Luxurious hotel with lavish rooms, fine dining, and a top-tier spa.
Corinthia Hotel, 10 Whitehall Pl, London SW1A 2BD, United Kingdom Get directions
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"A luxury riverside hotel that pairs a relaxed vibe with one of the city's best spas (ESPA Life) and seasonal dining, including afternoon tea served in a dramatic lounge setting. Its proximity to the Thames, Covent Garden, and Piccadilly Circus makes it an attractive base for holiday shopping, though the spa’s draw can make staying in equally tempting." - Emily Zemler Emily Zemler Emily Zemler is a London-based writer and journalist who covers entertainment and travel. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, Allure, Elle, Los Angeles Times, Travel + Leisure, and more. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"As delicious as the huge slice of cake that it resembles when seen from the right spot by the Thames. No fewer than 1,001 Baccarat crystals illuminate the double-height, Victorian-pillared lobby, whose parquet floors and elegant palette of creams, caramels, and charcoals with splashes of lime-green hint at the splendors beyond. Guests with a list of London landmarks to be checked off will find this a convenient base, within striking distance of Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Theatreland, and the South Bank (if you take one of the top-floor suites with a terrace, you can save yourself some time and see all of them at once). The ESPA Life spa occupies four levels, with 15 treatment 'pods', a marble-and-leather spa lounge, glass-encased sauna and steel-lined pool. Price: Rooms from around $960 per night.Address: Whitehall Pl, London SW1A 2BDClosest tube station: Embankment" - Condé Nast Traveller, Steve King
"How did it strike you on arrival?This is not a shy sort of hotel. It’s a place of gold leaf and chandeliers. And this is certainly not the sort of outfit that does anything by halves—the four-floor spa is one of the city’s finest. In a suitably grand building that used to house the Ministry of Defense, the location is impressive, just minutes from the Thames, Trafalgar Square, the South Bank, and the Houses of Parliament. Nice. What’s the crowd like?Uncompromising lovers of luxury. The good stuff: Tell us about your room.Rooms are in muted tones of grey, green, and dusky blue, and even the smallest have plenty of space with king-size beds and a table and chairs—the city views are more interesting, but the ones overlooking the courtyard have dinky Juliette balconies as a consolation. Things gradually get more and more extravagant until you reach the Royal Penthouse, which has its own spa, wine cellar, and terrace that eyeballs the London Eye. Please tell us the bathroom won’t let us down.All the sleek marble bathrooms have underfloor heating, a bathtub with a TV, and a separate rain shower. Espa products have fresh bergamot notes. Maybe the most important topic of all: Wi-Fi. What’s the word?Free. Anything stand out about other services and features? Whether it’s childcare, gyms, spas, even parking—whatever stuck with you.Choose between two fine dining restaurants—Italian at Massimo and local, seasonal British fare under a gold ceiling at Northall. You could easily lose a day in Espa’s flagship spa, which sprawls over four floors with a large pool and thermal suite including an ice fountain, sauna, steam room, and heated marble loungers, as well as 17 treatment rooms, nutritionists, acupuncturists, physiotherapists, and massage therapists. Bottom line: worth it, and why?You’re paying for unbeatable service, lavish surrounds, and some of the best facilities in the city." - Laura Goulden
"Housed in a former Ministry of Defence Victorian building near Trafalgar Square, this 21st-century grand hotel balances vast, high-ceilinged public rooms with warm, cozy corners and a contemporary British culinary program. Dining options include a modern British restaurant, an elegant Crystal Moon Lounge with champagne-trolley afternoon tea, and a Velvet lounge by David Collins Studio; chef Tom Kerridge’s first London restaurant at the property offers British-inspired dishes such as a red prawn scotch egg. The 283 rooms and suites feel residential, many with marble bathrooms, built-in TVs, and some private outdoor spaces, while the flagship ESPA Life spa provides 17 treatment rooms, a thermal floor with multiple pools, and a 24/7 gym." - Sandra Ramani, Charu Suri, Katherine LaGrave, Jennifer Flowers, Laura Holt, Laura Dannen Redman
"“There’s a lot to be said for a decent cup of tea,” my cab driver told me on the way to Corinthia London, the hotel where I’d be staying for my first couple of nights. “Our country was built on tea.”" - Maria Geyman
