The Best Hotels With Balconies in London

The Soho Hotel is surrounded by of-the-minute restaurants, cocktail dens and live music venues but with its patchwork of bright colours and cosy armchairs, we wouldn’t blame you for staying in. Deluxe terrace rooms have Crittall-style windows leading to private balconies that look out over Soho. Splash out on the two-bedroom suite and you’ll enjoy wrap-around terraces with outdoor seating so you can survey the comings and goings in London’s great nighttime heart.

Travel back to the 18th century at Batty Langley’s, a gorgeous Georgian town house in Shoreditch with period interiors and a fun atmosphere. The deluxe terrace room is draped in sumptuous fabrics with a romantic four-poster bed, a roll-top bath tub and a terrace with topiaries that’s perfect for entertaining. Grander still is the Earl of Bolingbroke suite, which is split-level with a marble bath, a canopied bed and a sunny private terrace that looks across to Olympic Park.

The London Edition is the brainchild of Ian Schrager, who founded Studio 54 in New York and is on Berners Street, where Fitzrovia meets Soho. It’s got some great places to mingle, including a lofty-ceilinged lobby, cocktail den the Punch Room and glitzy grill Berners Tavern. The sleek bedrooms have walnut-wood accents, Le Labo bath potions and, in some, private patios that look out over Central London.

The opulent Corinthia has a prime spot in Whitehall Place, near the National Gallery. There are four floors of wellness facilities, including a Thermal Floor with regular pool, vitality pool, steam room, ice room, amphitheatre sauna and heated beds. There’s also a Tom Kerridge restaurant, Kerridge’s Bar & Grill. Though every bedroom is outfitted lavishly, the penthouses are the ultimate in extravagance – almost all have large terraces with views of either the Thames, Trafalgar Square or the hotel’s own manicured courtyard.

Where Belgravia borders Pimlico, you’ll find high-tech hotel Eccleston Square. Each of its modern, monochrome bedrooms has a Hästens bed with massage settings, a TV that’s hidden in a mirror and an in-room tablet that controls practically everything. Unfortunately there’s no button for managing the weather outside yet but if you do get lucky with it, you can watch London go by, and enjoy views of the hotel’s pretty private gardens, from the balcony king room.

You’ll feel as if you’re floating on water in the Riverview Balcony Suite at Sea Containers on the South Bank – the open-plan bedroom has wall-to-wall windows and a furnished private patio with views over the Thames, the London Eye, St Paul’s and Tower Bridge. When you’ve finished gazing, enjoy award-winning cocktails at Lyaness bar, snack on sharing plates at the riverfront restaurant or groove to live music at rooftop bar 12th Knot.

This contemporary hotel designed by Foster + Partners on the Strand, is a popular night spot, thanks to the Radio Rooftop Bar, laid back Marconi Lounge and chic steakhouse STK, the only one in London. The all-white bedrooms are soundproofed and many offer Covent Garden and city views, or vistas of the Thames from their balconies. You can’t be much better located for theatre-going in the West End or a visit to Somerset House across the road.

Hotel Cafe Royal occupies a broad sweep of Piccadilly and beneath its copper dome is the hotel’s Dome Penthouse, a party-ready pad with acres of living space, three bedrooms and a DJ system for hosting your own get togethers. But it’s the furnished wrap-around veranda that really wows, with views over Piccadilly Circus, Westminster and the rooftops of Regent Street. Afternoon tea in the Oscar Wilde Lounge is great fun.