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Probably the best new old-comer is the Four Seasons Park Lane, the longest operating Four Seasons in the world, which has undergone a magnificent transformation. The two-year renovation, which cost more than $200 million, was entrusted to French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, who has previously worked his magic on the Four Seasons in Paris and Washington DC. Overall, the property feels a lot more fresh and contemporary, though the ground-floor public areas showcase an elegant, Art Deco-inspired décor, with such whimsical touches as full-height, sculptural plaster relief depicting frolicking deer and bronze equine sculptures in the lobby.

The property slashed the number of rooms (from 217 to 192) and now also has 45 sumptuous suites. Interiors resemble elegant state rooms aboard a luxury passenger ship with separate dressing areas connecting bath to bedroom, dark lacquered mahogany wood and polished chrome detailing. Black-and-white photos of British Vogue fashion shoots from the 1950s and ‘60s adorn the hallways and add glamour.

Guests have access to the stunning rooftop gym and spa—a London first—on the specially created tenth floor. This ribbon in the sky has 360-degree views of landmarks, including Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace. Even the saunas have views, and the spa has nine glass-walled treatment rooms, each with their own individual relaxation pods. The 10th-floor lounge serves as a breakfast room, a place for healthy lunches for pampered spa guests and a cocktail hot spot, telescope included.

More hearty fare is served at Amaranto, the hotel’s three-story Italian bar and restaurant. The place, complete with an outdoor terrace, takes its cue and name from the plum-colored Amaranthe flower. Inside, it’s romantic and cozy with rich burgundy tones, wine-colored velvet arm chairs, padded red leather walls and a sleek black-leather bar. Bold designer touches include a colorful Murano glass installations featuring the four seasons and the martini trolley, the latter personally designed by Rochon. It’s a fabulous spot for a cocktail after a Mayfair shopping or sightseeing afternoon.

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Not a newcomer per se—the hotel originally opened in 1897 and was renamed the Connaught in 1917—this venerable property recently underwent a $123-million renovation. When our founder is asked for her favorite place to stay in London, these days, she swears by the new and fabulously old world Connaught. Longtime loyalists of the classic, 90-room property, within walking distance to Mayfair’s shops and art galleries, will be pleased that the art, antiques and original architectural flourishes have been preserved. For instance, the imposing solid mahogany staircase in the lobby was painstakingly restored, as were the rooms’ beautiful original details, like fireplaces and gilt mirrors. Modern-day travelers, meanwhile, will appreciate the addition of Wifi and iPod docks. A new wing with 33 more rooms/suites and a proper gym and pool opened in late 2009. In a major culinary coup, the hotel signed on French chef Hélène Darroze, whose Paris restaurant has two Michelin stars, to oversee the hotel’s dining, including a restaurant in her name and the legendary Grill, which opened in early 2009. The intimate, David Collins–designed Bar, which was unveiled in September, is already a hot spot for a pre-dinner cocktail (guests are also served daily changing, amuse bouche cocktails upon arrival). Rooms from £480 (about $850)

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A magnificent hotel with a great location, between Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner, the Dorchester lays its luxury on thick, which may be one reason it has long been the first choice in London for many Middle Eastern royals and for celebrities, such as Tom Cruise and Karl Lagerfeld. Opened in 1931 and completely refurbished in the late 1980s, the 249-room hotel welcomes guests at a porte-cochere facing Hyde Park that has been featured in several Hollywood films, including Woody Allen’s Match Point. The actor-director may have chosen it as a backdrop because the Dorchester is where he likes to stay in London—and that may be because it reminds him a bit of New York’s Carlyle Hotel, where he often plays jazz when he’s in his hometown. All the rooms overlook Hyde Park (you can often see people on horseback in the early morning). The simpler rooms are decorated in a supremely comfortable English style with floral chintzes; the suites have more elaborate Art Deco– and Regency-style furniture and fabrics. David Tang added some glamour to the property when he unveiled China Tang, a stylish restaurant inspired by Shanghai in the 1930s.

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An American’s vision of grand London, this five-star property was opened by Texan Caroline Hunt as a Rosewood hotel in 1991 and is now a St. Regis hotel. Located in a Regency building that once housed St. George’s Hospital, the Lanesborough, which has 49 rooms and 46 suites, commands a prime spot in Knightsbridge on Hyde Park Corner, facing Apsley House. While its majestic exterior was preserved, the interior was gutted. When the hotel first welcomed guests, its Regency-style rooms were the most expensive in the city. Everyone agreed that the marquetry-inlaid bedside tables, lush flower arrangements and beds crowned with silk swags dramatically evoked splendid British country estates, but many Anglophiles were horrified by the opulent furniture throughout and the false leather spines on the shelves in the Library Bar, off the lobby. Americans including Larry Hagman and Michael Jackson and carloads of corporate executives didn’t seem to mind, though—perhaps because there is no English reserve to the all-out bowing and scraping before guests. Mahogany paneling and tassel-edged silk curtains adorn even some of the hotel’s bathrooms, lest a young master of the universe momentarily forget just how important he is while stepping out of the shower. Other attentive touches are personalized stationery and, for every guest, a private butler who thinks of things like coffee delivered shortly after your wake-up call and hors d’oeuvres if you have pre-dinner visitors. The Lanesborough may not feel truly British, but the service is caring and the location conveniently central, just a few blocks from Harrods and the easy jogging paths in Hyde Park and Green Park. Rooms from $670.

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