Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

66 Knightsbridge; tel +44 (0)20 7235 2000; mandarinoriental.com/london

People stay in five-star hotels for a number of reasons: location, to make an impression, or simply because they need – or want – the sort of services a five-star hotel offers. The Mandarin Oriental delivers on every score. Originally built in 1889 as a gentleman’s club and then, after a fire in 1902, opening as a hotel, the Hyde Park underwent a £57 million restoration from 1996-2000 before reopening as this Mandarin Oriental.

From the outside it is very traditional: red brick and Portland stone in an eclectic Franco-Flemish style, with balconies and turrets. Inside, the design is a stylish mix of antique and modern. The entrance is up flights of marble steps and while there is plenty of marble, gilding and frescoed ceilings, there are also elegant flower arrangements and an extremely fashionable bar and restaurant designed by Adam D Tihany. The mix of old and new is evident in the 198 rooms and suites spread over the nine floors, which are furnished and decorated in Victorian style, yet with DVD and CD players and high-speed internet access (£15 for 24 hours). Room styles differ widely because of the age of the property, yet room sizes are generous: the average Knightsbridge King room is 37.8 sqm. There’s a constant upgrading of rooms (the “perfect rooms programme”), with some having power showers while others have rain showers.

Soundproofing is extremely effective and, while the Knightsbridge-facing rooms are endlessly fascinating by day and night, the Hyde Park-facing rooms are almost unique in London for their views. There are also Courtyard Rooms, obviously without a view, but quietest of all. For high-end entertaining the Royal Suite has a balcony overlooking the park and running half the length of the hotel, while the Sovereign Suite likewise has a balcony where you can have private dining overlooking the park. For something truly unusual, try one of the Turret Suites, with octagonal bay windows.

A separate entrance from Knightsbridge leads to the suite of meeting rooms, including the recently-restored ballroom, which has 24-carat gilding, chandeliers and dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows over Hyde Park (HM Queen Elizabeth II learned to dance here with her sister, the late Princess Margaret). The room has a capacity for 250 guests for dinner, and 200 for a dinner dance. On Knightsbridge, the Roseberry Rooms have original old masters from the National Maritime Museum and offer dining for up to 40 guests and the services of a personal butler.

The spa, with products by E’Spa, has a sanarium (a sauna combined with high humidity) and a “vitality pool”. The restaurants include fine dining at both Foliage, under chefs David Nicholls and Chris Staines, and the more casual all-day dining restaurant The Park – the latter serves a mix of cuisines including Asian and British. Next door, some exclusive apartments are currently being built which will be managed by Mandarin Oriental, scheduled for opening in 2009.

VERDICT The service levels are of a standard that guests in Mandarin Oriental’s Asian properties would expect: sky-high. When we left something in the room and only realised after having checked out, without fuss it was found, kept to one side, and then sent back. One of the best hotels in London.

PRICES Internet rates for a midweek stay in June started at £445 for a Knightsbridge Room. Weekend rates started at £445 for a Knightsbridge Room.

Renaissance Chancery Court

252 High Holborn; +44 (0)20 7829 9888; marriott.com

The Renaissance brand is one which is gradually becoming better known in the UK and Ireland, with the famous Shelbourne on St Stephen’s Green opening this month and, in 2009, the hotel at St Pancras will re-open as a Renaissance. The Renaissance Chancery Court opened in 2001 in the English Heritage Grade II-listed building, previously the headquarters of the Pearl Assurance Company from 1914 to 1989 (architect: H Percy Monckton).

It’s hardly understated: there’s a 166ft high cupola; an entrance via a bronze-gated carriageway into an inner courtyard; a grand staircase of rare Pavonazzo marble; and columns of rare Swedish green marble (there are actually seven different types of marble in the building). The 343 bedrooms, including 13 suites, are all of a good size, with an average room size of 33 sqm. All rooms have high-speed internet access, full turndown service, irons and ironing boards, and complimentary newspapers and coffee/tea-making facilities.

The Renaissance Club Floor, on the third floor, serves continental breakfast, evening hors d’oeuvres and refreshments throughout the day. There is also private check-in and reception, and upgraded in-room amenities. Because of the historic nature of the hotels there are some (14 to be exact) extremely individual suites, including the Lord Chancellor’s Suite, which includes a good-sized dining area for meetings or a romantic weekend.

There’s an E’Spa spa downstairs with a VIP treatment suite and six additional treatment rooms, a gold-leaf relaxation room, a dry-heat sauna, the Amethyst Crystal Steam Room and the Lifestyle Shower. There are also large meeting and conference facilities including a ballroom on the lower ground floor, adaptable for a number of purposes (recently the new Jet Airways economy, business and first class seating was unveiled here).

The Pearl restaurant and bar serves modern French cuisine under head chef Jun Tanaka and is located in the all-marble old banking hall, which also has its own private dining room, Silhouette (reviewed in Business Traveller, June 2006) and the CC Bar. There is also alfresco dining available during the summer months in The Yard courtyard restaurant.

The business centre is located at lobby level, with full secretarial and support service and computer hire with email/high-speed internet access. Regarding meeting facilities, the ballroom is 4,200 sqm and divisible into three sections, and can accommodate 435 people for a cocktail reception. There are 13 meeting rooms for 10-50 persons totalling 4,630 sqm, many interconnecting, including two original boardrooms with mahogany panelling and fireplaces.

VERDICT A truly impressive renovation, with excellent public areas and an outstanding spa. The location is convenient for both the City and the West End, and also for Heathrow airport via the Piccadilly Line.

PRICES Internet rates for a midweek stay in June started at £387 for an Executive Room. Weekend rates started at £270 for an Executive Room.

