The once in a lifetime experience of watching the world’s greatest athletes compete in a variety of stunning stadia, overlooked by an iconic cityscape, means that many will find it increasingly difficult to book the hotel room they want. As such, we’ve listed the fundamental problems that people are going to encounter, with a solution at the end!

Problem 1 – Availability

By next summer there will be approximately 100,000 hotel rooms available for London 2012 spectators. While that might sound like a lot, if you take into account that sixty per cent of hotel rooms have been allocated to local tour operators – coupled with the fact that people were trying to find rooms up to two years in advance – then all of a sudden availability becomes a tricky obstacle to overcome. The grandest hotels like the Hilton are reserving spaces for Seb Coe and his pals, otherwise the rest of the best rooms are filling up fast, with many hoteliers putting people on extensive waiting lists as they decide how much to increase their rates by, meaning you could find yourself waiting around for months – only to discover that you’ve been completely priced out of the place you favoured.

In terms of numbers, it is estimated that London will receive up to 450,000 staying visitors over the course of the Olympic Games, along with 5.5. million day visitors. With a normal population of around 7million, London is busy enough on a daily basis, but with another half a million coming to live, chaotic doesn’t even begin to describe what the city will be like. Given the amount of rooms on offer, there is a real inequity here and people will doubtlessly become frustrated in their pursuit of a place to stay (let alone a reasonably-priced option).

Problem 2 – Prices

As you would come to expect with one the grandest events on the planet, the cost of accommodation in London during next year’s Olympic Games will be exorbitant. Hoteliers are making the most of this eager influx of tourists, with many intending to charge five times the normal tariff. If that isn’t a shock to the system, then see the example below.

More specifically, one four-star hotel has quoted £1000 for a room during the Games, compared with £200 earlier this year. In addition, one hotel is pondering the prospect of a strict 100 per cent cancellation fee. No pressure then.

For people who’ve already begun to look into bookings, you may be expected to pay up in advance too, with some places demanding 70 per cent of fees paid by September of this year. In other words, if you’re going to make a decision, make sure you’re completely committed to it.

Boris Johnson had called for an industry-led ‘fair pricing and practice charter’, under which hotels would agree to charge their patrons sensibly. But it seems as if this is now extremely unlikely.

Already one of the most expensive cities in the world, London’s soaring accommodation costs would almost seem like a nail in the coffin for the wannabe budget traveller. There are, however, ways to make your stay financially viable – relatively speaking!

Solution – Book Early and Be Flexible

With the opening ceremony less than 12 months away, it is strongly advised that you try to book a hotel as quickly as you possibly can. At the same time, however, you will only find something suitable if you couple this with shopping around. For a more reasonable deal, we suggest you look outside Central London if you can.

Be as flexible as you can with your base. Your ticket for the London Olympics will mean you get free travel on London Transport, which is one reason why it is worth staying further away from the stadia – with more flexibility in terms of location you will not only save more on transport but on your accommodation too.

Here at Tube Hotels we’ve made life as easy as we can for you by studying a whole host of different sites, meaning you’ll find the best and cheapest deals on the market. And you won’t encounter any lengthy waiting lists in the process, as the hotels that will appear are ones with a confirmed price. Further to this, many places don’t allow bookings in advance of one year; you will only see the ones that do.

Finally, as the Games will be played out in different parts of the country, if you’re looking to book somewhere outside of the capital head over to hotel comparison site sletoH, where you will be able to find a hotel that is accessible to the area in question.

We hope you’re as excited as we are about the prospect of an Olympic Games being staged in London!

Novotel London Greenwich

There are Novotels all over the city, but this one is a nice and out-of-the-way hotel near Greenwich, which is one of the more scenic parts of London, and an area where you don’t have to deal with the same levels of noise, pollution and manic activity. This four star hotel offers purpose-built family rooms designed to accommodate two adults and two children. The best part is that accommodation and breakfast are both free to the kids, as long as they’re under eighteen years old.
The closest tube station is Greenwich, which services National Rail, the Docklands Light Railway and even has a ferry service running up the river.

Nearby attractions:

Greenwich is chiefly desirable as a more relaxed alternative to staying in central London, though it obviously has great transport links to the city. Near the Novotel you will find the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory, but the big draw is the O2 Arena, which is swiftly becoming a major venue for family entertainment, housing a cinema, many restaurants and events ranging from concerts to NBA games to invasions of animatronic dinosaurs.

