Boutique hotels in London: from design hotels to independent hostels

Choosing where to lay your head in London can be a tricky affair. With a plethora of snazzy design hotels, some of the grandest, oldest establishments around and a frankly bewildering array of so-so spots offering cheap-as-chips theatre dinners to baffled tourists, it can be tempting to book into the nearest Premier Inn and be done with it.

Well, don’t. Opt for one of these beautiful boutique hotels instead and you’ll be laughing. Trust us.

The best hotels in London are:

Neighbourhood: Clerkenwell

The fashionably eccentric interiors at Zetter Townhouse extend from four-poster beds fringed with garlands of union jacks, to stuffed kangaroos and miniature wooden boats. Known to some as the home of the Zetter’s “Great Aunt Wilhelmina,” the snug boutique bolthole housed in two grand Georgian buildings also serves some truly terrific cocktails.

Read our full review of Zetter Townhouse.

Price: Doubles from £201, room only

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Neighbourhood: Soho

If you need to be in Mayfair or Soho, Ham Yard is perfectly located as it’s housed in an “urban village” setting at the bottom of Regent Street. The light-filled modern building is decked out with signature Kit Kemp interiors (all neon lights and furniture the colour of highlighter pens). Make sure you stop by the dazzling wall of 135 interconnected clocks, and the beautiful fourth-floor roof terrace, which is filled with olive trees, puffs of lavender…