Courthouse Kempinski

19-21 Great Marlborough Street; tel +44 (0)20 7297 5555; courthouse-hotel.com

As the name suggests, this used to be the legendary Marlborough Street Magistrate’s Court, where everyone from Oscar Wilde and John Lennon to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards passed through before it was converted into a five-star luxury boutique hotel in 2004. Situated on Great Marlborough Street – just opposite the north end of Carnaby Street, next to the Palladium and convenient for Regent Street, Oxford Street and Soho – few hotels can match it for location in London’s West End. It has a sister property down in Kensington, the Bentley.

As you’d expect from the late Victorian facade, there are listed aspects of the interior which remain from the days of the building being a court. The entrance is along a tiled corridor, with reception to the right, and the informal Carnaby restaurant to the left (open 0700-2300, £15.90 for two courses for lunch) in the old payment offices of the court. Straight on lies The Waiting Room, whose tiled walls and glass roof give it a slightly strange air when used for the breakfast.

The next room along – which was the main courtroom – now houses Silk, the hotel’s pan-Asian restaurant, with chef Bobby Kapoor and his number two, Pravin Sharma. The judge’s bench, the oak-panelled witness stand and the dock have been retained but the space now sports a deep red carpet (two courses £25, with a 20 per cent reduction on the bill for guests).

Back in the lobby the business centre, just a small room with one computer terminal, is behind the concierge, and then you walk through into the fashionable seating area of the lobby with its water features and on to The Bar. This is open all day but is really a night venue, and is open for non-residents until 0100 and later for residents, with booths constructed out of former prison cells. The lounge lobby is separated from The Bar with an original set of iron prison bars. There’s also a private 94-seater cinema with Dolby surround sound and pale green seats – each with its own table, which makes it an ideal venue for corporate screenings.

The 112 rooms come in a number of different categories (classic, superior, executive and then the suites), but broadly divide into those in the original building and those in the extension, including 11 in what was the judge’s chambers, with original Robert Adam fireplaces and marble bathrooms. All are of a good size, measuring a minimum 30 sqm.

The hotel has a fifth floor open terrace for functions (the only public roof garden in Soho). On the lower ground floor there are a total of five meeting rooms, as well the Sanook Spa (three treatment rooms, including one with a glass floor overlooking, and overhanging, the swimming pool) for Asian treatments including massages, body wraps and deep relaxation treatments using Karin Herzog products. There’s also a gym with a sanarium, and the pool has jets for those who want to swim against a current. Wifi is £14.99 for 24 hours.

VERDICT Fashionable, located right in the centre of the West End and with faultless service, this is the perfect choice for those working in the media or keen to escape more corporate-style hotels.

PRICES Internet rates for a midweek stay in June started at £299 for a Superior King Room. Weekend rates started at £195 for a Superior King Room.

Jumeirah Lowndes

21 Lowndes Street; tel +44 (0) 20 7823 1234; jumeirahlowndeshotel.com

Recently reopened after a £8.5 million refit, the Jumeirah Lowndes is the sister hotel of the Jumeirah Carlton Tower, situated round the corner in Belgravia on Cadogan Square. The hotel is much smaller than that property (87 rooms in contrast to the Tower’s 220) and is tucked away on a gradual curve of a street which leads up to Lowndes Square and the cylindrical Sheraton Park Tower Hotel on Knightsbridge. From the outside you’d be hard-pressed to identify it as a hotel, but this anonymity is not only part of the charm of this high-end but very discreet hotel, but also of Belgravia itself.

The entrance lobby is a small one, with the reception desk only wide enough for three guests to check in without rubbing elbows, yet there were always enough staff to deal with what were some fairly demanding customers. The ground floor also has a pair of lifts, and houses the Mimosa Bar and Restaurant, all the work of UK designers Hunt Hamilton Zuch. A two-course lunch is £14.95. There is also a function room with 62-inch plasma TV with surround sound, fax and printer facilities, wireless internet access and natural light. The room can hold up to 18 guests for dinner or a board meeting and up to 30 people for a cocktail function.

The hotel’s 87 rooms, including 14 private suites, are in a number of different categories, and look out over the front street or across the back towards the Halkin Arcade. Having just had a complete renovation, all are spotless and have Temple Spa toiletries, new furnishings, power showers, bathrobes, plasma TVs, iPod docking stations, Nespresso machines and high-speed wifi (£20 for 24 hours). However, some are small for a five-star hotel: the entry-level Guest Rooms range in size from 13.5 sqm to 17.2sqm, with Deluxe Rooms having 22.5 sqm. The colour scheme is a warm one of yellows and golds and, while the road outside isn’t particularly busy, the sound-proofing is excellent. Some of the rear-facing rooms have balconies, and are worth asking for just for this and the view over the back of the Halkin Arcade.

There are four one-bedroom Executive Suites available on the sixth floor, two with balconies, and a Luxury Suite with one bedroom and two bathrooms on the fifth floor.

VERDICT The close proximity of several restaurants, a Starbucks next door and a small but perfectly formed Waitrose allow you to feel part of London very quickly (albeit in the very expensive “village” of Belgravia). Nothing is sacrificed by staying at the smaller of the two Jumeirah properties, since all its sister hotel’s facilities – including the restaurants (The Rib Room Restaurant and Buffet), 9th floor Club Room, Chinoiserie lounge and Peak Health Club and Spa – can be used, as can the tennis courts in Cadogan Square.

PRICES Internet rates for a midweek stay in June started at £269 for a Guest Room. Weekend rates started at £233 for a Guest Room.