Strand Palace Hotel

• Super-central London location
• A couple of cocktail bars
• Sustainable freebies in the rooms

The Strand Palace Hotel is in the heart of London’s theatreland, just five minutes’ walk from Covent Garden and just a little further from Trafalgar Square. It’s named after the road it finds itself on, which is one of the capital’s busiest and most famous stretches. The Strand Palace has been hosting guests since 1909 (but don’t worry, the whole place had a head-to-toe revamp in 2019, so it’s looking fresh!).

Rooms are modern and stylish, but the extras are where this place excels. You’ll find Love Cocoa chocolate bars in every room, along with reusable BottleUP water bottles. You can use these to fill up at one of the many water stations dotted all over the hotel’s seven floors. Luxe Rituals toiletries come as standard, too. Upgrade to a Deluxe room, meanwhile, and you’ll have access to a complimentary minibar.

The hotel’s restaurants and bars are popular spots for guests and Londoners alike. Haxwells plates up seabass fillets, crab linguine, burgers and salads, while the nearby tea parlour deals in bites and loose leaf tea. Joe Allen’s is the place to head for live music every Wednesday, or you can venture to the cocktail-cum-gin bar for a pre-theatre drink. And then there’s oh-so-glam Tequila Mockingbird, which boasts seriously Insta-worthy interiors and even better daily happy hours. A gym, business centre and top-quality Guest Services facility round things up.