London hotels that channel the city’s creative energy

Picking where to stay in London, with a hotel scene as diverse and compelling as its creative, multicultural population, can feel like a conundrum. The capital is continuously evolving, most recently feting the arrival of Six Senses London at The Whiteley in Bayswater and The Newman in Fitzrovia.

Aparthotels and design-forward boltholes are created with co-workers in mind, while heritage addresses showcase world-leading hospitality. Whether looking for a laptop-friendly long stay in east London, a slick townhouse in Notting Hill or a textural feast in Soho, these hotels combine brilliant location, gorgeous surroundings and a vibe we seriously dig.

Hotels in Central London

Ham Yard Hotel

Best for: A vivid textural feast and celebrity sightings
Address: 1 Ham Yard, Soho, London W1D 7DT
Price: From 540 GBP / 717 USD 

The lauded Ham Yard Hotel is a rare independently owned gem in London’s luxury hotel scene. Opened in 2014, it transformed a derelict post-Blitz site in Piccadilly into a leafy enclave, offering a peaceful reprieve from Soho’s clamour. Part of the Firmdale Collection, which owns eight hotels across London, it showcases founder Kit Kemp’s deft eye for colour, curation and print. Absurdly beautiful rooms and suites are wallpapered in silk and linen, complemented by towering scalloped headboards and richly upholstered furniture, all with a playful British sensibility. By the lift, look out for the clock installation by Stockholm studio Humans Since 1982 – possibly the most photographed clock in London.

Kemp continuously refreshes the hotel so it always feels new, with no detail overlooked – from RikRak toiletries to bespoke fine bone china. You’ll find an assured, creative clientele across the hotel’s dining spaces and library, alongside a smattering of celebrities. Make time to explore the surrounding boutique-lined walkways, including Kit Kemp’s shop and design studio.

The Standard, Kings Cross

Best for: Exceptional dining and a disco lounge
Location: 10 Argyle Street, London,WC1H 8EG
Price: From 199 GBP/252 USD

Once one of London’s grittiest neighbourhoods, Kings Cross in is now a thriving cultural hotspot. You’ll find Thomas Heatherwick-designed Coal Drops Yard nearby, home to some of the city’s best shops and restaurants. Bed down in The Standard, a groovy 266-room hotel housed in the former Camden Town Hall Annexe, just moments from the Eurostar terminal. Followers of Iris Apfel’s ‘more and more and less is a bore’ motto will appreciate its trendy, time warp interiors, which riff on the building’s 1970s roots. Think a wood-panelled music studio, two restaurants, and funky spaceship-looking bedrooms that feature rushes of London Underground-inspired crimson and navy, Bang & Olufsen speakers, and kooky shrimp-pink robes by Craig Green. Hedonists are spoilt for choice, with a cosy library lounge, sexy sky-high dining spot Decimo (reached by a red bubble-shaped exterior lift ) and disco lounge Sweeties.

1 Hotel Mayfair

Best for: Responsible luxury and a Bamford spa
Address: 3 Berkeley Street, London W1J 8DL
Price: From 559 GBP / 704 USD

Moments from Green Park station, 1Hotel’s verdant living green wall adds a welcome breath of greenery to Mayfair’s urban jungle, covering the entirety of the building. The hotel is considered the capital’s greenest luxury stay, with solar-powered energy and an innovative ventilation system. It is also one of the most beautiful, designed in a serene palette of reclaimed wood, rough stone and linen with more than 1000 individual plants dotted throughout. Bedrooms feature filtered drinking water taps and recycling points, while Bamford products line the bathroom. Locals perch with laptops and sip Phyto Nectar lattes in the Neighbours Cafe or join the hotel’s run club in nearby Green Park. At Dovetale restaurant, two-Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers focuses on seasonal dishes and locally sourced ingredients. Eat al fresco in the heated courtyard or by a flickering indoor fire.

South London

The Hoxton, Southwark

Best for: Buzzy creative cool
Location: 40 Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London, SE1 8NY
Price: From 209 GBP/253 USD

Despite springing up across Europe and the US, The Hoxton hotels manage to retain authentic, boutique appeal, minus the eye-watering price tag. A few minutes’ walk from Southbank’s galleries and Borough Market, bedrooms at the 192-room Southwark outpost fuse industrial-style brass lighting with fern-hued walls, Crittal-style windows, berry-shade headboards and curated-by-locals bookshelves. Open-plan dining spot Albie, all tropical plants, terrazzo tables and a touch of NYC swagger, has ample spots to work, gossip, or do business tête-à-têtes. Six floors house members-only co-working space Working From (read more on that in our London co-working guide), and on balmy evenings tropicool 14th-floor restaurant Seabird is the spot for seafood and unbeatable city views.

For those looking to stay west, The Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush is an affordable, stylish base just three tube stops from Notting Hill and 30 minutes from Heathrow, while the original hotel – after which The Hoxton group takes its name – is well placed on Old Street to explore east London.

