the hotel is filled with fascinating trinkets and artsy details that reward a closer look.This is the third London outpost from the Zetter group —following the Clerkenwell and Marylebone outposts—and the brand's first opening in a decade. There are 68 rooms ranging from cozy hideaways to roomy suites. All feature high ceilings and thoughtfully placed artifacts that nod to the building’s past and previous residents. Beyond the rooms, four distinct spaces invite guests to slow down and settle in: The Parlour, ideal for cocktails and bar snacks; The Orangery, a light-filled conservatory made for leisurely breakfasts and afternoon tea; The Library, with quiet corners perfect for curling up with a good book or even a competitive game of chess; and, finally, a sprawling 11,000-square-foot walled garden—an unexpected oasis that promises long, sun-soaked afternoons come summer. —Lucy BrutonAddress: 2-7 Montague St, London WC1B 5BPClosest tube station: Russell SquareRead Full ReviewThe NewmanThe Newman sits on its namesake street, slipping neatly into Fitzrovia’s understated streetscape. The welcome is slick but unfussy, and as the smiling staff ushers you inside, the ground floor unfolds as an open, fluid space—part lounge, part brasserie, part bar—humming gently throughout the day as people work, lunch, and gossip. The atmosphere was already alive during my visit, as the first guest to stay overnight. As evening set in, the lighting deepened and the downstairs bar, The Gambit, filled with music, laughter, and strong cocktails.The hotel has 81 rooms, suites and apartments, striking a balance between calm and character. Colors are muted and grounding—think deep greens, warm reds, and rich timber—while stainless steel accents nod quietly to Art Deco glamour. The result is restful but never bland. —Chloe LawsAddress: 50 Newman St, London W1T 3EBClosest tube station: Goodge StreetRead Full ReviewAt SloaneIt’s only the doorman who signals that the lovely red-brick townhouse of 1 Sloane Gardens is actually a hotel. Originally built in 1888 by Liberty department store architect Edwin Thomas Hall, the building was turned from apartments into a 30-room hotel on the instructions of the forward-thinking Earl Cadogan. He enlisted the French duo of iconic hotelier Jean-Louis Costes and interior designer Francois-Joseph Graf, best known for his private homes for the European elite, from Yves Saint Laurent to Valentino. Connoisseurs will get it, and the rest of us will simply sense a rarefied quality in spaces where hidden doorways add playfulness but also maintain precious symmetry. For all the refinement and implied opposition to cheap design and big-brand conformity, there’s also a carnal undercurrent that recalls the spirit of Paris’s game-changing Hotel Costes (don’t call it a sister hotel). —Toby SkinnerAddress: 1 Sloane Gardens, London SW1W 8EAClosest tube station: Sloane SquareRead Full ReviewBertrand’s TownhouseMade up of three conjoined Georgian townhouses on a quiet corner of Bloomsbury, this is the kind of bolthole where even non-guests, fresh from the British Museum, Oxford Street, or King's Cross, will want to come for whispered conversations over a French 75 cocktail or small plates in its characterful, speakeasy-style salon. The 43 rooms, including three suites, boast parquet flooring and wooden textures. The lowest category “classic” rooms are white-walled, neutral-palette affairs and, at 129–194 square feet, pretty snug, with the wood-paneled king-size beds dominating the space. The pick of the suites is the Philosopher’s Quarters. A Georgian smartness pervades the space, with its originally corniced high ceiling and antique 18th-century map of the Holborn area, but there are also modern touches.You’ll be hard-pressed to find more atmospheric places to eat in Bloomsbury than at Ottie’s Salon. Its plushly upholstered furniture and valance curtains lend a cozy parlor-turned-speakeasy ambience, in a nod to the Bloomsbury Set era. Guests spill out onto the three-part terrace, with its overhead heaters, barbecue space, and The Cigar Garden, where tobacco lovers can take their pick of Havanas from the humidor and lose themselves in a smoky haze until closing time. —Noo Saro-WiwaAddress: 4-6 Bedford Pl, London WC1B 5JDClosest tube station: Russell SquareRead Full ReviewThe Chelsea TownhouseIf you know London, you also know how prized its private communal gardens are to the residents lucky enough to live by them. The Cadogan Place Gardens in Sloane Square, with mature trees and gated railings, are among the most prestigious—and the Chelsea Townhouse gives its guests access to that rarefied local perk. The 36-room hotel—the third London property and the sixth hotel in the Iconic Luxury Hotels collection—sits across from three red-brick Victorian townhouses and includes roomy, ground-level suites with French doors that open directly into the garden. The decor here leans antique but is light-touch and chic—think botanical prints, pleated lampshades, velvet headboards, and the odd porcelain figurine. Much of the period furniture has been repurposed from its predecessor, the Draycott Hotel, but the redesign has breathed new life into its spaces, which