The Connaught

Rooms and decor

The building is a classic Victorian red-brick, renovated in 2008, with interiors that blend the classic and the contemporary. Rooms were designed by Guy Oliver and India Mahdavi. Standard rooms start at 25 sqm — smaller than the others in this list, but decorated to the same luxury level, with handmade Hypnos beds, Egyptian Cotton 600-thread-count linens and Carrara marble bathrooms throughout. One guest review praised service that pays closer attention to detail than other 5-stars they'd stayed in — every butler knows the regulars personally. The apartment-tier suites start at 100 sqm, with a separate living room, a private dining room and a balcony looking over Mount Street Gardens.

Food and amenities

The Connaught Bar, designed by David Collins, is the most decorated cocktail bar in the world — number 1 in the World's 50 Best Bars in 2020 and still Top 10 every year. The Martini Trolley, mixed by the bartender at your table, is a bucket-list pour. Helene Darroze at The Connaught holds 3 Michelin stars for contemporary French food, and Jean-Georges at The Connaught serves an Afternoon Tea in a room styled by Pierre Gagnaire. The Aman Spa here is the only Aman inside a European city hotel, with an indoor pool, a Couples Treatment room and a Vitality Pool. Butler service runs 24 hours for the suites, backed by a Diamond Les Clefs d'Or concierge.

Location and getting there

The Connaught sits on Carlos Place in central Mayfair, on a corner noticeably quieter than either The Ritz or Claridge's, only a few minutes from the bustle of Bond Street. Bond Street Tube is a 7-minute walk and Green Park Tube an 8-minute walk. Hyde Park is 8 minutes on foot and Buckingham Palace about 15. The streets around it are full of embassies and the homes of wealthy Londoners, which keeps the whole area calm and private. Heathrow is roughly 40 minutes by car.

Things to know before booking

Rooms start at about $1,030 a night and reach roughly $4,860 for the top suites — this is firmly luxury heritage pricing. The standard rooms, at 25 sqm, are smaller than the equivalent rooms at Claridge's, The Ritz and The Savoy, so if space matters, size up. The nearest Underground is a 7-minute walk rather than right outside, the farthest of any hotel in this list. And Helene Darroze needs booking 2 to 3 months ahead, especially on Saturdays.

Our take

The Connaught is the Maybourne sibling to Claridge's, and the way regulars put it is simple: choose the Connaught for privacy, Claridge's for glamour. With a 9.3/10 score, the world's best bar, a 3-Michelin restaurant and the only city Aman Spa in Europe, this is the Mayfair address for people who want the quiet end of luxury rather than the spotlight.