East London

One Hundred Shoreditch, Shoreditch

Best for: East London energy
Location: 100 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JQ
Price: From 163 GBP/207 USD

Smack-bang on Shoreditch High Street, few hotels sit as in the thick of east London as One Hundred Shoreditch. Formerly Ace Hotel, the hotel retains a lively, co-working area and a community-focussed ethos combined with a Jacu Strauss-masterminded design shakeup. From Jan Hendzel wooden totems at its entrance to switched-on staff, and bedrooms with marshmallow-inspired beds, tactile Berber carpets and dried eucalyptus stems in ceramics, it’s a class act. Origin Coffee serve up ethically sourced coffees, a rotating gallery space celebrates local artists and DJs spin tunes at Mr Lyan’s basement bar Seed Library (considered one of the best cocktail bars in London). Fizzing with energy, expect sancho leaf martinis and conversation to flow in abundance.

Mama Shelter Shoreditch, Hackney

Best for: Affordable rooms near Broadway Market
Location: 437 Hackney Road, London, E2 8PP
Price: From 109 GBP/144 USD 

Serving up doesn’t-take-itself-too-seriously fun, Mama Shelter Shoreditch deserves its spot among the best hotels in London for its affordable rooms, inclusive attitude and unabashedly maximalist lounge-restaurant-bar. A whirl of retro-fringed lampshades, graffiti-adorned ceiling, and beaded Darth Vader artwork adorn the hotel’s eclectic heart, attracting folk plugging away on laptops, kids playing foosball, friends brunching on truffle mac’n’cheese and an international crowd sipping elderflower-infused Suzette cocktails by the island bar. Downstairs, hours can be spent playing Golden Axe on retro arcade machines or singing up a storm in karaoke rooms. Stripped back bedrooms are given personality with Tweety Pie and Sylvester masks atop lamps, and jazzy monochrome carpets. Bathrooms have all-in-one shampoo-and-shower-gel bars and an ongoing ‘Kidzcation’ package offers an interconnecting kids’ room at half price.

Mama Shelter Shoreditch is in fact located closer to Hackney, within walking distance of Broadway Market. If you’re in the market for a night out, it’s a stone’s throw from epic venue Oval Space, one of London’s biggest spots for live music.

Leman Locke, Aldgate

Best for: Homely, hip long stays
Location: 15 Leman Street, London, E1 8EN
Price: From 160 GBP/203 USD, room only

While each of London’s Locke aparthotels has a distinct personality, there are a few familiar tropes you can count on: beautifully scented social areas filled with laptop-tapping remote workers; lively restaurants that are destinations in their own right, and a candy-hued aesthetic that blends low-slung cubist sofas with plants and polished concrete. Stylish, locally tapped-in staff – dressed in their own clothes, rather than uniform – are always on hand to help in person or by WhatsApp, ramping up the relaxed, home-away-from-home vibe.

Locke’s original boutique aparthotel in Aldgate remains one of its best; close to the City, Tower Bridge and Whitechapel Gallery, the 171-studio property is popular with tech companies and digital nomads bedding down for a few weeks at a time. Spacious studios in baby blue and candyfloss shades have fully fitted Smeg kitchens, complete with a washing machine and mini dishwasher, comfy beds and options with open-plan living spaces. As well as the Shaman coffee shop which has third-wave brews, a co-working space, Japanese sushi restaurant, yoga studio and gym, an events roster packed with live music that’ll give you a taste of London’s music scene, a book club and running crew lend Leman Locke a friendly, community feel. There are also further Locke hotel locations in Tower Bridge, Millennium Bridge and Kensington.

Town Hall Hotel, Bethnal Green

Best for: Art and food-loving couples
Location: Town Hall Hotel, Patriot Square, London, E2 9NF
Price: From 285 GBP/363 USD, room only

Bethnal Green’s former Town Hall marries Edwardian period features with Art Deco elegance. You’ll find exquisite restaurants (South American meets Italian at two-Michelin-starred Da Terra, tick; plates of burrata in a bloom-and-lamp-filled space at Elis, tick), and artwork at every turn. Think coquettish wooden marquetry, a Persian Moosehead fashioned from antique Shiraz carpets and retro luggage reimagined as tables, alongside original grand staircases and glass-domed ceilings. Light-flooded studios, suites and apartments feature mid-century touches, toiletries by Percy & Reed and kitchenettes for longer stays. The 14m-pool – rare in London boutique hotels – is also a joy. Finish up at Silk Weaver bar, where clever concoctions feature the likes of chamomile and lavender-infused bourbon.

