Guides
Plans for the days around the hotel: when to book the table, and what to do between breakfast and dinner.
GuidesHow far ahead should you book a Michelin-starred table in London?
The Savoy opens online bookings for 1890 by Gordon Ramsay four months ahead; Wild Honey St James and Mauro Colagreco publish no window. The rules in full.
How do you book a spa treatment for two in a London hotel?
Book it with the spa when you book the room, and name the room for two, because only some hotels publish one. Raffles London at The OWO is the clearest: its Guerlain Spa sells a Couples Retreat in which two therapists work together in a private suite, and it has two double VIP suites among its nine treatment rooms. Treatments run daily 10:00 to 19:00. If you are not staying, the pool and the thermal suite come only with a spa booking or one of a limited number of memberships, and a treatment of 90 minutes or more includes an hour of facility access before and after.
Sofitel London St James has a private couples' suite among its four treatment rooms, with a Turkish hammam, a steam room and a jacuzzi for two, but its own pages name no treatment for two, so ask for the suite by name. The spa opens Monday 10:00 to 17:00 and Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:30. The Savoy publishes no double room and no treatment for two at Beauty & Fitness, and none of the other hotels on our London list has a treatment room.
What time can you check in and check out?
Most hotels on our London list hand over the room at 15:00 and want it back by 12:00, so a morning arrival means leaving your bags at the desk. Ten of the twelve publish exactly those times, from Sofitel London St James and The Savoy to the four Novotels and ibis London City - Shoreditch. The Hoxton Southwark is the exception at the start, with check-in from 14:00, the earliest of the twelve. TRIBE London Canary Wharf is the exception at the end, with check-out at 11:00.
Plan the first afternoon around those times. At Sofitel London St James, the spa stays open until 18:30 from Tuesday to Sunday, so a 15:00 check-in still leaves time for the hammam before dinner at Wild Honey St James, which starts serving at 17:00. On the last morning, a 12:00 check-out leaves room for a swim: at Raffles London at The OWO the pool opens at 06:30 on weekdays, ahead of the family swim from 08:00 to 10:00, and at 08:00 at weekends.
Which pools and bars keep adult hours?
No hotel on our London list is adults only, so the quiet hours are the ones published around children. At Raffles London at The OWO, the 20 m pool keeps family swim times daily 08:00 to 10:00 and 16:00 to 18:00, which leaves the evening until 21:00 on weekdays and 20:00 at weekends. At The Savoy, children swim 09:00 to 17:00 in the atrium pool, so an early or late swim is the adult one, and the gym is for over-18s only.
The bars set their own rules. The Beaufort Wine Bar at The Savoy admits guests aged 18 and over, Tuesday to Saturday 17:00 to 00:00, while the American Bar takes 16-year-olds with an adult. At Novotel London Canary Wharf, children of 12 and under may stay in BOKAN 38-39 until 20:00. St Martins Lane London asks guests to be at least 18 to check in, and The Hoxton Southwark books anyone aged 13 and over as an adult and offers no cots.
Frequently asked questions
How is a guide different from a list?
A list ranks hotels in one city for one need and puts our pick first; a guide answers one practical question, such as how far ahead to book a starred table, and names hotels only where the facts call for them. A guide has no ranking and no badge, and it links each rule to the page that publishes it.
Which guide should we read before booking dinner in London?
The guide on booking a MICHELIN-starred table in London. It covers the three starred restaurants inside Accor hotels in London, 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, with their booking windows, dinner days and cancellation rules.
Do the London hotel spas set a minimum age?
Sofitel London St James and Raffles London at The OWO publish no minimum age for their spas, and Raffles keeps family swim times at its pool instead. At The Savoy, children under 16 must be supervised in the pool, the sauna and the steam room. Sofitel London Heathrow keeps its spa facilities for adults, and guests aged 16 and below may not use its hydro bath, steam room or sauna.
What if two official pages give different hours?
Follow the hotel's own page and confirm when you book. Where two official pages disagree, a guide prints both: The Savoy gives Restaurant 1890 by Gordon Ramsay as Tuesday to Friday 16:00 to 22:45, while the restaurant's booking page lists dinner seatings from 18:30, and the MICHELIN Guide prints a shorter evening than the hotel.