Christmas in London is when the best christmas hotel truly shine, offering a festive stay that already feels set for 2025. At Christmastime, the city turns decadent, and these places don’t just offer a stay; they invite guests to see how properties pull out all the stops. Every year, the experience feels bigger, better, with elaborate decor that the Holidays Masters team follows with bated breath to discover. Being the first to unveil a Christmas tree, seasonal afternoon tea, and a full events calendar has become serious festive business. Once the elves have finished their shift and the secrets behind the designs are officially open, the feeling of celebration spreads across the city.
Last year, I couldn’t wait until 1st December, so I chose to unearth my sequins, indulge in a mince pie, and kick-start my joviality early with a wonderfully spoiling stay at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in November. The team treated the children like they were on the nice list all year, and the festive display surpassed what any household could conjure on the morning of the 25th. Though close to home, it felt special to be in central London, surrounded by hordes of people shopping for gifts, wrapped in layer upon layer of clothing, and fizzing with anticipation for the following weeks in store. This year, I’ve booked Raffles at The OWO for an overnight stay, planned a visit to the much-anticipated display at the entrance of Broadwick Soho, and an evening at The Ned to lift the spirit of things. No matter the distance travelled, arriving at a hotel brings a sense of immediate escapism from everyday life—a chance to check out for a definitive amount of time and check in wholeheartedly to a festive fantasy, trimmed with gilded accents, strung with twinkling fairy lights, and backed by a nostalgic soundtrack. Hotels feel special, never more so than when there is a reason to celebrate collectively, making this a carefully chosen pick of the best Christmas hotels in London and a memorable Christmas hotel experience.
The Connaught Hotel
The Connaught Mayfair curves around Carlos Place in Mayfair Village, and that address alone explains why it is among the smartest hotels in London and a standout Christmas hotel choice. The building started its life in 1815 as the Prince of Saxe-Coburg Hotel, evolving through careful facelifts and thoughtful additions like a new wing, an Aman spa, and a 1930s-style ballroom, all while keeping its original spirit. Walking in, a gilded mahogany staircase twists heavenward in the reception area, where the energy crackles with a permanent sense of occasion. The private art collection truly bedazzles, from a Graham Sutherland landscape to a Barbara Hepworth lithograph, balancing grandeur with trademark down-to-earth service that makes every guest feel genuinely treated well.
Staying, Dining, and Celebrating in Style
By blending heritage and creature comforts, the rooms and suites by Guy Oliver offer timeless style and a soft landing, with minibars disguised as chinoiserie cabinets and bed heads that are hand-embroidered. The 2024-renovated grey-green and storm-cloud-blue Coburg Suites, finished with painted panelling, delft-encrusted chimneypieces, and heavy draped curtains, are the newest highlights. High-impact Megawatt options include The Apartment, designed by David Collins Studio on the rooftop, The Mews, a light-filled private townhouse, and the King’s Lodge, inspired by Kabul’s 19th-century Peacock Palace. Dining is central, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Hélène Darroze flagship restaurants as the focus of a stay, while the watering holes add real fun—start an affair at the Connaught Bar with its jolly martini trolley and candlelight, cut a bon vivant’s business deal at The Coburg, or relax with quiet loungers in the Red Room, a modern bar with an after- or pre party feel. Part of the Maybourne Group, this landmark grande dame remains utterly relevant, as noted by Lydia Bell.
A Legendary Hyde Park Christmas Hotel
The Dorchester in Hyde Park refuses to be outdone by arrivistes thudding onto the top-end scene, and even regulars notice how the Dorch is shaking its tail feathers after the biggest refurb in three decades. The public spaces feel supercharged, with two floors of new rooms and suites revealed, while Penthouses and the rooftop remain under lock and key until later in 2024. This hotel, where Elizabeth Taylor signed her Cleopatra contract in the bath, still remains out-and-out fabulous, now lifted by Pierre-Yves Rochon’s elegant uplift. At the Artists’ Bar, everything sparkles under a mirrored ceiling, with Lalique crystal pillars girdling the bar and Liberace’s mirror-ball-clad baby grand setting the mood, making it a prime spot for caviar, native oysters, and Petal Head cocktails mixed with Stoli Elit vodka, kumquat, Aperol, and passion fruit, all served from a trolley.
Art, Dining, and British Flair at Christmas
A rich hoard of London-centric art glints on the walls, from Ann Carrington’s Elizabeth II silhouette made of mother-of-pearl buttons, to Sue Arrowsmith’s delicate silver leaf and coral branches. Martin Brudnizki’s Vesper Bar invites intimacy with smoked glass and scalloped armchairs, while the spa—considered the best for Dr Uliana Gout’s medical-grade facials—is a pink girly haven. The Grill, one of London’s most storied dining rooms, has recently begun a new era, where British culinary heritage meets bold contemporary flair. The refreshed suites echo palettes of an English garden, with leaf green, rose, and heather tones, and while Hôtel Plaza Athénée represents an American fantasy of Paris, this Park Lane dame’s vision of Britishness feels like a festive christmas hotel dream I am genuinely happy to buy into, as captured by Lydia Bell.
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