Great Scotland Yard London

This is a building whose fame, paradoxically, ends up obscuring it — “Scotland Yard” now refers to wherever the Metropolitan Police headquarters is, and the name followed the agency when it moved, over a century ago, into new digs closer to Westminster. Now Great Scotland Yard, the original Edwardian brick edifice, is back in circulation, this time as a luxury hotel in Hyatt’s Unbound Collection.

In this new guise it’s jam-packed with history — though its interiors have been completely rebuilt, they’re an homage to the building’s 19th-century grandeur, and the décor leans heavily on artworks and memorabilia recalling its glory years. The rooms and suites are more contemporary in style than the public spaces, though still grounded in tradition, and they’re full of the latest luxury-hotel comforts.

With a location just off Whitehall, it’s a hotel that does a fair bit of VIP business, and what you might call the penthouse is a particular gem — it’s actually a townhouse, spanning five floors right next door to the Great Scotland Yard proper. Ekstedt at The Yard is the name of Niklas Ekstedt’s signature restaurant, which is joined by a glamorous bar and café, a Parlour for afternoon tea and cocktails, and Sibin, a whisky bar.