Guides
Guides that help you pick the hotel brand to look for and the part of town to stay in.
GuidesAccor's hotel brands explained: which ones are luxury?
Accor sorts its hotels into five segments: Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel and MGallery sit under Luxury, Pullman and Swissôtel under Premium, ibis under Economy.
What should I check on a hotel's own page before I book?
Check the opening hours of whatever you are booking the hotel for, since a spa or a restaurant can close before you arrive. The Sofitel Spa at Sofitel London St James opens Monday 10:00 to 17:00 and Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:30. Restaurant 1890 at The Savoy closes on Sunday and Monday, and the pool at The Savoy takes its last entry at 20:30 on weekdays. Some hotels publish no hours at all: Novotel London Canary Wharf and Novotel London Paddington list an indoor pool with no times.
Then check what the stay includes and how you pay. Children eat breakfast free under 12 at Sofitel London St James and at Aparthotel Adagio London City East, and under 16 at Aparthotel Adagio London Stratford, with one paying breakfast per apartment, while ibis London City - Shoreditch charges for it. Pullman London St Pancras is fully cashless, and Novotel London Blackfriars, ibis London Blackfriars and ibis London City - Shoreditch take cards only.
Why do two official pages give different facts for the same hotel?
A hotel can appear on its own site, on all.accor.com and on its brand's site, and the figures on those pages do not always match. Pullman London St Pancras gives its largest meeting room as 352 m² on its own site, while Accor's page gives 552 m². Accor's pages put Novotel London Tower Bridge three minutes from Tower Bridge on one page and nine on another. Novotel's family page lets children up to 15 stay and eat breakfast free, while the Novotel London page speaks of two children under 16.
Where sources disagree, our pages print both figures, so you can see the gap before you book. Ask the hotel in writing about anything your stay depends on, such as a connecting room for children: Sofitel London Heathrow and Accor publish different counts of family and connecting rooms. For an opening time, the hotel's own page and a call to reception settle it, as with the gym at Novotel London Blackfriars, whose hours Accor prints as 6AM until 10AM.
How can I tell a real spa from a gym with a sauna?
Look for treatment rooms: a hotel spa has rooms where therapists give treatments, and a sauna, a steam room or a pool on their own do not make one. Novotel London Blackfriars has an indoor heated pool with a whirlpool and a combined sauna and steam room, but no treatment room. Novotel London Tower Bridge has a sauna and a steam room with no pool. Pullman London St Pancras runs a sauna from 06:00 to 23:00 beside a gym open 24 hours, and lists no spa.
Among the 21 hotels in Best hotels in London, four publish a spa with treatment rooms: Raffles London at The OWO, with nine in a 2,500 m² Guerlain Spa, Sofitel London Heathrow with five, Sofitel London St James with four and The Savoy, A Fairmont Hotel with three. Hyde London City offers treatments in your room through a partner, which works for a massage after a long day but gives you no spa to spend time in.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a London hotel's spa or pool without staying there?
Some hotels allow it, with conditions. The Savoy, A Fairmont Hotel sells day passes and admits outside guests to its pool when they book a treatment. Raffles London at The OWO opens its pool and thermal suite to non-residents only with a spa booking or a limited membership. The official pages of Sofitel London St James do not say whether non-guests can book its spa, and its gym is for hotel guests only.
Which Accor hotels in London set a minimum age?
Sanderson London and St Martins Lane London require the guest who checks in to be 18 or over. The Hoxton Southwark books guests of 13 and over as adults, The Savoy admits only over-18s to its gym, and Hyde London City opens its fitness suite to guests of 16 and over. At Sofitel London Heathrow, guests aged 16 and under may not use the sauna, the steam room or the hydro bath.
Which Accor hotels in London accept pets?
Six hotels in Best hotels in London say they do. TRIBE London Canary Wharf and Novotel London Excel welcome pets, Hyde London City welcomes dogs, and Sanderson London and St Martins Lane London accept pets up to 20 lb against a deposit. Mercure London Bankside allows pets for a charge. The rules at the two London Sofitels are unclear, so ask before you book.
Which Accor hotels in London have announced works or seasonal closures?
Novotel London Paddington is the main case: Accor announced a renovation of every guest room without publishing an end date, so ask which rooms are finished when you book. The Upper Deck terrace at Novotel London Excel was listed as under improvement works when the hotel was checked, and the roof terrace at Novotel London Canary Wharf is not served in winter.