Launched by a group of friends, and rejoicing in an ambience inspired by vibrant, bohemian Soho, this family-friendly hotel has exuberant decor, generously equipped bedrooms, a street café, a rooftop bar with wraparound terrace, a classy Italian restaurant and a spirit of sheer joie de vivre.

You step back in time when you enter this cossetting hotel, owned by the Miller family since 1921, steeped in hospitable tradition, with a fine-dining restaurant and a bar serving finger sandwiches and light bites, just the place for afternoon tea.

Art Deco interiors, Jazz Age glamour, a cocktail bar with outdoor terrace, the New York-style Colony Grill and a small spa combine to make this hotel at the heart of Mayfair one of London's most desirable.

A Bloomsbury Group theme runs through this lively hotel north of Soho, styled by Kit Kemp, with original artworks from that era, beautifully designed and thoughtfully equipped bedrooms and suites, a lounge, library, heated terrace, all-day dining, and Parisian-style pavement café tables

Behind a pristine, Greek Revival-style John Nash exterior, this family-friendly hotel is delightfully razzle dazzle, designed to within an inch of its life, with jazzy bedroom decor, a glamorous basement pool, library, gym, treatment rooms and all-day brasserie.

A handsome former diplomats' club in a quiet corner of Mayfair is today a high-end hotel, with plush bar, sleek bedrooms, spa treatments, concierge service, tapas and snacks in the bar and lounge as well as modern interpretations of 19th-century dishes created by Queen Victoria's head chef in the restaurant.

The Doric porch and white stucco exterior of a handsome 1830s terrace townhouse on a leafy garden square give no clue to the ultra-high-tech facilities at this Pimlico hotel, with its 'digital concierge' and adjustable beds with massage settings, though a human will bring bar food to your room.

From the library and drawing room to the residents-only roof terrace, and from spa and gym to 1950s bowling alley, this is an exuberant, hip, design-conscious hotel, its bedrooms decorated with a sense of fun, while modern European dishes are served in a vast restaurant and on a heated terrace – all tucked away behind Piccadilly Circus.