Romantic hotels: every ranking
Start in London with Sofitel London St James: a starred dinner in a 1923 banking hall, and an afternoon between the private hammam and the jacuzzi for two. Each list picks the hotels for one kind of trip together, from a table worth the journey to a suite that looks at the river.
LondonUnited Kingdom
Best hotels for couples in London12 hotelsOur first choice is Sofitel London St James: the jacuzzi for two in the afternoon, then a starred dinner in its 1923 banking hall. Raffles and The Savoy follow.
What does “Our pick” mean on a list?
“Our pick” marks the hotel ranked first on a list, the one we would book for that trip, and it appears once per list. In the list of the best hotels for couples in London it goes to Sofitel London St James, because the two things a weekend for two usually turns on share one building on Waterloo Place. Wild Honey St James, chef Anthony Demetre, holds one MICHELIN star and serves dinner Tuesday to Saturday 17:00 to 21:30. The Sofitel Spa has four treatment rooms, one of them a private couples' suite, with a Turkish hammam, a steam room and a jacuzzi for two.
The pick comes with its limits printed beside it. Sofitel London St James has no pool, lists no sauna, keeps its gym for hotel guests and closes the starred room on Sunday and Monday. Every other hotel carries its rank, from No. 2, Raffles London at The OWO, to No. 12, ibis London City - Shoreditch. A hotel lower down can still beat the pick on one point: Raffles London at The OWO has a 20 m indoor pool and nine treatment rooms.
How do you use the comparison table and its filters?
The comparison table on each list puts every hotel on the same six columns: neighbourhood, segment, restaurant, spa, view and nearest station. Read along a row for one hotel, or down a column to compare one point across all of them, such as the walk from each hotel to its station.
The filters cut the table down to one need. In London, “With a pool” leaves four hotels: Raffles London at The OWO, The Savoy, Novotel London Canary Wharf and Novotel London Blackfriars. “With a spa” leaves three, Sofitel London St James, Raffles London at The OWO and The Savoy, because in our lists a spa means treatment rooms; a gym, a sauna or a pool on its own does not count. That is why Novotel London Blackfriars, with its indoor heated pool and a combined sauna and steam room, shows up under the pool filter and not under the spa one. The segment filters, from Luxury to Economy, follow the way Accor groups its own brands.
Which London hotel suits which kind of trip?
Each hotel on the list ends with a line on who it suits, and read together those lines work as a short guide. Sofitel London St James suits a starred dinner and an afternoon in a couples' suite without leaving the building. Raffles London at The OWO suits a treatment for two in a private suite and a swim before dinner. The Savoy suits a room facing the Thames and a starred table, for a couple who can do without a treatment room for two.
Further down, the reasons change. St Martins Lane London is for the theatre and a late cocktail at Blind Spot, its speakeasy, two minutes on foot from Leicester Square. Pullman London St Pancras is for arriving by Eurostar, with King's Cross St Pancras 200 m away. The Hoxton Southwark is for oysters at Seabird on the roof and a short walk to Tate Modern. Novotel London Canary Wharf is for the view from BOKAN 38-39, on the top floors of a 39-storey tower, and Novotel London Excel for a flight from London City Airport, 1.77 km away on Accor's figure.
Frequently asked questions
Which hotel is “Our pick” for a couple in London?
Sofitel London St James, on Waterloo Place in St James's. It keeps a one-MICHELIN-star restaurant, Wild Honey St James, and a spa with a private couples' suite, a Turkish hammam and a jacuzzi for two in the same building, 300 m from Piccadilly Circus. It has no pool, and the starred room closes on Sunday and Monday.
Are all the hotels on the lists Accor hotels?
Yes. Every hotel on our lists is an Accor hotel, from the Luxury brands Raffles, Fairmont and Sofitel to ibis in Economy, including the Lifestyle brands Accor groups under Ennismore, such as The Hoxton and Morgans Originals. No hotel outside the group is named on the site, even for comparison.
Do the lists give prices or scores?
No. A list ranks hotels on what each one publishes, such as restaurant and spa hours, treatment rooms, views and distances, and gives no room rate and no score out of ten. Rates change with the dates, so each hotel has a Check rates button that opens its own booking page, where you see the price for your nights.
Which hotels on the London list have a MICHELIN-starred restaurant?
Three of the twelve. Wild Honey St James at Sofitel London St James, Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO and Restaurant 1890 by Gordon Ramsay at The Savoy each hold one MICHELIN star. All three close on Sunday and Monday, so a starred dinner has to fall between Tuesday and Saturday, and Restaurant 1890 has just 10 tables.
Is any hotel on the London list adults only?
No. None of the twelve hotels is adults only, though two leave little room for children: every room at TRIBE London Canary Wharf sleeps two at most, and The Hoxton Southwark offers no cots or extra beds. For a quiet swim, Raffles London at The OWO keeps family swim times daily 08:00 to 10:00 and 16:00 to 18:00.