A hotel may look gorgeous in photos and it may assure you that it’s one of the finest establishments around, but the only way you can really know what a hotel is like before you book is by reading the honest opinions of those who’ve stayed there.
Hundreds of thousands of people take to TripAdvisor every year to share the good, the bad and the ugly of the hotels that they’ve visited. And every year, the platform shares which places received the highest quantity of top ratings over the last 12-months in its Travellers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best Hotels. These are places where you’re almost 100 percent guaranteed a great stay.
This year, one London institution made it into the list of the top 10 hotels globally. The Royal Lancaster in Hyde Park was crowned the top hotel in the UK and the fourth best in the world.
With 411 rooms and suites, the Royal Lancaster is the largest independent hotel in the city. In the past 12 months it’s scored an average TripAdvisor rating of 4.9 from more than 3,000 reviews (just over 2,000 of those are five stars). Recent guests have taken to the website to praise the hotel for its ‘exemplary’ service, ‘spotless’ rooms and ‘amazing’ restaurants and bars. Another hailed its ‘Pawcierge’ service, which offers guests in-room dog sitters.
There are five restaurants and bars that guests can choose from at this establishment. There’s Nipa Thai – which is one of only 15 UK restaurants recognised by the Thai government for its quality and cuisine – Tortello for Italian fare, Park Restaurant and Lounge Bar and the Hyde Park Cafe where you can indulge in an afternoon tea that’s been created in collaboration with the Natural History Museum.
Guests also couldn’t be in a better place for exploring some of the capital’s finest sights. You’re right opposite Hyde Park, a short walk from Oxford Circus to the east and Notting Hill to the West, and a swift tube ride from the Museum Quarter and the West End.
There were four London hotels in TripAdvisor’s top ten. The others were Hotel 41 in second place, Brown’s Hotel in fourth and Staybridge Suites London – Vauxhall by IHG in ninth.
Need a place to say? Have a look at Time Out’s guide to London’s top 100 hotels .
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