Base2Stay Hotel, Kensington

Base2Stay has been winning awards and much repeat business for its gently innovative approach to hotels which centres around just being honest and straightforward, with absolutely no hidden fees. Even the minibar has been replaced with a vending machine, so you know exactly what you’re getting at all times. One of its most welcome ideas has been to put a little minikitchen in each room, allowing guests to prepare their own food in their rooms. Ideal for families as little snacks are some of the most expensive things you can buy in Kensington. The rooms are larger than you’d expect as well, and can sleep up to four people. Local restaurants offer exclusive discounts to Base2Stay guests, and will even deliver food to your room if you’re feeling lazy.
This Kensington hotel is within a kilometre of three tube stations: Earls Court, Gloucester Road and High Street Kensington.

Nearby attractions:

Aside from being a few short stops from central London, Base2Stay is particularly close to Albertopolis, which is the home of museums including the V&A, the Natural History Museum and that perennial family favourite, the Science Museum (all of which are free to enter). For more outdoorsy pursuits, it’s also within walking distance of Hyde Park.

The Ritz, Piccadilly

For an extremely upmarket family vacation, check out The Ritz, most venerable of the Piccadilly Hotels, but much friendlier to children than its slightly fusty image would suggest. This beautiful symbol of OTT regency glamour enjoys an enviable location in the heart of London, and offers kids the world, including their own bathrobes and slippers, a concierge specially trained to entertain them, and milk and cookies before bedtime. The clincher, though is that kids are offered free ice cream. A risky gambit, to be sure, but one which could sear the Ritz into your kids’ affections for the rest of their lives.
The Ritz is right on top of Green Park station, but also a short walk from Piccadilly Circus.

Nearby attractions:

You’re not going to run out of things to do in the very centre of London. To the West is the finery of Knightsbridge , including Green Park, Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, all great for tourism. East of the hotel are more specialist places for kids. Hamley’s, of course, is the centre of the universe as far as kids are concerned, but there’s also Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Planet Hollywood (which I thought was amazing as a kid. Not sure if the glamour has faded there) and Theatreland, where the musicals make for an exciting treat.

Athenaeum Hotel, Mayfair

Taking the family friendly crown, though, is the Athenaeum Hotel in Mayfair. An independent, family-run five star hotel, the Athenaeum makes boasts of its big personality, but this is one place which doesn’t disappoint, and really does have its own unique charm. The hotel’s apartments in particular are fantastic places to stay as a family, offering plenty of space and adjoining apartments for families of more than four people. Before you arrive, the specialist kid’s concierge will be in touch, ensuring that your kids will be greeted with their own personal toy box, full to the brim with toys, books and DVDs, all chosen for exactly the right age and gender. The Kids Concierge will also arrange any tickets you need, come up with great ideas for family activities and bring the requisite milk and cookies at bedtime. If you don’t fancy going out to eat, the apartments all come with their own kitchens, as well as washers and tumble driers, making it a real home away from home.
The Athenaeum is situated between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner tube stations.

Nearby attractions:

Well, pretty much the same as The Ritz, really, if a bit closer to the museums in Knightsbridge. The great thing about the Kids Concierge is that you don’t need to worry about this stuff, though, so why not just relax and let them figure it out?

If I had known that London was going to endure its coldest winter for one hundred years, with freezing cold temperatures suddenly arriving two months early, I would have done two things. A) I would have booked a hotel that served breakfast rather than apartments which did not, and B) I probably would have just gone to California or somewhere instead. But events conspired and I ended up padding gingerly over the icy streets, hungrily staring into the windows of the Angel hotels and watching people scoff down their Full Englishes, wondering if I could ever be happy like that again.

Help was at hand, though. The Rosemary Branch is a lovely old London pub ten minutes walk from Angel station. From midday, they serve the best all-day breakfast for miles around, and I was saved. The dish arrived promptly, and was huge. Grilled tomatoes, beans, bacon, chips, toast, sausages and some final Unknown Item. I could talk about each element at length, but will try to be brief. The sausages (for there were two) were dense, herby and of superb quality. Chips are usually unwelcome in a cooked breakfast, but these were thick and healthy-looking, with a fine layer of crunch and a beautiful aromatic quality to them. The toast, usually the most boring item in the Full English, was utterly uplifted by the addition of a mustard-accented butter that should never have worked as well as it did. The Unknown Item was mentioned nowhere on the menu, but I believe was added as a substitute for mushrooms and eggs. It resembled a small, solid omelette, and tasted like the filling of a cheese and marmite toastie. It was a strange and unexpected thing, but I enjoyed it greatly, and I love that the chef is willing to improvise and surprise for the customer’s benefit.

