Claridge’s

‘Not that I intend to die, but when I do, I want to go to Claridge’s,’ said Hollywood actor Spencer Tracy – just one of many A-listers who fell in love with this historic hotel in millionaire’s-playground Mayfair.

Undeniably the most glamorous and timeless of all London’s 5 stars, it might blow the budget, but service is as polished as the Art Deco interiors, and there’s a choice of destination restaurants and sexy bars. The tiny leather- and mirror-clad Fumoir is a throwback to the 1930s, with sidecars and juleps served in Lalique crystal glasses at a marble horseshoe bar.

The top-floor gym and Sisley spa has wonderful views as well as deliciously indulgent treatments – the anti-ageing facials have a fanatical following.

But Claridges’ glamorous history is the main draw: this is where the Duchess of Cambridge got ready for her wedding to Prince William; back in 1945, Winston Churchill briefly moved in.