Hotels Audrey Hepburn Has Stayed At

A Chihuly chandelier in the Foyer gives Claridge’s a fitting introduction: design is central to this Mayfair hotel, where Victorian grandeur and Art Deco geometry shape the public rooms. The bedrooms carry that range further, spanning Victorian, Deco, and contemporary styles rather than following a single decorative template. Afternoon tea in the Foyer & Reading Room remains one of the hotel’s defining rituals, while the intimate Fumoir has been serving cocktails since 1929. The spa adds another architectural draw, with a heated pool beneath a multi-vaulted ceiling supported by stone columns. Outside, Brook Street and Davies Street place guests among Mayfair’s shopping streets, within easy reach of Hyde Park.

Edwardian rooms in gray and tangerine and Art Deco rooms in gold and caramel give The Savoy two distinct visual identities, reflecting the eras that shaped it. The theatrical connection runs deeper than the decor: the hotel was built to accommodate travelers coming to see Gilbert and Sullivan at the Savoy Theatre. Today, its private approach off the Strand puts Covent Garden and the West End within a short walk, while river-facing rooms look across the Thames. Inside, floral sculptures rise above the lobby’s black-and-white marble floor, afternoon tea unfolds beneath Gallery’s glass dome with live piano, and the American Bar makes cocktails part of the hotel’s enduring social life.

Palm Court’s crystal canopy sets the tone at Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid, a Belle Époque palace where the dining rooms are as much a draw as the address. Beneath it, the all-day restaurant serves contemporary interpretations of Ritz classics under chef Quique Dacosta’s direction. His two-Michelin-starred Deessa occupies the Alfonso XIII room, with a terrace overlooking the Ritz Garden. The hotel sits between the Prado Museum and Retiro Park, placing art and open space close at hand. Upstairs, accommodations range from courtyard-facing rooms to suites overlooking the Prado and Plaza de la Lealtad, with marble bathrooms and a classic approach to interiors that carries the palace’s character into the private spaces.

The Power Breakfast gives Loews Regency New York Hotel a place in the city’s working life: the tradition began in the mid-1970s, when founder Bob Tisch gathered business and political leaders to discuss New York’s financial crisis. It continues at The Regency Bar & Grill, downstairs from 379 guest rooms, including 58 suites. Upstairs, six signature suites take distinctly different approaches to apartment living, from Meyer Davis’s SoHo-inspired Uptown Bohemian Suite to Nate Berkus’s 21st-floor apartment with a formal living room, kitchen, and balcony. At Park Avenue and 61st Street, the hotel puts that residential character within easy reach of Central Park and Madison Avenue shopping.

Ludwig Bemelmans’s murals and nightly piano at Bemelmans Bar give The Carlyle an identity that extends well beyond its guest rooms. Cabaret at Café Carlyle makes music central to this Upper East Side Art Deco landmark, where art and entertaining shape the public spaces. In The Gallery, decorator Renzo Mongiardino took inspiration from Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, creating a distinctive setting for afternoon tea. Upstairs, rooms include designs by Tony Chi and Thierry Despont, while suites furnished with original artwork carry a residential character. Central Park, Madison Avenue, and nearby galleries put the neighborhood within easy reach, but the hotel’s own rooms for music, drinks, and conversation are reason enough to spend an evening here.

The Pierre’s Rotunda makes a theatrical centerpiece: Edward Melcarth’s hand-painted trompe l’oeil murals, added in 1967, sit beneath a ceiling depicting bright blue sky. That appetite for grand rooms defines this Fifth Avenue hotel, which opened in 1930 directly across from Central Park. Its French Classical architecture gives it a palatial character, while Two E Bar & Lounge offers a more residential setting. Originally the gentleman’s library, the space was redesigned by Alexandra Champalimaud to evoke an Upper East Side home and now hosts live jazz. At Perrine, French-American dishes share the menu with Indian cuisine—a fitting expression of a New York institution that is also Taj’s North American flagship.

Private terraces overlooking Sixth Avenue and 54th Street give some of the Warwick’s accommodations an unusually expansive relationship with Midtown. The hotel’s Renaissance and Art Deco architecture sets the tone for a stay with a decidedly traditional streak: marble bathrooms, suites with separate living areas, and Randolph’s Bar & Lounge, where dark wood paneling frames the seating. Breakfast takes place amid the artwork at Murals on 54. Built by publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst in 1926, the Warwick still makes architectural character part of its appeal. Its address also puts the Museum of Modern Art nearby, with Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue, and Central Park within easy reach.

Antique furniture, hand-carved wood paneling and hand-painted murals give Hôtel Raphaël its distinctly traditional Parisian character. Built in 1925, the hotel occupies a stone building with an intricately sculpted facade on avenue Kléber, steps from the Arc de Triomphe in the 16th arrondissement. It belongs to Les Hôtels Baverez, a collection of three Paris hotels managed by the same family for four generations. Its rooftop garden takes in the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Sacré-Cœur, adding a sweeping perspective to an address defined by decorative detail. The hotel is currently undergoing a makeover, with a return announced for 2027.

Royal blue in the lobby, a grand staircase and rooms furnished with silks and antique art give the Ritz Paris its richly layered character. César Ritz chose a private mansion on Place Vendôme for the hotel he opened in 1898; he and his wife, Marie-Louise, approached it as a vast private home, mixing periods and French decorative traditions. That residential idea still gives shape to a stay, from individually styled accommodations to the wood-paneled Salon Proust, where books and armchairs frame afternoon tea. Outside, the Grand Jardin extends the hotel’s sequence of salons into greenery, with magnolias, a fountain and wooden alcoves along a trellis gallery.