The building is a high-ceilinged pub, large but reasonably cosy with the log fire going. It’s very much a theatre pub, with a boutique venue upstairs hosting dance, drama, comedy and pantomime, but for my money the real draw is the kitchen turning out the best pub food in the area.

The Lanesborough

Although its name is less well-known than that of the Savoy or the Ritz, The Lanesborough may well be London’s ultimate hotel; an exclusive fortress of luxury that manages to make the other Hyde Park hotels look downright approachable. The Lanesborough was opened in 1991, in a former hospital on the corner of Hyde Park. The building itself dates back to 1844, and shares its formidable grandeur with London’s various palaces, centres of government and museums. The rooms here are the most expensive in the city, going up to £8000 a night for the Royal Suite. The rooms, decorated with amazing elegance, have played host to celebrities, presidents and royalty, and all feature unobtrusive luxury touches such as a complimentary laptop and a 24-hour butler service. The Lanesborough’s afternoon tea is a legendary institution, but the hotel’s real culinary muscle is Apsleys: Heinz Beck’s first restaurant outside of Italy and London’s fastest ever recipient of a Michelin star.

The Ritz

Opened in 1906 and built to resemble a stylish Parisian block of flats, the Ritz is the greatest of the Piccadilly Hotels, and is one of the most famous hotels in the world. Its rooms are decorated in excessive opulence, with a more OTT style than is found in most modern hotels. For feeling like you’re staying in Buckingham Palace, it’s probably the one to beat. While the rooms have all the usual bells and whistles, the Ritz’s stand-out feature has always been its Afternoon Tea. Served in the spectacular Palm Court on those little three-tier silver stands and featuring a selection of small sandwiches with simple fillings, followed by tasty scones and a few pastries, ‘Tea at the Ritz’ is a British byword for fanciness. If you plan on attending, it’s £40 per person, and you’ll need to book ahead. There’s also a dress code in place, so no jeans, running shorts or bondage paraphernalia, and gents will need a coat and tie.

St Martins Lane

In stark contrast to the fripperies and fineries of the capital’s older hotels, St Martins Lane looks like the underwater hide-out of a James Bond villain, albeit one obsessed with different types of chairs. This boutique hotel is fiercely designed by renowned Frenchman Philippe Starck, and has a revelatory modern aesthetic that surprises at every turn. The guest rooms understandably go a little easier on the hard angles, with a smooth white sheen to everything that gives you the feeling of being a genie trapped inside an iPod. The hotel provides access to Gymbox, one of the city’s best gyms, and to the hotel’s legendary cocktail bar Asia de Cuba; an establishment which has recently introduced its chocolate menu, wherein each cocktail is also made available as a gourmet chocolate. Obviously an idea so brilliant as to render the rest of this amazing hotel almost irrelevant.

The Savoy

Slightly eclipsed in the public imagination by the Ritz, the Savoy is arguably still the greater establishment, with a history that stretches back to its founding in 1889 as Britain’s first luxury hotel. Created with money funnelled from the Gilbert & Sullivan operas, the Savoy’s initial manager was Cesar Ritz, who established an extraordinary standard of service that has continued unceasingly for more than a hundred years. The building itself has been recently renovated, and seamlessly blends English Edwardian and Art Deco styles to incredible effect. Its position directly overlooking the Thames is the envy of all the other Charing Cross Hotels. The hotel’s afternoon tea predates that of the Ritz and is just as splendid. The icing on the cake is the Savoy Grill, once a favourite of Winston Churchill and now under the management of Britain’s most notoriously divisive celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

The Wellesley

Honorary fifth place on this list goes to young upstart the Wellesley. The Wellesley is in fact so young that it hasn’t even opened yet, and aims for some time in 2011, but the early press releases of the hoteliers involved are claiming that it will be London’s first six star hotel. As no certification body currently awards more than five stars, this will be a tough nut to crack, but the Wellesley gets marks for ambition. This all-suite hotel is going to feature the largest single suite in London, with a view over Hyde Park and a private lift. The hotel will feature a jazz bar, Italian restaurant and Britain’s largest bespoke humidor. In contrast to the aim of six stars, these are modest claims (and in the case of the humidor, slightly surreal), but what will really be interesting about this hotel is the surprises that it will throw out and the lengths to which it will have to go in order to justify its headline-grabbing hype.

