If you’re looking for classic English charm during your stay in London, look no further than Beaverbrook Town House, although you should also know that the hotel’s take on the traditional has a twist. Their London property, an offshoot of the popular Beaverbrook hotel on a sprawling Surrey estate, features 14 suites named after iconic West End theaters (complete with vintage programs and posters for each on the walls), decadent interiors that reflect classic Combining English country style with more fashionable, maximalist accents, and a restaurant that – surprise! – serves great sushi and a top-notch omakase menu, along with plenty of deliciously deadly cocktails. Located a stone’s throw from the shopping meccas of King’s Road and Sloane Street, spend the day wandering Chelsea’s picture-postcard streets before retiring to your cozy bathtub. What more could you want when it comes to finding a home away from home in London? —Liam Hess, living editor
Photo: Courtesy of The Berkeley
One of the true ones great ladies of the city’s hotel scene, The Berkeley’s blend of old-world hospitality with a few contemporary twists – and an impressive ability to bear light on its illustrious history – means it firmly tops any list of five-star lodgings in London. Step through the sleek glass and steel entrance, designed by starchitect Richard Rogers, and down one of the rabbit corridors to find the elegantly proportioned Blue Bar or the cozy snug area of Berkeley Bar with its playful hand-painted murals, or just head to the bright, airy café to enjoy one of the city’s most popular (and rightly so) afternoon teas. However, if you’re looking for a serious treat, book one of the counter’s spectacular tasting menus featuring hugely intricate pastries and cakes courtesy of award-winning pastry chef Cedric Grolet. As for the hotel’s 190 individually designed accommodations, with its minimalist, low-key luxury design scheme, there isn’t a bad room in the house. But perhaps the biggest star attraction? That would be the breathtaking rooftop pool, with its expansive views over Hyde Park and the Thames. Despite the popular perception of London as a land of drizzly skies and pea soup fog, the opportunity to take a cooling dip on a hot afternoon during the summer months offers a little piece of paradise. —LH
Photo: Durston Saylor/Courtesy of Rosewood London
