I’ve been lucky enough to work and live in our great capital. Okay, within 3 years I’d had enough, hired a van, and got my butt back to Reading before I even had a forwarding address to retreat to - but my love affair with London isn’t over. Every once in a while I crave the bustle and history of our capital, and book for Craig and I to enjoy a hands-free evening. Here’s a selection of our favourite luxury London hotels (so far!) for those all-too-few precious nights you manage to snag an overnight baby sitter.

For the Ultimate London Experience - Shoreditch House Hotel

This is a veritable tardis! From outside it doesn’t look like much - in fact you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a recording studio. It’s located (funnily enough… in Shoreditch) with views of The Shard and in the same area that the Apprentice recently filmed the pop-up shop task (so lots of trendy shipping container shops).

The reception is dark and you might think you’ve got the wrong address when you first walk in. To add to the informality, you’ll be greeted by staff in jeans - once again, owing to its trendy urban setting. The house guest rules are no suits, no mobile phones, no photos, and you can only bring one guest with you. Preferred business is for Soho House Members (in fact with the Dean Street Townhouse (another fav) belonging to the same exclusive members club, frequent travellers to London simply must join up).

The bedrooms are very seaside chic - wood panelling and Farrow & Ball paint, and there’s a fabulous selection of Cowshed products in the ensuite wet room’s / shower room’s. All rooms feature bespoke furniture, including old-fashioned telephones, tallboy chests, wooden shutters and rainforest showers. There’s also a ‘Borrow Me’ collection (available from reception) including vintage books, games and dressing up accessories. All this might sound incredibly quaint and restful, but go up the lift to the public spaces and you’ll find yourself rubbing shoulders with London’s cool-set.

The pièce de résistance are the immaculate dining spaces, and bars that offer the intimacy of a converted warehouse yet with truly fabulous views across the city. For fun, there’s also a two-lane bowling alley (a.k.a the Biscuit Pin) complete with yet another bar for a cheeky cocktail. There’s also an open-air fully heated pool with a bar on the rooftop, offering 360 degree views across London’s chimney-scape and some of her famous landmarks. Not just a summer venue, there are poolside daybeds with umbrellas and blankets making it an all year round experience.

Prices vary depending on your dates and size of room (they’re all very bijou so I wouldn’t stress yourself out trying to nab a big one) but August rates are between £165 and £265 per night, with a long wait for a Saturday booking.

Other Shoreditch Hotels… The South Place Hotel and The Hoxton Hotel.

For the Art-Lover - CitizenM Hotel

I LOVE the CitizenM Hotel. It’s within walking distance of the Tate Modern in Southwark, and is so contemporary you’ll take a leave of your senses when you book in. The aim was to create an affordable and compact luxury hotel and you’d be very hard pressed to disagree.

As with all the best hotels, it’s not the prettiest girl in class from the outside - it looks like a 1970′s pre fab office block (albeit painted black)- but once inside you can appreciate just how much appearances can be deceiving. With a courtyard area adorned with greenery (screened on all sides by glass windows), and cool public spaces decked out in contemporary designer furniture, there’s plenty to take in. For me personally the experience was very Matrix-meets-Austin Powers.

The rooms are compact but packed full of mod cons - free wi-fi, free movies on demand, XL king-size beds (don’t expect any room either side though), powerful rain showers, and wall-to-wall windows in every room. For the tech lovers, there’s a Samsung tablet in every room (aka the MoodPad) which lets you control the hotel room, including television, window blinds, temperature, coloured lighting, wake-up alarm themes and more to create your own bespoke ambience.

On a personal note - the staff here are simply excellent and should give customer services lessons to some of the other hotels in London. Although check-in is automated there’s always a member of staff around to help you, and they can’t do enough to ensure you have a comfortable stay.

From £119 per room it’s unbeatable value and has won a number of interior design accolades for innovation.

Other hotels near The Tate Modern… Grange St.Paul’s Hotel and Apex Temple Court Hotel.

