Skip to content

Luxury Hotels in London: 12 Picks Ranked by MICHELIN Keys and Forbes Stars

The best luxury hotels in London, ranked by MICHELIN Keys and Forbes Travel Guide 2026 stars, with room counts, areas and the airports for private jets.

By Wijet Editors

best luxury hotels in London: the entrance of a Mayfair grand hotel at dusk with warm lit windows

At a glance

London luxury hotels: the recognition on record

Three MICHELIN Keys
6 hotels
The Savoy, The Connaught, Claridge's, The Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and Raffles London at The OWO, per the MICHELIN Guide, September 2026
Forbes Five-Star
21 hotels
Forbes Travel Guide's London destination page, which carries the 2026 Star Awards banner, lists 21 Five-Star hotels
Both top ratings
5 hotels
Claridge's, The Connaught, The Savoy, Raffles OWO and Mandarin Oriental hold Three Keys and Forbes Five-Star, per MICHELIN (September 2026) and Forbes (2026)
Highest published suite rate
From £60,000
The Penthouse at Claridge's, per Spear's, November 2025

The best luxury hotels in London by outside recognition are The Savoy, The Connaught, Claridge’s, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and Raffles London at The OWO. Each holds Three MICHELIN Keys, per the MICHELIN Guide’s September 2026 London list, and each is a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel for 2026. The Peninsula London is the sixth Three-Key hotel, rated Four-Star by Forbes.

Those are the luxury hotels London travelers shortlist first, and the order below follows the evidence rather than the brochures. Hotels almost never publish nightly rates for these rooms, so the cost section uses dated press figures instead.

How We Picked

We combined three things: the MICHELIN Guide’s London Key list (an article dated September 18, 2026), the Forbes Travel Guide Star Awards 2026 as shown on its London destination and hotel pages, and a spread across the areas where visitors actually stay. We also checked The World’s 50 Best Hotels list on the50.com, as fetched in November 2026, where Claridge’s appears at No. 13, Raffles London at The OWO at No. 28, The Connaught at No. 49 and Rosewood London at No. 56.

The two main judges overlap more in London than in most cities. Room counts come from Forbes Travel Guide hotel pages, and where a page does not give a count we leave it out. We take no paid placement.

Keys vs Stars: Two Different Judges

MICHELIN’s Keys reward the whole stay: design, service and personality. Forbes sends anonymous inspectors who score service against up to 900 criteria, per its own site in 2026, and its ratings emphasize service over facilities.

London is unusual because both judges agree at the top. Five hotels sit at Three Keys and Five-Star together. A hotel can also be a Forbes Five-Star with fewer Keys: The Dorchester, The Berkeley, Four Seasons Park Lane and Bvlgari Hotel London are Two-Key hotels with Five-Star ratings. Use the Keys for character and the Stars for service polish.

The Best Luxury Hotels in London

Claridge’s

Three Keys and Forbes Five-Star for 2026. It stands on Brook Street in Mayfair and has operated since 1856 per Forbes Travel Guide, whose page cites guests from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to Audrey Hepburn. The Foyer holds an 1898 art deco interior with a Dale Chihuly chandelier, and afternoon tea there has run for more than 100 years. Claridge’s says it was named London’s No. 1 hotel in the 2026 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards.

The Connaught

Three Keys and Forbes Five-Star for 2026. It has 114 guest rooms on Carlos Place in Mayfair and opened in 1897, per Forbes Travel Guide. Forbes notes a staff-to-guest ratio of about three to one and a traditional wing alongside a modern wing with no bedroom carpets, so specify your preference when you book. Hélène Darroze at The Connaught holds three MICHELIN stars per the MICHELIN Guide’s February 2026 London article, which calls it the only Three-Star restaurant inside a Three-Key hotel in the UK.

The Savoy

Three Keys and Forbes Five-Star for 2026. It sits on the Strand and opened in 1889, per Forbes Travel Guide, which says half the rooms are Edwardian and half art deco. It has nine Personality Suites, and each River View suite comes with a Savoy Butler. Gordon Ramsay runs Savoy Grill, The River Restaurant and Restaurant 1890, with 1890 holding a MICHELIN star per the Guide’s February 2026 article.

Raffles London at The OWO

Three Keys and Forbes Five-Star for 2026. It occupies part of the Old War Office at 57 Whitehall, built for the British Army in 1906. Forbes counts 120 rooms and suites (39 of them suites) plus 85 private residences, with a 27,000 square foot Guerlain Spa over four floors and nine restaurants. Mauro Colagreco runs three of them.

