The best London hotels with gardens

An old boozer given the East London treatment: original brick walls and polished parquet floors set the scene downstairs with science lab-style metal stools, a central zinc-topped bar and mismatched wooden chairs, while potted plants and bronze light fixtures hang from the peacock blue ceiling. Turquoise booths and Ercol chairs dominate the intimate second-floor dining room. Continue up past the rooms on the third, and you’ll reach the rooftop garden with its greenhouse, fold out tables and gherkin statue cheerfully holding court (in the shadow of the real one). Look out for the fun residencies hosted up here such as a ‘cheese and cider’ nights.

A rococo townhouse in the middle of Kensington that has held the title of London’s first boutique hotel since it opened in 1978. Anouska Hempel’s vibey décor still sets the standard for boutique hoteliering today, with glamorous and romantic bedrooms that realise dreams of far-off places. In summer, the Matthew Williamson-designed Mediterranean garden is the place to be, complete with life-sized birdcage. The party moves downstairs later on to Blakes Below, an opium den-esque club – all moody lighting and Oriental panelling – which hosts parties that might include live piano sets or Seventies nights.

A light-filled, spacious new build in an ‘urban village’ setting at the bottom of Regent Street, perfectly placed for Mayfair and Soho. It’s all about fun here, from Kit Kemp’s signature cosy-cool interiors to the neon light-lined bowling alley and bar. The hotel is set around a tree-filled garden, with a bronze sculpture centrepiece by Tony Cragg, and there is also a magical fourth floor roof terrace complete with olive trees, lavender and vegetable beds. Not to mention two beehives tended to by resident beekeeper Camilla.

The Goring was opened by Otto Richard Goring in 1910 and astonishingly remains in the family to this day. It’s a firm favourite of dowager duchesses, lords, ladies and assorted gentlefolk; the Middleton family and the Princess of Wales stayed here the night before the 2011 Royal Wedding. Among its many perks, the property has the great advantage of a huge private garden, surrounded by flower borders and shrubbery, with a central lawn on which croquet is played in the summer months (you’re more than likely to meet Teddy the resident Shetland pony out there, too).

This is the type of hotel that returning guests become possessive of – some were indignant when the drawing room was refurbished for example. It’s traditionally furnished, with elegant but comfortable sofas, and scented by fresh lillies throughout. Designed to feel like a private city retreat, it has an air of old-fashioned gentility. A big plus-point for the hotel is the large, enclosed garden square behind, shared with local residents, which guests can access directly from the drawing room as well as two of the ground-floor bedrooms.

One of London’s original design hotels, conceived by Ian Schrager and Philippe Starck. The lobby could pass as a chair museum: on entering you’re met by a copy of Mae West’s Salvador Dalí lips sofa copy; others include an Eero Aarnio bubble chair hanging from the ceiling, an ergonomic carved wooden chaise-longue-style piece and a Louis XIV-style chair in powder blue, which stretches out the length of one wall. The Japanese garden courtyard, in the middle of the property, is a calm oasis in which to enjoy drinks, afternoon tea or dinner.

The little sister of the supremely popular Beaverbrook Estate in Surrey, this highly anticipated opening has seen rave reviews and is in a perfect location on elegant Sloane Street, right opposite the Grade II-listed Cadogan Palace Gardens to which guests have a ‘secret’ key to access – where luxury picnics are often put on for guests by the hotel (pictured). The fourteen opulent suites are named after London theatres, from The Adelphi to The Old Vic, many of which were frequented by Lord Beaverbrook when in London. Velvet is the textile of choice, giving sofas a luxe softness and neatly trimming the heavy curtains. Home-made cocktails come in retro bottles.

As an independent, family-run b&b, this is a rare find in the capital and owners Matt and Charlotte Goodsall have ensured that a boutique feel reigns throughout the Georgian townhouse; from the prettily designed bedrooms, to the courtyard garden with lovely patch of lawn and mismatched tables and chairs. With a feeling more akin to a cosy country hotel than one in the middle of the busy capital, there’s an instantly relaxed feel to the contemporary reception area – complete with comfortable sofas from where you can look out to the street through large sash windows.

The Cadogan Hotel, which first opened in 1887, stands on Sloane Street midway between Chelsea and Knightsbridge. Its multi-million pound reincarnation combines the glossiness of Knightsbridge with the artistic vibe of Chelsea and does not forget its two most famous past residents, Oscar Wilde and Lillie Langtry. The former of which is remembered by a specially commissioned peacock made from 25,000 Swarovski crystals: Oscar Wilde loved the birds. The hotel overlooks the huge private haven of Cadogan Place Gardens. As a fabulous perk, as if they were Chelsea residents, guests get keys to its gates, and can picnic, stroll and play tennis there on its two courts.