West London

Inhabit, Paddington

Best for: Wellness-focussed, serene slumbers
Location: 25 – 27 Southwick Street, Paddington, London, W2 1JQ
Price: From 150 GBP/199 USD

Inhabit Paddington occupies half-a-dozen Georgian townhouses outfitted in Scandi-serene style. With positive impact at its core, this green-key-certified wellness-focused bolthole is one of the best hotels in London for chic eco-smarts. A great base to explore Little Venice, Hyde Park and west London, Inhabit is all about mind and body wellness, from lobby meditation pods for bite-size resets to its gym, yoga atrium and infrared sauna. In the bedrooms, gentle slate, sage and cream colour palettes are the visual equivalent of a full body exhale, and comfy VOC-free Casper mattresses and boxes to tuck mobile phones away aid restful snoozes. Socially conscious homewares like rattan boxes made by craftspeople in Myanmar and Studio 306 linen cushions can be found throughout, along with a quiet library plus Yeotown Kitchen for nourishing plant-based dishes and cold-pressed juices, and a pantry with help-yourself healthy snacks.

The Laslett, Notting Hill

Best for: An artsy bolthole in the heart of Notting Hill
Location: 8 Pembridge Gardens, London W2 4DU
Price: From 258 GBP/329 USD, room only

Located mere steps away from Notting Hill Gate station, The Laslett is spread across five stucco-fronted townhouses and is designed to feel more like an affluent friend’s private home than a hotel. There is a laidback lounge area, heated outdoor terrace and all-day Henderson Bar, where locals drop by for lingering coffees and avocado piled high on sourdough toast. Guests can select from dinky single rooms, which are ideal for solo travellers and longer stays, to a slick penthouse suite, packed with REN toiletries and antique finds from nearby Les Couilles du Chien on Golborne Road. Comfort is also king, with high-quality linens and soft furnishings for a restful night’s sleep. Contemporary art fills the hotel, including works by Harland Miller and BIBA founder (and fellow Notting Hill resident) Barbara Hulanicki. The hotel also hosts the Recharge Rooms for all manner of body and facial treatments, alongside one of London’s only Ozone Saunas, which offers a heap of wellbeing benefits for an energising pick-me-up.

The Lost Poet, Notting Hill

Best for: A design-centric guesthouse on Portobello Road
Location: 6 Portobello Road, London W11 3DG
Price: From 200 GBP/245 USD

Another Notting Hill hideaway is The Lost Poet, a Victorian townhouse-turned four-bedroom guesthouse designed by Cubic Studios, connected by a narrow, spindly staircase. Rooms are generously sized with pitch-perfect interiors: House of Hackney wallpaper and zellige tiles fight for attention amongst artwork by London’s Nelly Duff, and zainy Andrew Martin cushions. All of the furniture is either vintage or commissioned for the project, including upcycled Iroko desks and armchairs upholstered by Timorous Beasties. In the morning, an Ottolenghi breakfast is left by the door, and guests can also make use of the rooftop terrace, where you can gaze out over the neighbourhood’s colourful terraced houses. The hotel is perfectly positioned for rummaging through Notting Hill market on Fridays and Saturdays.

The Other House, South Kensington

Best for: Atmospheric flats and members’ club facilities
Location: Harrington Gardens, South Kensington, London SW7 4JW
Price: From 225 GBP/269 USD

The Other House offers smartly decorated ‘club flats’ that are perfect for longer stays, and stand out against South Kensington’s more traditional dwellings. Cosy studios and subterranean club flats all come with kitchenettes and comfortable living space. Rooms are decked out in rich tones of teal blue and oxblood, with tweed and velvet furnishings. Public spaces – including the lobby, library, restaurant and Owl & Monkey bar – are a louder affair, channeling maximalist glamour with plume-patterned wallpaper and gilded fixtures.

The real star of The Other House is its private club for members and guests, comprising various lounge and living areas, alongside a serene wellness space with an eight-metre swimming pool. Light pours through a tree-filled glazed atrium to create a serene oasis in the middle of the city, which is also ideal for remote working. It lays claim to the largest gong in Europe for immersive sound baths, while reiki, reflexology, tarot readings and crystal healings form the club’s holistic offering, created in partnership with Mama Wellbeing. The Other House takes sustainability seriously, operating a low-waste kitchen and allowing guests to measure and control their energy usage via The Other House App. Location-wise, The Natural History Museum and the V&A are right on your doorstep.

Room2, Chiswick

Best for: Sustainably minded long stays in a leafy residential neighbourhood
Location: 10 Windmill Road, Chiswick, London, W4 1SD
Price: From 129 GBP/171 USD, room-only

Room2 Chiswick is steps away from swish Chiswick High Road, where well-to-do locals coffeeshop-hop. It is the world’s first whole-life net zero ‘hometel’ (meaning that its carbon footprint through its entire lifecycle from build to end of life will equal zero). As well as 86 bedrooms, two on-site lab rooms monitor water and energy use to refine its sustainability initiatives, which include ultra-low flow showers, solar panels and a zero waste to landfill ethos. Design-led bedrooms have marbled wallpaper details, millennial blue and pink palettes, and space-saving kitchenettes. Winnie’s Cafe occupies the ground floor and serves food until 9pm. A laundrette, Peleton-equipped gym and checkout a full 24 hours after a 2pm check in make it a great choice for both business travellers and holidaymakers.

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