Luxury London

Three London neighbourhoods, three five-star hotels worth visiting. Here's where to eat, sleep and relax in style on a visit to the Capital...

Given its world-beating location just a few inches from Piccadilly Circus, you might expect the Méridien Piccadilly might lack the incentive to keep its standards high - so prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

Big and busy it may be, but it's also well-kept and comfortable. Rooms are unexpectedly spacious, have real character about them and are happily free of the bland anonymity that city-centre mega-hotels sometimes suffer from. High-quality furniture and furnishings are part of the reason for that, and you should find the beds extremely comfortable.

Along with its unbeatable address, the hotel's other crowning glory is its fitness centre. Gym-goers will realise they're in hotel heaven when they step inside the Piccadilly Health Club, which crams in not only a full array of exercise machines and equipment but also a huge swimming pool. Fitness facilities here are so far superior to the norm that they are a selling point in themselves. Even if you lack the motivation to hit the treadmill or swim some laps, you could relax in the Club's jacuzzi, steam room and spa.

The gym also makes a stay at the hotel much better value, given how much you'd pay for a day pass at a Central London fitness facility as good as this.

Once you've burned some calories, head downstairs where you'll find a regal atmosphere in the Oak Room Lounge, a perfect spot for some afternoon tea. The Burlington bar is the place to go for a more laid-back drinking venue.

Shopping

Did we mention how good the location is? A few steps from the hotel lobby is Regent Street, one of London's key shopping arteries and full of more big-name outlets than we could list here. Among the cream of the crop are giant toyshop Hamleys, a large branch of Zara and, imminently, the UK's first Banana Republic. Also close is Piccadilly Circus, where shoppers throng to a multi-story Zavvi music store, the sporting goods warehouse that is Lillywhites, and a Waterstone's that is one of Britain's largest book stores.

Eating

The hotel's Terrace Restaurant and Bar is brilliantly conceived, set in a glass atrium several floors up. Its contemporary design is blended cleverly with the existing century-old building. Being perched high up and boasting such an open design, it's phenomenally bright and affords great views out over Piccadilly, especially if you grab a table on the sun terrace.

Beyond the hotel, there's plenty of tourist-centric stodge available on the doorstep, but you should hurry away from that and into the quieter streets of Mayfair, where an array of classy restaurants await. For instance, a short walk from Le Méridien is the award-winning Tamarind, a peerless restaurant specializing in North-west Indian cuisine.

Rooms start from £189 per room per night. For further information and bookings call 08000 282 840 or visit www.leMéridien.com/piccadilly.