are bathed in restful shades of gray and cream. Its communal areas include a fire-warmed dining room and bay-windowed library, made cozier with staff who anticipate your needs. Once nestled in this cocoon, it’s easy to forget the abundance at your doorstep: Stylish sister property 11 Cadogan Gardens—with a clever little gym that’s available for Townhouse guests—is around the corner, as is Pavilion Road, a pedestrian mews street with indie restaurants, bars, and design shops. Further out in Chelsea and Kensington, opportunities abound for a great night out; but as you wind your way back to this comfy, tucked-away sanctuary, you’ll be ever glad to be home. —Arati MenonAddress: 26 Cadogan Gardens, London SW3 2RPClosest tube station: Sloane SquareRead Full ReviewLime Tree HotelThis Ebury Street townhouse conversion is a masterclass in how to maximize eclectic style in a small space. It also delivers on a hard-to-keep promise: an elegant hangout that feels like home, in a great location, at an affordable price. Owners Matt and Charlotte Goodsall opened the property in 2008, quickly turning it into the area’s loveliest little boutique hotel and one of the best affordable hotels in London. They reframed challenge as opportunity during the 2020 lockdown, overhauling the interiors and adding a new café. The couple enlisted Fraher & Findlay architects, whose previous projects include Wolf & Badger in Coal Drops Yard, but relied on their own taste for the decorative details, sprucing up corners with Sanderson wallpaper and Pooky lampshades.The 28 bedrooms range from minuscule to moderately sized, but this only contributes to the country-cottage coziness. Clever design ensures that even the tiniest space is optimized, with teal velvet headboards, mountains of ikat pillows, and marmalade-colored armchairs (thoughtful reading material is provided). Single rooms come at a keener price, so solo travelers are well looked after. The Buttery kitchen is helmed by Stefano Cirillo, previously at Notting Hill spot Beach Blanket Babylon. Breakfast is made up of perfectly executed classics—avocado on sourdough with runny eggs, chocolate-spread-layered French toast topped with berries, a full English with halloumi—accompanied by the smell of freshly ground Gentlemen Baristas beans and crunchy pastries from the bakery down the road. The back garden is a tiny pocket of quiet for chatting late on summer evenings. Just like the rest of the house, it’s a sweet miniature that has all the elements needed and charm in spades. —Katharina HahnAddress: 35 - 137 Ebury St, London SW1W 9QUClosest tube station: Sloane SquareRead Full ReviewThe HariWith the flurry of London openings in recent years, you’d be forgiven for overlooking hotels such as The Hari, but this is a contemporary bolthole with an artistic temperament and loft-style bedrooms that are a pleasure to dawdle in. And while many of London’s classic hits are a stroll away, staying in for an evening isn’t to be sniffed at either, drifting on a little passeggiata from the bar with its riffs on classic cocktails down to the restaurant for authentic Italian dishes. There’s a real sense of being tucked away here, of bedrooms being chic dens from which you can peek out at London, with decor mixing Starck-like polish with just a little burlesque (a waft of gauze, a lingerie-clad portrait) and lithographs such as Tracey Emin’s “She Lay Down.” For a personable, well-connected London base tucked away in Belgravia, this feels like a secret hotel for romantic liaisons or a weekend break taking in a show or exhibition, shopping on Sloane Street, then stretching out for an indulgent Sunday morning. —Rick JordanAddress: 20 Chesham Pl, London SW1X 8HQClosest tube station: KnightsbridgeRead Full ReviewBeaverbrook Town HouseA smart offshoot of the Surrey Hills original, this property has taken over a pair of restored Georgian townhouses in a prime position near Sloane Square. It feels like a joyous and timely celebration of the capital—especially on the stairs, where an extraordinary collection of artwork has been cherry-picked by creative director and advertising legend Frank Lowe: old posters for the Boat Race, Brooks’ Peckham Brewery, and Kew Gardens. Just as bedrooms in the country mansion pay homage to former owner Lord Beaverbrook’s friends and guests, here each one is named after a London theater, with framed programs of past productions and books on opera and Laurence Olivier.Interior designer Nicola Harding, who previously worked on the estate’s Garden House, has used a bolder, more playful palette for this spin-off, lending it a grown-up urban edge. Four-poster beds and fringed velvet sofas sit alongside antique desks, patterned lampshades and cushions made from vintage fabrics by Penny Worrall; bathrooms are equally colorful, with glassy tiles in rich apple green and bottle blue. On the ground floor, a Japanese apothecary cabinet at the entrance of the arsenic-hued, Art Deco–detailed bar marks a shift to the East. The best spot in the Fuji Grill restaurant, helmed by chef Alex Del, is at the counter, where a sensational 20-course omakase supper is prepared, combining traditional techniques with modern European