For the Parisian Stop-Over - The Rough Luxe Hotel

If you have an early Eurostar connection the next day, the Rough Luxe Hotel is my first choice of hotels near to St Pancras. It’s not for everyone though. You can kiss your clean lines goodbye as this hotel is presented in an utterly charming artfully dishevelled state (think exposed brickwork, stone corridors and stairwells). The philosophy for this privately owned guesthouse was “half rough, half luxury” and if you can appreciate the juxtaposition - you’ll love it.

The building is Grade II listed (next to a homeless shelter which only further adds to its undeniable charisma), and really is quite beautiful. As you’d expect in a historical building, the rooms are small but they pride themselves in offering a home-from-home experience and deeply personalised service. There are beautiful copper bathtubs (in a select few rooms) and handmade toiletries on offer to add to the quaintness. This about sums it up…

Our look is a mix of old and new, furniture and art; combining colours and beautiful fabrics with cheap materials and existing distressed original walls. Cheap materials are treated as precious items and preserved for their beauty and memory of the site.

This hotel owes as much to their personality of the host, as it does the extraordinary charm of the hotel itself. It’s eccentric, extraordinary, and ‘different’.

Prices available on request.

Others near St Pancras… Great Northern Hotel, One Aldwich Hotel, The Montague on the Gardens, The Bloomsbury Hotel and Hazlitt’s Hotel.

For a Little Slice of History - The Ampersand Hotel

If museums are more your thing, The Ampersand Hotel is among the highest rated boutique hotels in London - with very good reason. It’s my budget-buster but this would be a highly dubious list of hotels had I not featured it.

Built in 1888, the privately owned Ampersand Hotel is one of London’s original Victorian boutique hotels. It re-opened in its new incarnation amidst the Olympic haze in 2012 but has already forced itself onto the scene with outstanding reviews.

As you enter through the intricate 19th century façade, you’ll find a marble-floored foyer and winding staircase lit with stunning orchid-lights. But far from being grand, the theme is playful. It draws inspiration from Victorian eccentricity – a mixture of astronomy, botany, music, geometry and ornithology. The walls are peppered with pictures of birds and butterflies and surrealist paintings with hippos languishing in giant teacups.

Within 2 minutes’ walk of the Natural History Museum and the V&A Museum, and 15 minutes from Harrods and Hyde Park - you already know it’s in one of the most exclusive and expensive London boroughs. The public and dining spaces are very French Vogue meets Cosmopolitan Mediterranean. It also boasts one of London’s coolest underground cocktail bars, has a Parisian-feel patissiere lounge and private intimate dining space with cellar lined walls.

There’s something seriously opulent about working out in the high-tech gym amid turn of the century curios and statement furniture. There’s something awesome about a games room with a full-sized table tennis table - what’s that all about?! It’s cool. It’s clever. It’s very Alice in Wonderland.

The 111 bedrooms have the best beds in London (in my opinion) and the distinctive trademark tall Victorian velvet headboards scream decadence.

The Ampersand exudes class, fun and Britishness (the tea and cakes in the lounge are out of this world), all in one very enviable location. Prices are from £174 for a standard room.

For the Shopping Addict / West End Lover - Saint George’s Hotel

Okay, so it’s hardly a boutique. It’s actually a whopper with 95 bedrooms! But you can’t knock the Saint Georges Hotel for an uncomplicated value for money stay. It’s superbly well-appointed within walking distance of Oxford Street, and a short tube ride away from the West End Theatres.

The advantages of staying in a well-established big-boy hotel are obvious. Things might be less personal, but your rooms are generously proportioned, and you won’t feel out-of-place arriving in jeans and weary from negotiating the tubes. Add to this the wow factor of magnificent views across the city (bedrooms are located on the 9th to the 14th floor) and newcomers to London get the full experience of our nation’s capital.

Situated on the 15th floor is The Heights Restaurant, Bar and Lounge offering stunning views through the “Wall of Windows”, allowing you to gaze over the rushing city below. The restaurant offers Modern European and International Cuisine at very reasonable prices too.

A number of deals are available on the website.

So there you have it! Of course I could rave on about this all day. Not only have Craig and I rested our heads on many a hotel pillow, I was also a London Business hotel scout for the briefest of stints. If you have any others you think we should check out (in London or elsewhere) do let us know!

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