The 6 Best Hotels for Spending Christmas in London

1. The Goring

If
you want to Christmas like the Royal Family, staying at The Goring is the next
best thing to being with them at Sandringham. Close to Buckingham Palace, it is
a favourite of the Middleton family and the turkey lunch on its Christmas Day
menu is as customary (in the best way possible) as it comes. A large private garden behind the hotel
features a tall Christmas tree to compete with the decorations that the hotel
always hangs. Ladies planning on donning voluminous Christmas frocks will be
pleased to know that the hotel’s wide hallways were designed specifically to
provide ease of passage for just such attire.

2. The Zetter Hotel and Townhouse

Stylish
and contemporary, The Zetter Hotel is located in a colourful building in
Clerkenwell. Rooms are smart, comfortable, and hip, and come decorated in quirky,
modern-vintage style. Christmas in Clerkenwell is almost Dickensian in spirit,
with its quiet cobbled streets, atmospheric old pubs, and nearby Smithfield Meat
Market lending it plenty of traditional appeal. Across the cobbled square the
Zetter’s sister hotel, Zetter Townhouse, serves award-winning cocktails in its
cozy, intimate bar.

3. St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel

Located
within London’s international train station, the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel
is a grand, historical building with striking Victorian architecture. Dramatic
and romantic, it will set the mood for Christmas with its elegant original
features. Below the hotel is the Booking Office Bar (the station’s former ticket
office) where you can spot the giant Christmas tree, built out of plush Disney toys, that dominates the concourse this year.

4. The Milestone Hotel

The
exquisite, individually designed rooms are the main attraction at The Milestone
Hotel in Kensington. While the hotel also has a spa, pool, personal butler service,
complimentary morning papers and a lounge area complete with a Christmas tree, it’s the period luxury of the rooms that makes this boutique townhouse hotel famous. The service at The
Milestone is also a key feature, and over the holidays, when it’s time to serve
the champagne ,you’ll find bar staff practicing the art of sabrage — that’s slicing
off the top of the bottle with a sabre for dramatic (and festive) effect.

5. Dukes Hotel

Festive
afternoon tea, Christmas Eve cocktails in the Champagne Ba,r and a car service
that whisks you to and from Midnight Mass on the night before the big day are all
part of the service at the Dukes Hotel. Elegant but modern, Dukes Hotel is a
prestigious, luxurious place to spend Christmas. Smart and refined — the bar
has a dress code — the hotel was once frequented by Bond creator Ian Fleming, which
almost certainly means that this is where 007 might have opened his presents.

6. ME London

London
may be a traditional Christmas city, but the ME London is so contemporary it has
been known to dress its atrium’s oversized bonsai tree with baubles instead of the
usual spruce. So if you’re not a “Queen’s Speech” type of person, then this hip
design hotel with opulent, daring decor could be the tonic. Created by Norman
Foster, the avant-garde building features an “Aura Team” who fill its public
spaces with assorted music, lighting, and aromas (which we hope would include
notes of pine, Christmas pudding ,and mulled wine). Party through Christmas at
the restaurant and rooftop bar with views of the London skyline. 

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