The best hotels in Hampstead

Set in a former pub, this Hampstead boutique hotel’s room offerings might be on the small side, but it’s a handily placed option for Belsize Park tube, and within walking distance of both Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill. The 19 rooms are simply decorated with an identikit cream-and-black colour scheme, with flat screen TVs, toiletries and bathrobes provided; it’s worth requesting a room on the upper floor to ensure peace and quiet (though note the lack of a lift). The complimentary breakfast is served in a light room on the ground floor.

Though it’s hard to get excited about this budget chain hotel from a design or architectural perspective, it is very handily placed for the pastoral bliss of Hampstead Heath – and the Royal Free Hospital. The 143 rooms have good-quality beds, free wifi, desks, tea- and coffee-making facilities and the standard Premier Inn purple-and-white colour scheme. There’s a comfortable restaurant-bar on-site, where you can also order breakfast, and a pay-for car park.

A name like this could easily backfire on a business, but this budget chain hotel in a 1970s building is nonetheless a clean and straightforward bet if you want to be on the Finchley Road side of Hampstead, and aren’t setting the design bar too high. Simply decorated, carpeted rooms have free wifi, wooden wall panels and standard issue furnishings, and there’s a lounge bar, a restaurant offering a complimentary English breakfast buffet, and on-site parking.

Owner Annemarie van der Meer loves to point out all the quirky space-saving surprises as she shows you round her idiosyncratic B&B close to Hampstead Heath; the special atmosphere at this detached Victorian house means that guests return year after year. Each room is uniquely decorated and there’s a self-contained studio with its own kitchen. Guests can make use of a range of home comforts, from hot water bottles to mobile phones, as well as a laptop to borrow and free wifi. Breakfast (extra) may be taken in the patio garden.

If you want to be in the heart of Hampstead’s (refined) action, this small hotel on the high street could be just the place. Situated above the King William IV gastropub, the Grade II-listed building houses four rooms and an apartment, all of which have been individually decorated in neutral, classic style; contemporary touches like Union Jack cushions don’t let you forget where you are though. Some rooms have balconies from which to take in the comings and goings below, and it’s a 15 minute walk to bucolic Hampstead Heath.