Top 10 Hotels in London
Ten real hotels across the West End, Westminster, the South Bank and the City, ranked by verified guest scores with direct booking links to Booking.com, Trip.com and Expedia.
London is a city of villages, and where you sleep shapes the trip. The West End and Westminster put Buckingham Palace, the theatres and Covent Garden within walking distance; the South Bank and Bankside have Tate Modern, Borough Market and Shakespeare's Globe; the City and Tower Hill are close to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge; and the outer hotels trade charm for lower prices. The hotels below are grouped by who they suit rather than by price alone, so you can match the building to the kind of trip you are planning.
Every hotel on this list is reviewed individually, with direct links to check current rates and book. Rates move with the season, so it is worth comparing platforms for your exact dates: summer, the Christmas weeks and major events such as Wimbledon and big concerts are consistently the most expensive and the first to sell out.
| Hotel | Area | Stars | Guest Score | From (USD/night) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bankside Hotel, Autograph Collection | Bankside / South Bank | 5 | 10.0 | $718 |
| Cheval Three Quays at The Tower of London | Tower Hill / City | 5 | 9.8 | $621 |
| The Stafford London | St James's / Green Park | 5 | 9.6 | $803 |
| Sofitel London St James | St James's / Pall Mall | 5 | 9.6 | Check rates |
| Wilde Aparthotels London Aldgate Tower Bridge | Aldgate / Tower Bridge | 4 | 9.6 | $240 |
| The Resident Victoria | Victoria / Westminster | 4 | 9.6 | Check rates |
| Pan Pacific London | City of London / Liverpool Street | 5 | 9.5 | $1,022 |
| The Savoy | Strand / Covent Garden | 5 | 9.4 | $1,284 |
| The Resident Covent Garden | Covent Garden | 4 | 9.4 | Check rates |
| St. Ermin's Hotel, Autograph Collection | Westminster / St James's Park | 4 | 9.4 | $595 |
All ten hotels were chosen from live inventory data rather than a fixed editorial list. We looked at four- and five-star properties with hundreds or thousands of verified guest reviews, then balanced the shortlist across London's main bases (the West End and Covent Garden, Westminster and St James's, the South Bank and the City) so there is a strong option whichever part of the city you are exploring. Guest scores shown are the scores we have on record and will differ slightly between booking sites.
1. Bankside Hotel, Autograph Collection
The highest-scoring hotel on this list at 10.0 on record, Bankside Hotel opened in 2018 at 2 Blackfriars Road and was renovated in 2021. It has 161 rooms, a terrace, a garden, an on-site art gallery and the Art Yard Bar & Kitchen. Blackfriars and Southwark stations are about four minutes away, and Waterloo is under ten. Guests praise the location and staff; breakfast is extra at around £28, and a £50-a-night deposit applies. Check current rates on Booking.com.
2. Cheval Three Quays at The Tower of London
Cheval Three Quays is a serviced aparthotel at 40 Lower Thames Street, right beside the Tower of London, with around 97 apartments, many with open-plan kitchens and some with views of Tower Bridge and City Hall. There is a 24-hour gym, laundry and dry-cleaning service, and Tower Hill Underground station is a five-minute walk. Guests praise the staff, the river views and the location. Facilities are basic for the price, parking is not available, and one reviewer mentioned a drain smell. Check current rates on Booking.com.
3. The Stafford London
The Stafford is a five-star at 16-18 St James's Place with 105 or so rooms, a short walk from Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly Circus, and Green Park Underground station is about 350 meters away. It has a restaurant called Game Bird, the American Bar, fine dining by Michael Caines and a candlelit wine cellar with tastings. Booking.com scores its location 9.8, and guests praise the setting and the service. It is a quiet, old-fashioned alternative to the larger West End hotels. Check current rates on Booking.com.
