Walking into the Generator is like walking into one of those really dodgy nightclubs that you should have stopped visiting about ten years ago but can't help going to because you know you'll have so much fun.

Tantalisingly close to Soho, a hop, skip and a stumble from Leicester Square, and with Eros almost visible from the bedroom windows, its unlikely you'll find a more centrally located budget option than the Piccadilly Backpackers.

What's nice about the Victoria Hostel is that it's a budget option that doesn't feel impersonal. With only 60 beds in a fairly swanky but not too busy part of town, there's a homely feel to the place that you don't often find on the lower rungs of the accommodation ladder.

This lovely little hotel is just minutes away from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street and just seconds away from Tony and Cherie Blair's new pad in Connaught Square. Whether or not that's a good thing is up to you to decide, but at least you can take pleasure knowing that...

Slightly battered and bruised, but oddly charming, the Edward Lear is one of the best examples of a traditional British B&B in central London. Only four rooms are en suite here but all the rooms have sinks.

In an area laden with budget options the Garden Court Hotel stands out from the other kids on the block because of the obvious effort that's gone into decorating the place. There's a small sitting room to the right of the lobby that has been simply, yet elegantly furnished....

This is one of those places that prove first impressions to be entirely misleading. From the outside this hotel appears to be just another white-iced Victorian building, and its name conjures up images of quilted bedspreads, gingham tablecloths, and the stars and stripes.

Despite having a name that sounds like it should be on the Costa del Sol, this sparkling budget option is a rare find in central London and is easily the best choice in the area. Luckily for them, more budget hotels aren't like this.

Shepherds Bush has never been a 'cool' part of town so it might surprise some to find a chichi hotel like K West located smack bang in the heart of it. But with the BBC around the corner and the independent television production company Endemol on their doorstep, somebody...

Two magnificent Regency townhouses have been combined to create this enchanting hotel overlooking leafy Dorset Square, home to the very first cricket ground (laid by Thomas Lord in 1787). It's perhaps not surprising, then, to find that the walls of this hotel are adorned in...

Staying at Miller's is more like staying with an eccentric great aunt with a penchant for flea markets and antique shops. Styled as an 18th-century English country house, the place is crammed full of all manner of knick-knacks, curios and antiques collected over the years by...

Outrageously ornate and decidedly decadent, the Bentley is one London hotel that has never heard of minimalist chic. It's unashamedly lavish, from the 600 tonnes of marble that were imported from Turkey, Italy and Africa to create the mosaic floor designs, to the enormous...

Imagine if Donatella Versace did hotel lobbies and you'll have a good idea what the Baglioni looks like. Jet black marble floors, black Murano glass chandeliers, a cascading water feature and a brilliant gold reception desk are just a few of the designs on show as you enter...

Stepping into Blakes is like stepping onto a Merchant Ivory film set. Think Remains of the Day or Room With a View and you'll immediately get a sense of the time and space that Anouska Hempel has managed to recreate in this, her flagship hotel.

Another classic from the folks at the Firmdale group who have been single-handedly making London an altogether more beautiful place to stay in recent years. Unfortunately, however, this is one Kit Kemp classic where you'll have to opt for the pricier rooms to get the full...

A true grande dame on the London hotel circuit, the majestic Claridges is as splendid today as it was when it first opened its doors in 1854. It's a wonderful reminder of a bygone era with every floor and corner steeped in history.

Housed within the old Great Marlborough Street magistrates court, which previously entertained the likes of Oscar Wilde and Mick Jagger, is a new five-star hotel that mixes colourful history with contemporary luxury.

Smack bang in the heart of Theatreland, hospital-turned-romantic-boutique-hotel is unquestionably one of the most charming places to stay in London - one of designer Kit Kemp's finest.

Despite being the second largest hotel in London, The Cumberland is easy to miss when you first walk by because the lobby looks like - and was designed to be - a showcase for modern art. Installations include contemporary life-size sculptures suspended at various angles, a...

No matter where you are in the world it's unlikely that a train station hotel would be your first choice for accommodation. Dingy bedrooms, grubby bathrooms and dubious clientele aren't a good combo for an ideal night's sleep. Fortunately, the Great Eastern Hotel is a break...

Staying at Hazlitts is like spending the night on the set of a big-budget period drama. The plumbing's been updated and there's a TV in every room but you still feel like guests should be wandering around in Dickensian night-shirts carrying candles.

Despite the slightly dubious name this is a friendly, family-run B&B in the heart of Hampstead village. An Italian theme runs throughout - from the restaurant downstairs to the frescoes on the bedroom walls - possibly to mask the size of the rooms, which aren't much bigger...

Beautifully located on the corner of a cobbled square sits Malmaison, a boutique hotel catering for the media, arty and business types that inhabit fashionable Clerkenwell. Housed within a converted Victorian nursing home, the 'Mal' promises 97 individually designed rooms.

The 'Met', as it's fondly called by those in the know, is most famous for the drunken antics of British celebrities in its members bar. When it first opened in 1997 it seemed that not a night went by without some kind of fracas involving a celeb and the waiting paparazzi.

If contemporary British design is your thing then you'll love Number Sixteen. It's the kind of place that looks so effortlessly chic and so wonderfully eclectic that you might be tempted to think that - with the right amount of creative wit and enough trips to IKEA - you would...

Housed within an elegant corner building originally built in 1907 as the offices of the Morning Post, the extremely stylish One Aldwych manages to pull off understated luxury effortlessly.

These days Smithfield is seen as one of London's hippest postcodes for clubs, bars, restaurants and hotels, but this wasn't always the case. Old Smithfield, being outside the city jurisdiction, was a haven for crooks and criminals and was commonly known as The Rookery.

Unless you've got connections with the Royal Family, this is about as close as you'll get to having tea with the Queen. Opposite Buckingham Palace, with views over the Royal Mews, it's perhaps not surprising to find that the Rubens is a firm favourite with Americans looking...

Proof that budget doesn't have to mean no-frills comes with the Rushmore, an extremely friendly family-run hotel in the heart of Earls Court. Artfully designed and sensitively refurbished, this Victorian terraced house now offers 22 individually designed rooms at bargain prices.

What makes the Sanderson so much fun is the way it has managed to turn traditional design completely on its head. The Sanderson is without doubt the hippest place to stay in London. Hidden behind a protected 1950s office building of aluminium and glass, this 'urban spa' is the...