London · Hotel shortlist
3 star hotels in the historic centre, London
Katarina Novak Britain and Ireland
These are my five favourites in London, out of the 15 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.8 down to 4.3.
The Luxury Inn is the one I would book myself.
Highest rated of the five
The Luxury Inn
★★★★★4.8 from 201 reviews
The Luxury Inn comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.8 from 201 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.
It is a 3 star property, found under historic centre and around $163 a night on the dates we checked.
15 hotels in London qualified for this list and five made it. Shoreditch House is the one I would book if the first is full.
Why it works for this trip
- Family roomscots and larger rooms rather than a squeeze
- Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in
- Dogs allowedno kennel to arrange before you fly
All five, ranked
-
1
-
2Shoreditch House
★★★★★4.5 from 2,145 reviews
- Pool
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Air conditioning
- Airport shuttle
-
3 -
4The Corner | London City
★★★★★4.4 from 4,066 reviews
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Kid friendly
- Air conditioning
-
5ibis London City - Shoreditch
★★★★★4.3 from 6,634 reviews
- Spa
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Kid friendly
How this list was put together
15 London hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.
Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.
The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.
What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.
Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.
Katarina Novak Britain and Ireland
Works long ward rotations, then blocks four days off and disappears. Specialises in short trips done well, mostly cities within three hours' flight. Twenty-two logged so far.
Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.