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

Three Keys and Forbes Five-Star for 2026. It has 181 rooms and suites at 66 Knightsbridge, in an Edwardian building, per Forbes Travel Guide. A 2018 fire closed it, and it reopened in spring 2019 after a renovation with interiors by Joyce Wang. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal has been the flagship restaurant since 2011, and the three-bedroom Mandarin Oriental Penthouse is among London’s largest suites.

The Peninsula London

Three Keys and Forbes Four-Star for 2026. It has 190 rooms and suites at 1 Grosvenor Place in Belgravia, with interiors by Peter Marino, per Forbes Travel Guide. Brooklands by Claude Bosi sits on the eighth floor, and the hotel runs a chauffeur fleet that includes a Rolls-Royce Phantom.

The Dorchester

Two Keys and Forbes Five-Star for 2026. It has 250 rooms and suites on Park Lane, per Forbes Travel Guide, which lists Roof Suites with balconies over Hyde Park and The Grill by Alain Ducasse among its restaurants.

The Berkeley

Two Keys and Forbes Five-Star for 2026. It stands on Wilton Place in Knightsbridge, with a seasonal rooftop pool and a four-floor spa, per Forbes Travel Guide. Many front-facing rooms have terraces or balconies with views of Hyde Park.

Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane

Two Keys and Forbes Five-Star for 2026. It sits at Hamilton Place, Park Lane, per Forbes Travel Guide, which says its concierge team holds more Les Clefs d’Or keys than any other team in London and that many rooms have small private balconies.

Bvlgari Hotel London

Two Keys and Forbes Five-Star for 2026. It has 85 guest rooms and suites at 171 Knightsbridge and opened in May 2012, per Forbes Travel Guide. The 22,000 square foot spa spans two floors, and the Bvlgari Suites are two-bedroom units with an eight-seat dining room. A private cinema seats up to 47.

The Lanesborough

Two Keys and Forbes Four-Star for 2026. It has 93 bedrooms and suites at Hyde Park Corner, part of the Oetker Collection, per Forbes Travel Guide. Each guest has a butler on call around the clock, and the Library Bar is known for its vintage cognac.

Shangri-La The Shard

One Key and Forbes Five-Star for 2026. It occupies floors 34 to 52 of The Shard and has 202 rooms, including 17 suites, per Forbes Travel Guide. GŌNG on the 52nd floor is described there as the highest hotel bar in Western Europe, and it includes a Sky Pool.

HotelAreaMICHELIN KeysForbes 2026RoomsSource
Claridge’sMayfair3Five-StarNot publishedMICHELIN; Forbes
The ConnaughtMayfair3Five-Star114MICHELIN; Forbes
The SavoyStrand3Five-StarNot publishedMICHELIN; Forbes
Raffles London at The OWOWhitehall3Five-Star120MICHELIN; Forbes
Mandarin Oriental Hyde ParkKnightsbridge3Five-Star181MICHELIN; Forbes
The Peninsula LondonBelgravia3Four-Star190MICHELIN; Forbes
The DorchesterMayfair2Five-Star250MICHELIN; Forbes
The BerkeleyKnightsbridge2Five-StarNot publishedMICHELIN; Forbes
Four Seasons Park LaneMayfair2Five-StarNot publishedMICHELIN; Forbes
Bvlgari Hotel LondonKnightsbridge2Five-Star85MICHELIN; Forbes
The LanesboroughHyde Park Corner2Four-Star93MICHELIN; Forbes
Shangri-La The ShardSouthwark1Five-Star202MICHELIN; Forbes

Verdict: for the strongest case on both lists, choose Claridge’s, The Connaught, The Savoy, Raffles or Mandarin Oriental. For a smaller house with a Five-Star rating, Bvlgari has 85 rooms.

Wijet may earn a commission from partner links. It never changes what we recommend. See the affiliate disclosure.

What a Night Costs

The Forbes Travel Guide pages for these hotels show no nightly amounts, and Claridge’s lists no rates on its own page, so there is no honest entry-level figure to quote. What press has dated is the top end. Spear’s reported in November 2025 these suite rates:

  • Claridge’s, The Penthouse: from £60,000 a night.
  • The Emory, The Emory Penthouse: £22,000.
  • The Lanesborough, The Royal Suite: from £20,000 for all seven bedrooms.
  • The Savoy, The Royal Suite: £11,310.
  • The Ritz, Deluxe Suite: £5,549.

