From quaint B&Bs to seriously swanky stays, the Big Smoke has no shortage of hotel options. Here at Time Out, like a team of professional goldilocks, we’re committed to sleeping our way across the capital (and the country) to find the beds and breakfasts that feel just right.
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But we’re not the only ones rating the thread count and tasting through the breakfast buffets in the capital’s eclectic accom. The Telegraph has just published its guide to the 250 Best Hotels in the UK for 2026. Its team of 60 reviewers visited upwards of 2,000 properties across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to compile this year’s list.
Every hotel included in the newspaper’s ranking has been classified as ‘excellent’, achieving an average score of eight out of 10 or higher across six categories – location, style and character, service and facilities, rooms, food and drink, and value for money. And while many of its choices are on the bougier side, there were 94 hotels which start at £200 or less per night.
As for its London picks, 26 hotels in the capital were included in the final list. Topping the Telegraph’s ranking was The Chancery Rosewood, which was also awarded a ‘regional star’ for being one of the highest-calibre hotels in this part of the country.
Having opened on September 1 2025, the Chancery Rosewood has made a quick ascent to the top. The ultra-luxury Mayfair spot is housed inside the Grade II-listed former US embassy on Grosvenor Square and is home to eight restaurants and bars, a roof terrace, huge pool and an extremely swanky spa.
Unsurprisingly, plenty of Time Out’s top scorers also made the selection, including Bethnal Green’s cool, calm and collected Town Hall Hotel, old school icon The Ritz and Broadwick Soho, known for its technicolour interiors and fairytale-worthy decor.
The Telegraph’s best hotels in London 2026
Here’s a full list of the 26 London hotels included in The Telegraph’s guide to the 250 Best Hotels in the UK for 2026:
- The Chancery Rosewood
- 1 Hotel Mayfair
- Batty Langley’s
- Beaverbrook Town House
- Broadwick Soho
- Claridge’s
- Corinthia London
- Ham Yard Hotel
- Henrietta Experimental
- Hotel Café Royal
- Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
- NoMad London
- Shangri-La The Shard London
- The Beaumont
- The Bingham Riverhouse
- The Bloomsbury
- The Connaught
- The Goring
- The Hoxton, Southwark
- The Lanesborough
- The Ned
- The Peninsula London
- The Ritz
- The Standard, London
- The Twenty Two
- Town Hall Hotel
Did you see that Gordon Ramsay is taking over the restaurant in a five-star London hotel next to the River Thames?
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