On the Tube:

- The London Underground is one of the oldest in the world, and is in no way equipped to handle the volume of customers it receives. There’s no air-conditioning, so it can get extremely hot and extremely crowded. As customers have occasionally suffered heat exhaustion on stopped trains in the summer, it’s definitely worth staying hydrated with a bottle of water.
- Despite being deep underground, the Tube’s construction can make it extremely windy down there. Stay away from the platform edge, especially during busy times or when trains are coming and going.
- The overcrowded and often vertiginous escalators are witness to many injuries and deaths each year, so take care not to slip. And remember, right-side is for standing, left-side is for walking. If you get this wrong you could make people pretty unhappy.
- After the terrorist attacks on 7/7, vigilance has become a bit of an issue on the tube. The measures are barely noticeable most of the time, but it’s wise to keep an eye out for unattended bags, and obviously make sure that you don’t leave your own luggage lying about.

On the Street:

- While London doesn’t have problems with kidnappings or false guides, it’s still very unwise to get into an unlicensed minicab. London black cab drivers are heavily monitored and train for years to learn their craft and their knowledge of the city’s streets. Unbooked minicabs have no regulation, and are little better than getting into a stranger’s car.
- Pickpockets can be a problem in some of the busier areas like Oxford Street. Try and keep bags closed, and close to your person.
- The city is generally safe at night, although it’s best to keep to well-lit main roads and not listen to music as you walk.

In Bars and Restaurants:

- Again, keep an eye on your bags. Many pubs will have clips or hooks under the tables where you can fasten your belongings and keep them close.
- Don’t lose sight of any friends that you’re with. For women especially, there’s safety in numbers.
- Along the same lines, if you’re concerned about your safety in a club then try sticking to bottled drinks that aren’t as easy to spike. Even better, try and stay sober

Lastly:
- If you, like Bernie, are the type of person who can afford to encrust your Italian girlfriend in jewels, just consider this: ‘Hm. I’ve already got £10,000 worth of diamonds about my person. Perhaps if I leave the other £10,000 in the safe at my fancy Hyde Park hotel this time.’ I promise, no one in the Formula 1 office will notice. They’re only interested in cars anyway.
- London’s very safe, and the police are eager and numerous. Take care, but don’t forget to have fun.

Westminster Abbey

Apparently first founded in 624 A.D, Westminster Abbey is a lovely big Gothic church that has long been one of the key sites of the Church of England, and a popular choice for royal burials, coronations, and (evidently) weddings. Supposedly a (possibly drunk) fisherman called Aldrich saw a vision of St. Peter on the site, and it soon became tradition for fishermen to make a gift of a salmon to the abbey every year, a tradition continued even today by the Fishmonger’s Guild. It is not known whether the vicar eats it for tea or just throws it in the bin. The Abbey is also the burial spot of, and presumably haunted by, perhaps the longest list of Great Britons ever gathered in one place. Memorials aside, those actually interned at Westminster include Edward the Confessor, Mary I, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Dr. Livingstone, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling and Laurence Olivier.

Things to Do Around Westminster

For those dreary few not interested in snapping photos of famous gravestones, Westminster is still a fascinating and entertaining area of central London, replete with attractions. Near the Abbey is 10 Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace, which is just five minutes walk down the road, though I’m betting those lazy Windsors will probably take the car anyway. Just a little further to the north, leave the nanny with the kids watching buskers in Covent Garden while you dash off to nearby Soho for wedding presents that may bring the smile back to Ms Middleton’s face. Across the river, things are a little calmer, and you can wander up the bank and visit London’s centres of high culture such as the Tate Modern, the National Theatre, the Royal Festival Hall and the London Aquarium.

Where to Stay

So, once Philip has finally collapsed into the punchbowl and the afterparty has ground to a halt, to which of the Westminster hotels does the weary reveller go to sleep in his shoes? Here are three of the best:

The Savoy is one of the finest Charing Cross hotels, and often the first choice for wealthy visitors to the city. As well as being something of a London landmark in its own right, the Savoy has held five stars basically since its inception, and has one of the capital’s best views over the river Thames. The newly refurbished interiors blend Edwardian and Art Deco to mesmerising effect, and the Savoy Grill has recently seen the return of Britain’s most polarising celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay.

