Hotels Fred Astaire Has Stayed At

A former ice rink now serves as Grosvenor House’s Great Room, a ballroom large enough to seat 2,000 for dinner—a telling detail at this Park Lane hotel, where entertaining happens on a considerable scale. An Art Deco–inspired ballroom adds to that character, while the Park Room offers a more intimate introduction through afternoon tea, live piano and views of Hyde Park across the road. Today part of JW Marriott, the Mayfair hotel pairs rooms with marble bathrooms and pillowtop beds with a distinctly American dining thread: USDA beef at JW Steakhouse and more than 500 bourbons at the Bourbon Bar. The park provides an appealing starting point for exploring beyond the hotel.

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.