Instead of an informal front desk, guests are greeted and assigned rooms by staff over a cup of tea in a parlor area. The parlor is filled with antiques and an original painting of King George III looks down on guests.

Claridge's is a property fit for a Queen. Just ask Michael Moore, a leprechaun of a man who has worked at regal Claridge's for over 30 years as a lift attendant.

The Courthouse Hotel is located in what was the Great Marlborough Street Magistrate’s Court and is a Grade II listed historic building.

The hotel offers a signature private screening room that comes complete with blue leather seats with small martini tables adjacent. It’s perfect for meetings and private parties.

The Berkeley is one of those stately hotels that just get better with age. Overlooking Hyde Park, the hotel’s exterior elegance blends beautifully with the super-expensive townhouses across the street where movie stars and the titans of industry reside.

The Connaught proves that good things do come in small packages. The hotel is often described as ‘a country manor in the heart of London’ and many regulars view it as a true home away from home.

Location, location, location is what makes this completely refurbished hotel a real delight to stay. It’s situated in one of London’s more fashionable areas and is close to Baker Street, home of legendary super sleuth Sherlock Holmes. It’s in easy walking distance of many of the capital’s major tourist attractions. The hotel sits opposite the Marylebone railway and tube station.

This is one of the most unusual hotels in London. It’s anchored on the northern side of Royal Victoria Dock, next to the city's new 90,000-square-metre international exhibition and conference centre called ExCel. It was floated into the capital a few years ago – just before the Queen's Jubilee – as an alternative to London’s other overpriced hotels. It’s anchored opposite the city’s well-used city airport.

The biggest complaint TraveLife hears from readers planning a holiday trip to London is “we just can’t afford to pay that city’s astronomical hotel prices.”

The hotel was built in the days when the great luxury liners like the France and Normandy were the ships of choice of the wealthy and the hotel's owners at the time wanted the designer to make the building reflect that feeling of grandeur.