If you’re looking for Covent Garden hotels, one of the very best is St. Martins Lane, a stunningly beautiful five star hotel with incredible design work by Philippe Starck. The cocktail bar here is somewhat legendary, and now for each cocktail there is a corresponding chocolate on Asia De Cuba’s inventive Chocolate Menu.

Finally, if you’re one of those penniless aristocrats that are so popular nowadays, you could do a lot worse than the University of Westminster’s International House. Mainly used as student accommodation, International House also doubles as a budget one star hotel, with luxurious “boxed lunches” delivered straight to your door, and shared bathroom facilities that presumably provoke friendship and camaraderie among guests. There’s a very real chance that William and Kate won’t be staying here for their honeymoon though, so please try and conceal your disappointment when you step into the shower.

Greasy spoon cafes are plentiful in London, but it’s always a pleasure to find one that really makes an impression. It’s easy for exotic locales like Norfolk or the Peak District to deliver a characterful breakfast experience with their crazy accents and bacon made on the premises, but economical city diners have to fall back on old-fashioned charm. For a while now London Bridge Hotels have had to pull new tricks out of the bag to compete with the South Bank’s king of tiny cafes (it’s literally a hole in a wall), My Tea Shop. A stubby, crescent-shaped tunnel jammed under the train tracks, My Tea Shop has long been deserving of wider fame after many years providing excellent fry-ups for locals, tourists and a whole bunch of commuters. Back in 2007, no less an authority than the London Review of Breakfasts called it both ‘a deprogramming environment’ and ‘a manifestation of a fantasy’.

First impressions are hobbity. Being under the railway arches requires the walls to be rounded, and obviously there’s no windows apart from the one at the front. The long mirrors on the walls are presumably meant to give the illusion of space, but it doesn’t really work when you can only stand up straight in the centre of the room. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but the cafe can have the (entirely welcome) effect of making you feel like Gandalf dropping round the shire for some chips. The spreadsheet menus on the wall list the standard parade of fried goodness, all cooked in the tiny kitchen on full view of the patrons. And if you’re one of those unfortunate souls who didn’t spend their childhood in greasy spoons, be warned that you may be compelled to nostalgia by the plastic bucket chairs that have been a standard in state schools since the dawn of education (or at least plastic).

But, obviously, aesthetics are (or should be) beside the point when talking about this type of dining experience, and the weight of judgement will rest on the chips, the eggs, the beans etc. And it’s these things that make My Tea Shop a site of pilgrimage. The portions are generous, a tide of food that threatens to overcome the plate itself. Everything is steaming hot and bursting with flavour. The chips are fluffy rather than damp and the bacon, which can in some eateries be troublesome and unhealthy-looking, is here perfectly crisp.

My Tea Shop is not going to break the bank, or open up a concession in Selfridges, and they pour their juice straight from the carton. If you’re ever in the London Bridge area, and you feel that very particular English Hunger come upon you, this is the place to go.

My Tea Shop

23 Duke Street Hill

Tower Hill

London

SE1 2SW

If you have anywhere in London that you think makes the perfect breakfast, please let us know in the comments. It’s the most important meal of the day, after all.

Check out our page for hotels near London Bridge

FORTNUM & MASON

If you’ve ever thought the Co-Op would be so much more pleasant if only it were a sort of dazzling regency phantasmagoria, then you may find yourself in Fortnum & Mason. Established in 1707, Fortnum began as an upmarket grocery store, and other departments were added as time went by. The selection of food today is suitably cosmopolitan, but has a firm grounding in quality British produce. The main floor is a ritzy and gilded affair, trafficking mainly in artisan chocolates, pastries, fine teas and other fripperies. Down a gilded staircase, the basement is recognisable even today as a part of the grocer’s tradition. Personable and surprisingly quiet, the lower hall is stocked with comforting, earthy-looking cheeses, meats, fish and vegetables that you just know probably taste like the platonic ideal of their respective food groups – the ham to which all other ham is just a second-generation photocopy. And if that seems extravagant, just know that I am in prestigious company – the Royal Family has been using F&M as their trusted cornershop/off-licence for centuries. If nothing else, any visitor to London should be aware that F&M was the first place in the country to stock not only the Scotch Egg, but also Heinz Baked Beans, making it perhaps the focal point of all British history. Its famous luxury picnic hampers range in price from £35 to £25,000.