elements for dishes that might include tuna dry-aged in-house and hamachi sashimi with smoked eggplant. —Emma LoveAddress: 115-116 Sloane St, London SW1X 9PJClosest tube station: Sloane SquareRead Full ReviewThe Soho HotelDesigner Kit Kemp has taken her Firmdale Hotels brand from one London property in 1985 to a boutique empire reaching as far as New York and Barbados. Of her eight London hotels, this is the classic: right in the middle of energetic Soho, but a quiet haven wedged down a peaceful alleyway (making it one of the most intriguing hotel entrances in London). Perhaps the most urban of Kemp’s London properties, all 96 rooms pair floor-to-ceiling warehouse-style windows with her quirky, print-heavy designs (beds and linens are made bespoke for the property). As befits its location, this is London’s ultimate hotel for creatives, with the Refuel bar and restaurant—which specializes in modern British cooking—acting as a place for deals over lunch, afternoon tea before fashion events, and post-screening drinks. In fact, the hotel even has its own screening room in the basement, and it isn’t just for private hire—weekend “Film Club” events pair lunch with a movie. —Tabitha JoyceAddress: Soho Hotel, 4 Richmond Mews, London W1D 3DHClosest tube station: Tottenham Court RoadRead Full ReviewThe Twenty TwoThis previously residential Edwardian manor house has been turned into a 31-room hotel and members club by former Blakes owner Navid Mirtorabi with the help of business partner Jamie Reuben, a scion of a family that owns swathes of Mayfair. In a marble-floored lobby that smells of churchy frankincense, guests are greeted by a cape-wearing doorman and a row of staff in Charlie Casely-Hayford suits. A pervasive friendliness cuts through the velveteen quality of a place that feels more like a louche Parisian hideaway than most smart new London hotels, which tend to fit into Hoxton or Heritage pigeonholes. Most rooms are understatedly plush, painted an elegant blue that’s on the sensual side of Edwardian; former Arbutus chef Alan Christie hits the key modern British notes in the dining room. Some of the prices are shiver-inducing, but then this is Mayfair, and The Twenty Two is offering something different—something sexier and more fun, which might just be a marker point for the area’s future. —T.S.Address: 22 Grosvenor Sq, London W1K 6LFClosest tube station: Bond StreetRead Full ReviewDean Street TownhouseThis is famously where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had their first date, and while we can’t guarantee sparks will fly, it’s a given that you’ll fall in love with London here. In the heart of Soho, this is, after all, where the Soho House empire began—the original private members club is just around the corner on Greek Street. The good news is that you don’t have to be a member to stay here—and while non-members must buy an annual “Friends” pass to stay at other Soho House properties, you don’t have to do that for Dean Street Townhouse, which is fully open to the public. Not that it’s less fancy than its sister properties: Soho House is renowned for its ultra-comfortable digs, and this is no exception, with custom Hypnos beds and Soho Home linens (the furnishings were so popular, the group started selling them). Another Soho House signature move? It's generous extras. Expect full-sized Cowshed amenities in the bathroom (including a choice of scented shower gel), and homemade cookies in the “treat tin.” The all-day restaurant downstairs is Soho House at its best—simple but exceptional British food, from mince and potatoes to roast chicken with stuffing. It also does afternoon tea and a great Saturday brunch. —Julia BuckleyAddress: 69-71 Dean St, London W1D 3SEClosest tube station: Tottenham Court RoadRead Full ReviewFulham Pier HotelFulham Pier Hotel is uniquely situated within the grounds of the oldest soccer stadium in London. It’s made up of nine river rooms and three junior suites, so staying here feels more like retreating to a private waterside residence than checking into a city stay. Worlds away from a “classic” stadium hotel, the pace is slow in the most indulgent way. I was one of the first to stay in the owner's penthouse, and the suite has private access as well as an outdoor terrace almost double the size of the room itself, decked out with a heated pergola, bar, and corner views of the river and city. The roster of things to do here is impressive, and year-round events include family-friendly workshops, comedy nights, and holistic sessions. Specifically designed with game day in mind, the private members areas and bars can be converted into viewing platforms so guests can watch from a lounge or be in the action and watch live from the stands. —Megan WilkesAddress: Fulham Pier, London SW6 6HHClosest tube station: Parsons GreenRead Full ReviewLauren Burvill is the senior commerce writer at Condé Nast Traveller, where she writes and commissions hotel, Airbnb, and shopping stories and reviews. Originally from Australia and now based in London, Lauren joined Condé Nast in 2018 and has since written for British Vogue, Glamour, GQ and Brides. Prior to ... Read MoreWhere the pubs are as old as the monuments