Luxury hotels in London are many things—polished, pricey, and rarely as perfect as their websites suggest. On our latest trip, we stayed at two of the big names: Claridge’s and The Langham.
Not sponsored, not comped, just two regular guests cashing in on “stay three, get one free” offers. We like both, and the deals made it easier to pretend London hotel prices are not completely insane. Just remember: the room might be free, but the minibar still wants your mortgage.
Our one-bedroom suite at Langham. Stylish, but the low ceiling made it feel a bit boxed in—the main picture shows the bedroom.
Choosing where to stay mostly comes down to which area suits you best. Depending on what your plan is—restaurants, sightseeing, theatre, shopping and more—it makes sense to pick a base accordingly.
London is big and hard to get around, and getting from A to B can be painfully slow, especially when your idea of a short walk turns into 45 minutes and it is probably raining.
Regent Street
You can always rely on the best taxis in the world: the black cabs. Or an Uber, driving after Google Maps like a zombie into every roadwork.
We prefer black cabs because brain still beats Google. No app knows which back alley saves you ten minutes when Arsenal plays at home, but your cabbie does—probably while giving you a weather forecast, a joke or two, and a political rant for free.
Maybourne is a hotel group that has four hotels in London, one on the Riviera, and one in Beverly Hills. It is undisputedly among the finest hotel groups in London.
The London portfolio includes Claridge’s, The Berkeley, The Connaught, and the new kid on the block, The Emory. The Connaught remains a classic. The Emory, we have not visited yet, so no opinions—yet.
Let us start with Claridge’s in Mayfair, where we stayed some nights.
Signature Claridge’s Crest Waffle
Claridge’s keeps getting better. It is one of those rare hotels that just knows what it is doing. The service is outstanding, and if something goes wrong, they fix it without drama.
They have been quietly expanding over the years, and by that I mean they dug five floors underground while guests were still having breakfast above.
No fuss, no noise, just a bit of casual subterranean engineering that has been called one of the most ambitious hotel projects in London’s history. The new basement now includes a spa, a kitchen the size of a small restaurant empire, wine cellars, and a pool—unfortunately closed when we visited.
But that was only half the story. As part of the same colossal project, Claridge’s also added four new floors on top of the hotel. The result? Seventy-five brand new rooms and suites. These opened in late 2023 and are part of what many now refer to as the “new wing.
It is now also home to the Penthouse at Claridge’s—a 1,500 m² suite with a heated pool, private piano pavilion with a Steinway grand piano, and Damien Hirst artworks, because why not? We can check it out if someone else feels like paying for it…
From the guest side, everything still looks the same—charming, elegant, familiar—but behind the scenes, Claridge’s is anything but static. A new bakery, Claridge’s Bakery, is on the way. Set to open in late summer 2025, it will be led by Richard Hart and will focus on British classics.
Meanwhile, The Berkeley has been busy doing… something. Whatever it is, it is not working. The Berkeley has also undergone years of renovation. But in our opinion, not for the better.
We do not understand the decision to hand over the former breakfast room to the restaurant La Môme. We had lunch there—you can read about it here—and let us just say we were not impressed.
Financial Times food critic Jay Rayner was not over the moon either. His review of La Môme at The Berkeley was, to put it mildly, a public execution.
With the breakfast room gone, guests are now directed to a café opposite reception. Slightly less charm, slightly more lobby. Still, some of the rooms are lovely, especially the newly redone ones. And then there is Cédric Grolet’s pastry shop. His creations are the kind that make you say, “I’ll have what she’s having.”
Pastry counter at Cédric Grolet’s
The Berkeley used to have one of the loveliest pools in London, with a retractable roof and a calm atmosphere. That pool is gone. The new version sits higher up, fully exposed to the elements, and flanked by construction.
To get there, you take a lift to the eighth floor, walk up two more flights, and hope the wind chill has not set in. The pool also appears as the main image—you can read more in our Berkeley hotel review.
The pool is still beautiful, the views are great, but the charm has gone missing. And when you finally make it, there is no changing room to slip into your swimming pants—but you can always do it in the toilet, because it is so five star chic.
In our view, here is the best of the Maybourne experience: stay at Claridge’s, pop over to The Berkeley for pastries (and a quick football chat with the front of house lads, even if one of them supports West Ham United), and eat at The Connaught. Lunch at Jean-Georges, dinner at Hélène Darroze. And skip La Môme.
The Langham is another grand old hotel institution. Some people just look confused when we mention it. But we like it—with one small catch.
Book a regular room, and you might be disappointed. But book a Club Level room, and it becomes an entirely different experience. You check in directly on the third floor, where they pour Champagne with impressive commitment.
The Club Lounge is among the best we have visited, and the staff are friendly and helpful without hovering—except when your glass is empty.
The Langham Club Lounge
Suddenly, The Langham no longer feels like a 380-room hotel. It feels more like a hotel within the hotel. Claridge’s is still a cut above—but then again, so is the price.
Also, the scent at The Langham is the same in all their properties. We noticed it in New York as well—it hits you the moment you walk in. Subtle, but unmistakable Langham.
Choosing where to stay in London is part strategy, part budget massacre.
Pick your neighbourhood based on where you will actually spend time. Do not fall for marketing shots of bathtubs with Big Ben views—they are always in rooms that cost twice or are long gone.
And while it is tempting to go for the quirky boutique hotel in zone three, just remember that getting back there at midnight on the Tube, after three line changes and a walk—and it is still raining—will undo any charm the place once had.
There are over 1,200 hotels in London. Most of them are not cheap, and many of the rooms are small. The right deal makes all the difference. And if you find one, skip the minibar—£6 for a KitKat is just hotel robbery.
If this picture could talk, we would hear kitchen gossip, wartime menus, and more shouting
than a modern open-plan restaurant could handle.
We are keeping an eye on Raffles at The OWO (Old War Office)—history, drama, and now welcoming guests.
Soon to be opened:
The Chancery Rosewood, all suite hotel, located in the former US Embassy on Grosvenor Square. And with that address, it will not go unnoticed. Built-in listening devices may or may not be included in the price. Who knows?
Did this post help you, frustrate you, make you reconsider that five-star booking? We would actually like to know—feel free to leave a comment below.