4. Sofitel London St James
Sofitel London St James occupies a Grade II listed neoclassical building at 6 Waterloo Place, on the corner of Pall Mall, with 183 rooms redesigned in 2019 with a 1960s London theme. The Michelin-starred Wild Honey St James restaurant, the St James Bar and the Rose Lounge are on site, and there is a three-floor spa. Piccadilly Circus is about five minutes away and Buckingham Palace about 15. Guests praise the staff and the location, and a few mention breakfast and service. Check current rates on Booking.com.
5. Wilde Aparthotels London Aldgate Tower Bridge
Wilde Aparthotels opened in 2022 on Commercial Road, with 156 studios and one-bedroom apartments with kitchenettes and air conditioning, a gym, a laundry room, a bar and a coffee shop. Aldgate East station is about a five-minute walk and the Tower of London and Tower Bridge are close. With around 4,500 reviews on record it is the most reviewed hotel here. Reviewers praise the location, the staff and the cleanliness, but breakfast is pricey, rooms are not cleaned daily and the area is rough in places. Check current rates on Booking.com.
6. The Resident Victoria
The Resident Victoria opened in 2015 at 10 Palace Place, about 300 meters from Buckingham Palace and close to Victoria Station, with 73 rooms that each have a kitchenette with fridge, microwave and coffee machine. Reception is staffed around the clock, but breakfast is not provided and pets are not allowed. Guests consistently praise the location and staff, while some mention small rooms and street noise. It is a practical base for families and longer stays. Check current rates on Booking.com.
Booking.com
Check Rates & Book →Trip.com
Check Rates & Book →7. Pan Pacific London
Pan Pacific London opened in 2021 at 80 Houndsditch with 237 rooms, a wellness floor called SENSORY with an indoor infinity pool, a gym and sauna rooms, and Straits Kitchen serving Singaporean and Asian food. Liverpool Street Station is about 600 meters away. Booking.com guests score it around 9.4 across thousands of reviews, with the pool and spa praised. One reviewer found the service polished but a little corporate, which suits the City location. Check current rates on Booking.com.
Booking.com
Check Rates & Book →Trip.com
Check Rates & Book →8. The Savoy
The Savoy has stood on the Strand since 1889 and remains the most famous hotel in London, with around 267 rooms, an indoor pool, a spa, the Savoy Grill, Simpson's in the Strand, the American Bar and afternoon tea in the Thames Foyer. The British Museum and the Royal Opera House are within about five minutes' walk and Covent Garden is next door. Booking.com guests score it 9.4. It is also the most expensive hotel on the list, with the highest nightly rate. Check current rates on Booking.com.
9. The Resident Covent Garden
The Resident Covent Garden is on Bedford Street, a few minutes' walk from the Covent Garden Piazza and Charing Cross station, with around 57 air-conditioned rooms, each with a kitchenette with fridge and microwave. Booking.com guests score it 9.3 across roughly 2,000 reviews, praising the staff and the location. Some note that rooms are small. The hotel does not arrange airport transfers, so plan to use the Underground or the Elizabeth line. Check current rates on Booking.com.
Booking.com
Check Rates & Book →Trip.com
Check Rates & Book →10. St. Ermin's Hotel, Autograph Collection
St. Ermin's is an Autograph Collection hotel at 2 Caxton Street with around 331 rooms, the Caxton Grill restaurant and a bar, about 270 meters from St James's Park station and 900 meters from Westminster. Guests score it 9.1 to 9.3 and praise the location and the staff, while some mention small rooms and hot-water or shower-pressure problems. It is a good option for Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace on foot. Check current rates on Booking.com.
Booking.com
Check Rates & Book →Trip.com
Check Rates & Book →A note on prices: every rate in the table above is indicative and pulled at a single point in time, and some hotels do not publish a rate we could capture, which is why they show as 'Check rates'. London hotel pricing shifts constantly with season, day of the week and how far ahead you book, and the cheapest rooms on any given night are often on a different platform from the one you checked yesterday. Treat the table as a guide to relative price, and compare two or three of the booking links above for your exact dates before you commit.
