The best hotel bars in London

There’s an old-school glamour to this relatively new bar at Mayfair’s Beaumont hotel. It borrows its slick style of service from the States and combines it with drinks that carry a bit of a kick. The Hollywood greats watch on from portraits covering the walls, so reward yourself with a stiff martini after an Oxford Street shopping trip and you’ll be in very good company.

One of London’s original American-style bars and one of the very first places to introduce US cocktail tradition to British soil, this art deco haven needs to be seen to be believed. Smart staff dress in dapper white suits and serve drinks that are among the capital’s finest. Just consider this for those really special occasions – you’ll be dropping 18 quid per bevvy.

You’ll find over-the-top drinks in an over-the-top room at The Langham’s Artesian, but this level of artistry is still widely considered to make for the best bar experience you’ll find anywhere in the world. Complimentary canapés are pretty epic, but it’s all about those show-stopping drinks presented in all manner of glassware on a section of the menu simply titled ‘surrealism’.

Another one from the pros at the Savoy, a trip to the Beaufort is an equally pricey affair but it’s one that’s worth its weight in gold. That’s because this beauty of a bar is decked in the stuff (and a bit of black). Jazz pianists perform on the regular and champagne cocktails are the specialty, so head here to feel like you’ve been transported to an F Scott Fitzgerald novel.

This Knightsbridge haven is chic, sophisticated and proof that blue is the warmest colour. It’s got blue walls, blue chairs and even blue menus, all part of a look created by late design guru David Collins. Come for a nightcap, when the bar seems more like a moody indigo. Or make it dessert by ordering their divine lemon meringue cocktail.

This is the pinnacle in hotel drinking. Not only is the Connaught Bar draped in plush, silvery furnishings and fitted with a fleet of effortlessly efficient – not to mention dapper – staff, but the place has a dedicated martini trolley. A martini trolley, people. Grab a chair and let the trolley do the rest of the work. You’ve earned it.

Come here for the classics. The Connaught Hotel’s Coburg Bar does them so well in country-house-like surroundings. Furnishings are much softer than in the Connaught Bar nearby, so settle in here for a cosier session with fellow hotel dwellers. Better still, order up a cognac or a glass of fizz – these take pride of place on a menu fit for London’s big spenders.

If you’re going to live it up in London hotel bars, pick one that looks the part. The Coral Room at the Bloomsbury Hotel is a chic hangout with its hot pink tones screaming to be Instagrammed. Find a booth or sit up at the bar where flirtatious can offer advice on one of the best English sparkling wine lists in London – a fabulous drink for a fabulous setting.

Who said hotel bars had to be old and fusty? Ryan Chetiyarwadana, London’s foremost cocktail creative, brings his fresh take on cocktail shaking to the South Bank’s Mondrian hotel. Despite the slicker surroundings than found at sister bar White Lyan, the drinks are just as wildly imaginative. Ingredients across the menu include pistachio-shell orgeat, plant haemoglobin and, err, cavolo nero.

This Shoreditch hotel is the very definition of boutique, with just the one bedroom. Its bar to bed ratio is also pretty impressive, with three drinking spots to choose from. Sack and Black Rock are bars specialising in sherry and whisky respectively, while The Devil’s Darling is the more traditional of the three, serving exemplary versions of the classic cocktails from a small, daily changing menu. And a bed for the night is within stumbling distance.

A plush yet modern space within The Principal London, this Bloomsbury bar comes across a bit Jazz Age meets disco – and we’re here for it. Bar snacks are substantial and ultra-indulgent, including hasselback spuds dressed with caviar, darling. Cocktails are inventive little numbers too, from cucumber daiquiris to a twist on the negroni that evolves with each sip thanks to a flavoured ice cube at its middle. DJs stop things from getting stuffy.

West London has its own gin hotel and no, you didn’t hit your head before reading this. Whether settling in for a night under the juniper-scented sheets or just stopping by for a nosey, it’s worth paying second-floor bar GinTonica a visit. The Spanish-themed spot serves tapas, but it’s the goblet-sized gin and tonics you’ll want to check out, made with measures that will make the expats proud.

Inside City playground The Ned is a surprisingly intimate drinking space, The Library Bar. Sipping martinis and champagne in among leather-bound books makes you feel sophisticated as hell, but there’s still a playful side to this bar – two adorable trollies that get wheeled up to your table when you order a classic house martini.

One for the fashion set and the cocktail connoisseur in equal measure, the London Edition’s bar is a cosy, cosseted backroom with a roaring fire and a party-sized punch bowl. Sounds like a house party at great aunt Mildred’s, but trust us, it’s way cooler than that. Bar staff look like supermodels and have some serious knowledge about the menu to boot. Try something adventurous on the seasonal menu.

This is one of London’s most dazzling drinking spots – not only is the art a bit mind-boggling at Waeska Bar within The Mandrake hotel in Fitzrovia, but there’s also an open-air terrace in the middle of it all with gorgeous tall palm trees. Cocktails make a pretty big impact too, with gorgeous plantlife decorating drinks and with unexpected flavours ready to flirt with your tastebuds – from lobster essence to ‘pineapricot’.