Best places to stay in London: tips on neighbourhoods and hotels

London receives around 20 million tourists a year: it's one of the most visited cities in the world. And there's no shortage of hotel options.

READ ALSO: What to do in London: a 3-day itinerary for beginners

After strolling through Hyde Park, savouring some fish and chips, marvelling at the architecture of Big Ben and admiring the view from the London Eye, there's nothing better than lying in a comfortable bed in a nice, well-located hotel. Best places to stay in London: check out our selection of hotels by neighbourhood and region and don't go wrong.

The best places to stay in London

SOHO AND MAYFAIR

Close to Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, Mayfair is the best area for those who want to stay in the royal neighbourhood. Soho, on the other hand, a little further east, is London's cosy, touristy, expensive centre. With pubs and restaurants, shops, theatres, galleries and lively nightlife. From there it's easy to get anywhere. A 15-minute walk will take you to various tourist attractions such as Westminster Abbey and Big Ben.

SoHostel (rates from £20 for a shared room and £76 for a private room)
O hostel has a fun, youthful style. There are colourful armchairs and cushions, maps on the walls and modern furniture. There's even a laundry room and a hairdressing salon with Hollywood-style mirrors for those who want to do their make-up and blow-dry their hair. The rooms are white and simple and the best part, apart from the great location, is that it belongs to One Housing, a non-profit organisation that provides shelter for homeless people.
(BOOK HERE!)

Park Lane Mews Hotel (from £84)
A boutique hotel in Mayfair, next to the famous Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, with a brick façade. The rooms have a classic, old-fashioned feel. There's patterned carpet, red details and, in some of them, very retro striped wallpaper. (BOOK HERE!)

The Nadler Soho (rates from £181)
Best places to stay in London: the hotel has a very clean décor in soft colours, with modern furniture and large windows. Each suite (from 15m²) has a small kitchenette with a kettle, fridge and microwave. The Nadler is just a two-minute walk from Oxford Street and nine minutes from Picadilly Circus. (BOOK HERE!)

The London EDITION (rates from £250)
Located in a historic Georgian building, next to trendy Oxford Street. The rooms, decorated with wood panelling, oak floors and photographs by Hendrik Kerstens, are modern and cosy. The communal areas have a classic style with a few modern touches. One example is the lobby, which has a Belle Époque ceiling, an imposing fireplace and, hanging in the centre, an egg-shaped piece of stainless steel that reflects the flanking columns and green velvet sofas. (BOOK HERE!)

The Ritz London (rates from £308)
Located in a neoclassical building on the border of Mayfair and St James, the Ritz London offers incredible views of Green Park. The rooms, always very luxurious, are decorated in the architectural style that prevailed at the time of Louis 16. The starred restaurant overlooking the garden serves modern reinterpretations of classic British dishes such as the Dover Solewhich mixes ingredients such as leeks and caviar. (BOOK HERE!)

The Beaumont Hotel (from £351)
The Beaumont's art deco stylehotel, three blocks from Hyde Park, is pure luxury. With décor inspired by the 1920s and 1930s, it has a classic interior, with black and white chequered floors in the lobby, works of art from the early 20th century and marble bathrooms. One of its must-see rooms was designed by British sculptor Antony Gormley as a public work. (BOOK HERE!)

BLOOMSBURY

Next to Kings Cross station, the Bloomsbury area is home to beautiful Victorian buildings. The neighbourhood of writer Virginia Woolf and major educational institutions such as the University of London, Bloomsbury is known as the cultured area of the capital. Read on to discover the best places to stay in London.

Generator London (rates from £8 for a shared room and £41 for a private room)
The cool hostel chain is also in London, in Bloomsbury. The hostel is colourful and young and the common areas have an industrial feel. The walls of the rooms are printed with geometric figures in vibrant colours, the furniture is white and modern and everything looks very clean. (BOOK HERE!)

Euro Hotel (from £71)
Best places to stay in London: The Euro is in a beautiful Georgian building built in 1807, close to King's Cross and St Pancras stations. Single rooms with a shared bathroom start at £71, while rooms with a private bathroom have a minimum price of £98. All are decorated with simple wooden furniture, colourful carpets and large windows overlooking the trees of Cartwright Gardens. (BOOK HERE!)