Fortnum & Mason’s closest tube station is Piccadilly Circus

SELFRIDGES 

At the end of Oxford Street, London’s busiest centre of retail, Selfridges is a unique delicatessen writ large. Dispensing with the visual extravagance of Harrods and F&M, Selfridges favours a less intimidating atmosphere, along the lines of traditional quality supermarkets like Marks & Spencers or Waitrose. Each counter has a different theme for its food, and the aisles are rich in strange overseas delicacies (No prizes for guessing which country spreads marshmallow on toast.) There’s always a lot of stuff available for tasting, and the in-house restaurants compliment the unpretentious style, Krispy Kreme and Yo Sushi proving slightly more welcoming than the dining rooms of Fortnum & Mason. Don’t go confusing it with Poundland, though. Selfridges is home to such extravagances as the world’s most expensive sandwich: a paen to wagyu beef the size of a dog.

Selfridges’ closest tube station is Bond Street

HARRODS

Unquestionably Britain’s most famous shop, and one of the great retail tourist attractions of the age, Harrods food hall is one of many jewels in a heavy crown, a metaphor that seems appropriate given the mind-boggling opulence and exoticism on display. Although things can obviously get pricey, Harrods has a surprisingly decent selection for the gentleman (or lady) on a budget, and some of the various ensconced restaurants have been known to offer 50% off after 7pm. Separate halls cover every species and culture of cuisine, and quality levels in all areas are astounding. Tasting events are frequent, but it is the sheer scale and variety on offer that makes Harrods London’s greatest food hall.

Harrods’ closest tube station is Knightsbridge.

Anyone who loves theatre should visit London at least once in their life. The city is one of the traditional heartlands of this centuries-old form of live entertainment, and at any given time there are myriad performances going on at venues across the city, in iconic West End theatre halls like the London Palladium through to fringe events in dingy pubs.

Indeed there is lots more to be discovered outside the West End. London has some wonderful repertory theatres, producing work that is bolder and less commercial.  The National Theatre (see photo above) is one example.  As it’s subsidised, they’re free to present high quality work that might not appeal to a wide audience.  The Globe is another repertory theatre, in a very interesting building – a faithful reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan theatre.  It produces modern plays as well as the Bard’s classics.  The most successful productions from the repertory theatres sometimes transfer to the stages of the West End.

Apart from this, London also has a thriving fringe theatre scene.  The venues are often found outside the city centre and are much smaller, sometimes black box studios or rooms above pubs.  There, you can be shocked or surprised by experimental plays and provocative new writing.  Prices are much lower than in the West End, and, again, the most successful ones can be picked up by the big theatres.  On the fringe, you get to see the cutting edge shows before anyone else.

Many of these smaller theatres take part in schemes to give younr people discounted or free tickets (see London Theatre Tickets Cheap for more info). There are several venues dedicated to work for children, like the Polka Theatre and the Little Angel Theatre.  They put on superb shows that can be enjoyed by all the family.  So you really ought to be able to find something to suit everyone!

London Theatre Hotels

The heart of theatreland in London is Leicester Square.  If you stay around here, you’ll be right in the middle of the action.  You will also find the Society of London Theatre’s half price ticket booth in Leicester Square, where you can get some good bargains.  Covent Garden, with its famous market, is just nearby.  One of the highlights around there is the Royal Opera House, home of the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet.  These stations are right in the middle of the West End and within walking distance of most of the big venues.  There are lots of 4 and 5 star hotels in this area including St Martins Lane (*****) and the Best Western Premier Shaftesbury Hotel (****).  Another accommodation option near these theatres is the SACO London – Covent Garden Apartments.

On the south bank of the Thames, there is an arts quarter stretching from the Globe at Southwark Bridge, to the National Theatre and all the way down to the Royal Festival Hall at Hungerford Bridge.  There is a lovely pedestrian walkway along the river, populated in summer by a range of musicians and street performers.  A bit further south, past Waterloo Station, you have the Young Vic and the Old Vic.  If you’re planning to visit these, you should know that this isn’t the most attractive area for tourists to stay and there aren’t many hotels.  You’d be better to choose one on the north side of the river, around Embankment or Temple tube stations.  These are closer to other amenities like shops, restaurants and bars, and there is easy access over footbridges to the South Bank.  You could try the Thistle Charing Cross (****), Swissotel London the Howard (*****) or the Strand Palace Hotel (***).

