Chris Sayer

Nowhere does Christmas quite like London. Come December, this city comes alive with dazzling festive lights, Christmas markets, theatre and endless shopping. Whether you’re venturing in from a nearby city or travelling from across the pond, there are endless reasons why a stay in the UK’s capital should be at the top of your list this festive season. Ready for some serious Christmas spirit? Look no further – we’ve handpicked the best hotels to stay in at Christmas in the Capital. And we’ve covered all the bases: hotels with Christmas markets on your doorstep, hotels that look out over ice skating rinks, and hotels that go all out for their very own festive offerings, with everything from bespoke Christmas packages to mega trees and blowout festive menus. And yes, you can stay on Christmas Day too. Ready to get festive? Us too. Read on for the best Christmas hotels in London this year.  📍 RECOMMENDED: Ultimate guide to the best hotels and Airbnbs in London  The best hotels for Christmas in London at a glance 👪 Best for families: Claridges 🏢 Best views: Shangri-La The Shard ⛄ Best for snow lovers: The Berkeley 🎄 Best Christmas tree: Landmark London ☕ Best festive afternoon tea: The Dorchester Who makes the cut? Headed up by editor Joe Mackertich, our team at Time Out London spend their time reviewing hotels all over the Capital – new openings, old classics and everything in between – to bring you fresh, honest recommendations, all year round. Along with our pool

London’s weather is unpredictable, so it’s good to know that there are spas to help you chill out (or warm up) when needed. If you’re sick of the rain, you can relax in the hot tubs, saunas and pools of these luxurious hotel spas instead. And while you’re at it, why not treat yourself to a massage? These lovely London hotels all have their own distinctive on-site spas. So whether you fancy a hammam treatment or a relaxing swim, there’s a place for you.  What do we mean by a spa hotel? A spa hotel in London isn’t quite the same as a spa resort – you won’t find sprawling grounds or week-long wellness retreats here. Instead, these city boltholes combine stylish accommodation with exceptional spa facilities, so you can slip from sightseeing to a sauna in minutes. On our list, you’ll find the London hotels we’ve visited with standout spas – places that make it worth checking in just for the treatments, pools and pure relaxation. 🏘️ Check out our list of the best Airbnbs in London How we curate our hotel lists Headed up by editor Joe Mackertich, our team at Time Out London spend their time reviewing hotels all over the Capital – new openings, old classics and everything in between – to bring you fresh, honest recommendations, all year round. Along with our pool of trusted hotel experts, every hotel on this list has been individually reviewed and selected for a reason: we’ve been there, we think it’s great and we’d genuinely recommend it. By the way, this article includes affilia

Does the perfect café exist? Well, yes. We’ve investigated the city’s finest examples in all their glory so you don’t have to. And in this list you’ll find the best of the best: the parkside cafés that are so good they make you feel like you’re on a city vacay; the highbrow ones that only do black coffee; the ones that pump their lattes with flavoursome additions to boost your health (and your Instagram like count); and the joints that do merch that’s better than your favourite band’s. Read on and you’ll never drink a bad coffee again.  Hungry? Discover the best brunches in London.

The 180-roomed Berkeley’s Hyde Park-hugging location is a part of the strip where intimidating five-star hotels stand shoulder to shoulder, all equal in their grand stature and number of bowler-hatted doormen primed to open your car door. A mere £18 cab separates you from the sweaty farmyard of Paddington Station and this formidable five-starer’s Portland stone and glass exterior, rooftop pool, wellbeing and “longevity” (yeah, no idea either) club, in-room Dyson hairdryers and Bang & Olufsen speakers, and £3000-a-night-for-a-suite bank account buster.  Why stay at The Berkeley? For someone who doesn’t own a few oil refineries in the North Sea, dropping four figures (or chump-change £900 for a double) on a single night away is lunatic behaviour. It’s okay to admit that – for at least a third of your time there, as with any hotel, you’re paying to be effectively unconscious under a duvet. But for those who do have the cash and inclination for a splurge, The Berkeley offers immaculately presented rooms, views across one of the world’s most famous green spaces, and the reassurance of knowing your experiential investment is in the safe hands of Maybourne, the parent company behind Claridge’s.  What are the rooms like at The Berkeley? Unsurprisingly magnificent. The big test – a Wrestlemania-style swan dive onto the bed – was passed in the most flying of colours thanks to a safe landing into a mattress with two toppers, all hidden beneath king-sized Italian bedsheets (thread count:

Sixty-eight paces. That’s all it takes to go from Piccadilly Circus’ tube exit to the revolving doors of Air Street’s Hotel Café Royal – an olfactory journey beginning with the remnants of that very particular dusty musk found only on the Bakerloo Line, and ending with a reassuring floral perfume swirling around this historic hotel’s golden reception desk and lobby. Slap-bang in the middle of ‘the action’, five-star Hotel Café Royal occupies the lion’s share of Regent Street’s curvy bit and has done so in one form or another since 1865. And you won’t be in a hurry to forget about it: its 160-year history will be gently rammed down your throat throughout your stay.  Why Stay At Hotel Café Royal? Who wouldn’t want to stay at ‘London’s heaviest hotel’? Among the three types of luxe marble used during Hotel Café Royal’s 2008 refit, a whopping 1,000 tonnes of the world’s finest Carrera marble was shipped over from Italy and hand-carved on site to give each of its 159 rooms a palatial bathroom built from the posh rock. On top of this dinner party icebreaker and its prime location, another big main draw is to add your name to a very cool but very unsubtle guestbook of famous visitors and regulars. Whether you’re eating, drinking, checking in, or navigating the almost unnerving Ex-Machina-esque minimalist corridors, you will be leered upon by enormous framed photos of past guests like Mick Jagger, Princess Diana, Lou Reed, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Taylor, Muhammad Ali, David Bowi