The Marylebone

Naming a hotel after a neighborhood is a clear sign that your aim is to more or less sum the place up, and in that the Marylebone succeeds. Once an outlying village, now part of central London, Marylebone itself is an odd mix: its quiet, rather posh residential neighborhoods and its smallish, highly individual retail offerings lie within striking distance of Oxford and Bond Streets, home to some of the world’s best (and busiest) shopping, not to mention Hyde Park and, at a stretch, the theatres of the West End. Not a bad all-purpose home base for a visit to the capital, and not a bad place for a boutique-influenced luxury hotel like the Doyle Collection’s Marylebone.

With 257 rooms and suites it’s not exactly a mom-and-pop operation, but the Marylebone rarely feels anywhere near as large as it is. The style is 20th-century classic, with some Art Deco overtones, and if the standard rooms aren’t quite palatial in size, the feel is luxe through and through. There’s a ton of meeting space and a bustling restaurant and bar, as well as a fully equipped gym and an indoor pool. It’s a worthy option for any visit to the West End, but for shoppers in particular — this is about as close as you get to sleeping at Selfridge’s without stowing away in the department store’s home furnishings section.