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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 just underwent a $123-million renovation and reopened this year. Fans of the old-world, 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 is slated for 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 will reopen in January 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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London’s star chef has unveiled his first hotel project, with a restaurant that has been booked solid since it opened in September. But don’t imagine that Ramsay is trying to channel the glamour of Claridge’s where his three-star flagship is housed. This is the opposite extreme in many ways. First, of all he has forsaken the posh area of Mayfair for a scruffy street in Camden. And while the building is historic, there’s nothing grand about it. Rather, Ramsay has taken a former coaching inn on the edge of Regent’s Park and transformed it into a cozy refuge with a bustling bar and restaurant and ten guest rooms. Forget a marble lobby, here there’s just a polished wood reception desk next to a narrow stairway. On the opposite side of the bar sits a quaint deli area, where stacks of crates from Spitfals market testify to the home-grown ethics of the enterprise. The best rooms are the Regency Suite, which overlooks Regent’s Park and features a fireplace and seating area and Suite #4 or the Stable Suite, which is reached via a separate entrance and stairwell so it feels almost like a private flat. All of the rooms have been outfitted with hearty Old English goods such as oak tables, brass lamps, British linens, even top-of-the-line mattresses from Buckinghamshire. (The designer has sworn that everything was sourced in the United Kingdom). The name comes from one of Prince Frederick’s titles, Duke of York and Albany. Rooms from $287.

Read about the York & Albany restaurant.