These are suite rates, not room rates, and they move with season and demand. For suites around the world, see our guide to the most expensive hotels in the world.

Where to Stay: Areas

Mayfair

Claridge’s, The Connaught, The Dorchester and Four Seasons Park Lane are all in Mayfair, per their Forbes addresses. It suits first visits, dining and shopping. MICHELIN’s February 2026 guide also files The Twenty Two on Grosvenor Square (Two Keys, 31 suites) and Flemings Mayfair, a joined set of 13 Georgian townhouses, here.

Knightsbridge

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, The Berkeley and Bvlgari sit on or beside Knightsbridge, near Harrods and Hyde Park. The Lanesborough is at Hyde Park Corner and The Peninsula is a short step away in Belgravia.

Covent Garden and the Strand

The Savoy is on the Strand. MICHELIN’s September 2026 list also includes the Firmdale-run Covent Garden Hotel at One Key, for guests who want the theater district.

The South Bank and Whitehall

Shangri-La The Shard is south of the river, at 31 Saint Thomas Street. Raffles at The OWO is on Whitehall, between Trafalgar Square and Westminster.

Best for History

Claridge’s has traded since 1856, The Savoy since 1889 and The Connaught since 1897, per Forbes Travel Guide. MICHELIN’s September 2026 list describes those last three as the hotels for proper history. Raffles at The OWO adds a newer chapter inside a 1906 government building where, per Forbes, Winston Churchill kept an office.

Best for Views and Wellness

Shangri-La The Shard puts its bar on the 52nd floor. The Berkeley’s rooftop pool is seasonal, so check the dates. Raffles has the 27,000 square foot Guerlain Spa, and Bvlgari has a 22,000 square foot spa and a 47-seat private cinema, all per Forbes Travel Guide.

Arriving by Private Jet: Farnborough, Biggin Hill and Luton

Three airports serve most private traffic into London. Farnborough in Hampshire calls itself the largest and most pre-eminent business aviation airport in the UK and was No. 1 FBO in the Aviation International News FBO Survey 2023, per farnboroughairport.com. Biggin Hill bills itself as the only dedicated business aviation airport in London, and advertises a Heli Shuttle that takes six minutes to the heart of London, per bigginhillairport.com. Its operating hours are 0630 to 2300 on weekdays and 0800 to 2200 at weekends and on public holidays, per the same site.

Luton lists two FBO names on its own business aviation page: Signature Flight Support and Harrods Aviation. The airport publishes no London drive time, so ask your handler for current traffic.

Hotels also quote commercial access. Forbes lists Heathrow at 28 to 40 minutes from Mandarin Oriental and 30 to 45 minutes from Four Seasons Park Lane. For charters and fees, see our private jet charter guide.

See the luxury hotels hub, the global best hotels in the world ranking, our Forbes Five-Star hotels page, and the sister guides to Paris and New York.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is London's most luxurious hotel?
By recognition, five hotels hold both Three MICHELIN Keys and Forbes Five-Star for 2026: Claridge's, The Connaught, The Savoy, Raffles London at The OWO and Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. The priciest suite reported is the Claridge's Penthouse, from £60,000 a night per Spear's in November 2025.
Where do the rich and famous stay in London?
The recognized hotels cluster in Mayfair and Knightsbridge, per their Forbes addresses: Claridge's, The Connaught, The Dorchester and Four Seasons Park Lane in Mayfair, and Mandarin Oriental, The Berkeley and Bvlgari in Knightsbridge. We name no individual guests, because hotels do not confirm them.
What is considered the nicest hotel in London?
It depends on the judge. MICHELIN's September 2026 list puts six hotels at Three Keys, and Forbes Travel Guide rates 21 London hotels Five-Star. Where the two agree, Claridge's, The Connaught and The Savoy are the historic choices.
Which London hotels have three MICHELIN Keys?
Six: The Savoy, The Connaught, Claridge's, The Peninsula London, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and Raffles London at The OWO, per the MICHELIN Guide's September 18, 2026 London article.
Which London airport is best for a private jet?
Farnborough and Biggin Hill are the two dedicated business aviation airports. Biggin Hill advertises a six minute helicopter shuttle to central London, per its site. Luton has Signature and Harrods Aviation FBOs. The best fit depends on your aircraft and hotel.

Sources

More from the journal