Wood-fired Beijing duck and a tenth-floor view over Hyde Park give the Royal Garden Hotel a dining room worth building an evening around. Min Jiang, its Chinese restaurant, is also a good introduction to a hotel whose outlook is central to its character. Set on Kensington High Street beside Kensington Gardens, the Royal Garden carries the neighborhood into refurbished rooms inspired by the surrounding greenery and street life. Garden-facing rooms and Park Suites make the most of that setting; other rooms look toward the high street. Downstairs, Origin Kensington focuses on seasonal British produce, while Piano Kensington adds cocktails and live piano music—a reason to linger after a day exploring Kensington.
Hand-painted trompe l’oeil marbling and chandeliers give The Lanesborough’s Withdrawing Room its elaborate character, with Wellington Arch framed beyond the windows. That taste for Regency decoration carries through the hotel’s individually furnished rooms and suites, each with dedicated butler service around the clock. Interior designer Alberto Pinto directed the renovation of this historic mansion at the edge of Hyde Park, where the setting puts Knightsbridge and Sloane Street shopping within easy reach. There is good reason to linger inside, too: chef Shay Cooper’s Lanesborough Grill centers its modern British cooking on seasonal produce from across the country, while the Library Bar keeps a collection of rare spirits.
Maxfield Parrish’s Old King Cole mural has presided over drinks at The St. Regis New York since 1932, giving its namesake bar a place in the hotel’s story as memorable as its Fifth Avenue address. That sense of continuity runs through this hotel founded by John Jacob Astor IV: butlers still unpack luggage and deliver morning coffee, while La Maisonette takes its design cues from the original 1910s breakfast room. Guest rooms bring jewel-toned textiles, polished brass and marble into the residential interiors. At Fifth Avenue and 55th Street, near MoMA and Central Park, the hotel makes a distinctive base for Manhattan, with afternoon tea and a Red Snapper at the King Cole Bar providing reasons to linger indoors.
Sandstone alcoves, brick archways and a domed atrium give InterContinental Sydney’s Treasury bar a setting rooted in the city’s 1851 Treasury Building. That restored government building lends the hotel its architectural character, with a curved central bar and botanical cocktails bringing everyday life into the historic interiors. Upstairs, guest rooms look toward Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Royal Botanic Gardens or the city skyline, depending on the room. Aster, the rooftop bar on level 32, makes the harbor panorama part of an evening out. Circular Quay is the hotel’s neighborhood, putting the Opera House, gardens and historic Rocks district within walking distance.
