This charming 19th-century stuccoed townhouse lies in the gorgeous residential area of Little Venice where canals are lined with colourful narrow-boats and pretty foliage, so if you’re looking for romantic, there’s really not many better places to stay in London. The 43 four-star rooms (including seven suites, two of which are named after one-time visitors, Sigmund Freud in 1938 and JFK in 1962) are full of period charm and individually decorated, featuring four-poster beds, rich fabrics and antiques. Many also have small terraces with canal views. Frette bed linens, bowls of apples and Highland Aromatics’ wildflower toiletries in the reasonably sized bathrooms are pleasing extras. Its curiously shaped 1920s lift (used to transport stretchers when the building was a hospital) is a quirky historical throwback, while the softly lit tapas bar is a thoroughly modern innovation. A note of caution: avoid the two basement bedrooms, which reverberate with Underground rumblings, and the top floor, inaccessible by lift. This is not the place to stay if you want to be in the heart of the action, but the slightly offbeat location (only in fact a 15-minute tube journey from Oxford Circus) means that the luxurious rooms are very reasonably priced. Minnie the cat can be persuaded into pet duty at no extra cost.