Harlingford Hotel (from £76)
Just a six-minute walk from St Pancras station, the Harlingford is a family-run Georgian-style hotel. The rooms are decorated with colourful paintings, wooden floors and patterned curtains. Simple, nothing too eye-catching, but cosy enough to rest in at night after a lot of sightseeing in London. (BOOK HERE!)

The Bloomsbury Hotel (from £155)
Best places to stay in London: The Bloomsbury is housed in a beautiful 1928 brick building, close to Tottenham Court Road and the British Museum. The rooms are comfortable and modern. The furniture is light wood, the headboards are leather and the colours in most of the rooms are soft. (BOOK HERE!)

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London (rates from £ 212)
The neo-Gothic style building is beautiful, as is the interior, which looks like it's straight out of a Victorian fairytale. There's marble everywhere, a spiral staircase and a sky-blue dome full of stars. The rooms, charming and comfortable, maintain a more discreet decor, with soft colours and classic touches. (BOOK HERE!)

SOUTHWARK

Southwark is on the south bank of the River Thames, a little further east. If you stay there, you'll be next to Shakespeare's Globe and two of the city's most famous bridges: the London Bridge and the Millennium Bridge, making Southwark one of the best places to stay in London.

CitizenM London Bankside (rates from £91)
CitizenM is a contemporary hotel located just a few minutes' walk from the Millennium Bridge and London Bridge. It has 192 rooms decorated with modern furniture and glass walls, where everything is controlled by a tablet: the television, the curtains, the temperature and the ambient light. (BOOK HERE!)

Shangri-La London at the Shard (rates from £ 424)
The Shangri-La is in a gigantic building five minutes from London Bridge. In keeping with the chain's luxurious style, the hotel promises a comfortable stay in modern, spacious rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and a beautiful view of the city. (BOOK HERE!)

BRICK LANE

Known for its lively nightlife and curry-scented streets, Brick Lane is further east in London. The area is cool and alternative: here you'll find Banksy's graffiti, antique shops and cool art exhibitions. The area, which was once the scene of the famous Jack the Ripper murders, is now home to Brick Lane Market, a designer and artist market.

CitizenM London Shoreditch (rates from £81)
A ten-minute walk from Brick Lane, the CitizenM hotel follows the same style as the others in the chain. The furniture is modern, the atmosphere is youthful and the rooms have large windows and super-comfortable king-size beds. (BOOK HERE!)

The Hoxton Shoreditch (rates from £102)
The Hoxton is a fifteen-minute walk from Brick Lane Market. The brick walls and exposed ducts give the hotel's communal areas an industrial vibe. The rooms are more soberly decorated, with dark colours, parquet floors, retro furniture and leather armchairs. (BOOK HERE!)

The Boundary Project (rates from £145)
This hotel is in an old Victorian warehouse in Shoreditch, a five-minute walk from Brick Lane Market. There are just 12 rooms, modern and young, with large windows and touches of colour in the decor. The Boundary also has a cool café, Albion, a French restaurant called Tratra, and a rooftop bar with views of London. (BOOK HERE!)

NOTTING HILL

The setting for the classic film starring Julia Roberts, Notting Hill is a quiet, charming neighbourhood, a little further from the centre but accessible by underground. If you stay in this neighbourhood, you'll be close to Portobello Road Market, one of the city's best-known markets for those who like bargain hunting.

The Laslett (from £158)
Best places to stay in London: five connected Victorian houses make up The Laslett, a young and modern hotel near Portobello Road. The hotel is more like a cool café mixed with an art gallery. There are 51 rooms decorated with interesting books, paintings and sculptures. (BOOK HERE!)

Portobello Hotel (from £160)
Opened in the early 1970s, the Portobello Hotel has the feel of a rich and quirky English aunt's house. Inside these two neo-classical houses, everything eccentric reigns: the décor includes antiques from Portobello Market and regency-style furniture. It's impossible to describe the rooms in general terms, each one is different. Some are more modern and colourful, some are more classic and basic, others have a more extravagant style. (BOOK HERE!)