Ham Yard Hotel

Firmdale Hotels is a revered name in London’s vanity circles, and the design penchant of its co-owner, Kit Kemp, has made her a style celebrity. Tucked into a mews north of Piccadilly Circus, it’s preferred by social butterflies—the huge ground floor bar and four-lane basement bowling alley/cinema complex swarm during the weekend. The hive of activity can put a frenetic spin on a sundowner, but rooms (no two identical, each one seemingly ripped from a design magazine) are buffered from the buzz with soundproofing, plump queen beds, floor-to-ceiling windows, and generous bathrooms of granite and oak with walk-in showers. You’re paying for coolness.