If you’re planning to get out and about to see some fringe theatre, you might like to stay around Earl’s Court.  The Finborough, one of the most acclaimed venues in this category, is nearby.  If you want to catch some of the big shows as well, there is easy access into the West End on the Piccadilly Line.  In the other direction, you can get off at Hammersmith, where you’ve got the Riverside Studios, with a programme of experimental and foreign theatre, the Hammersmith Apollo for gigs and stand up, and the Lyric Hammersmith with its unusual mix of original drama, music and comedy. There is more of a mix of accommodation around Earl’s Court.  You could try the Mowbray Court Hotel (**), the Lord Kensington Hotel (***) or Twenty Nevern Square Hotel and Restaurant (****).

Much like the award of Michelin stars to restaurants, the hotel rating system is somewhat shrouded in mystery. If we are to assume that the more stars a hotel has, the better the hotel, the logical conclusion is that the ‘best’ hotels in London must all be of the 5-star variety.

So how to test this theory? Well, a hotel can promote itself as much as it wants, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Any hotel can claim to be a cut above its rivals, but the only opinions that matter are those of its guests. And with public voting all the range nowadays thanks to the explosion of reality television, it seems even more fitting to trust the consensus view above all others.

With this in mind, I turned to tripadvisor.com to seek out the top ten hotels in London by guest review. As expected, there was a good sprinkling of 5-star hotels amongst them. But also some 4-stars, and even a 3-star. Which just goes to show, when it comes to hotels, beauty is most definitely in the eye of the beholder.

Here are the top 10 London hotels according to tripadvisor reviews:

Located in the upmarket district of Kensington, on the border of London’s famous Hyde Park, the 5-star Milestone Hotel is London’s best hotel by guest review. Housed in a Grade II Listed building, this boutique hotel is noted for its stunning Victorian decor and prime position in a beautiful part of London, close to several major attractions including the V&A Museum, the Royal Albert Hall, the Natural History and the Science Museums.

Next up is the 5-star Hotel 41, which overlooks the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace and is adjacent to the Queens Gallery. This intimate, boutique hotel has just 29 rooms and is a world away from some of the glitzy tower-block hotels that feature on this list. Located close to Victoria train station and a short walk from Green Park and Buckingham Palace, the hotel is well position for exploring the city.

Situated in the heart of London’s bustling Soho district, the 5-star Soho Hotel is known as something of a celebrity and media favourite. Located within walking distance of Covent Garden and numerous other attractions, the hotel features a popular bar that draws hotel residents as well as those looking for a chic hang-out.

The 5-star Halkin hotel is located in the exclusive district of Belgravia, just moments from Harrods department store as well as beautiful Hyde Park. Most noticeable in the reviews is the high-praise offered to the staff for their attentiveness and obliging nature.

The 5-star Sofitel St James Park is situated in the prestigious St James district of London, a quick walk from attractions including Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. The hotel’s decor combines contemporary French modernism and traditional British design, and its most distinctive amenity is probably the Rose Tea Room which occasionally features a live Heart Player.

The first and only 3-star hotel to feature on this list is the Covent Garden Hotel, which can be found – as you may expect – in the heart of London’s Covent Garden. The hotel is renowned for its colourful decor and the presence of a top class restaurant next door, the Brasserie Max.

Located in London’s literary heartland of Bloomsbury, the 4-star Montague on the Gardens is a historic townhouse hotel that dates back to the mid 19th century. The hotel overlooks private gardens and is close to several attractions including the British Museum (which is actually across the road), Covent Garden and Oxford Street.

The 4-star City Inn Westminster is situated just 500 metres from one Tate Modern, of London’s most famous museums, in a residential area of Central London close to iconic landmarks including Big Ben and the London Eye.

Located 50 metres from the up-market Sloane Square in west London, the 5-star Draycott Hotel London could be described as a ‘novelty’ hotel, thanks to the 35 guestrooms which are named after famous theatrical figures, including Coward, Sheridan and Ashcroft.

Finally there is the 4-star Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel, the 10th best hotel in London by guest review. Discreetly tucked away in the exclusive residential district of Mayfair, this hotel earns rave reviews for the decor of its rooms, which are decked out with traditional English furnishings.

So there we have it – the top ten best-rated hotels in London. And like with any ‘top ten’ list, many will feel there are some glaring omissions. If you’re one of those, feel free to leave your own suggestion in our comment box!