Most people stroll past Hazlitt’s without ever knowing that there’s a sprawling, 30-room boutique hotel tucked away behind the Georgian facade on Frith Street. The four townhouses that make up the hotel date back to 1718, but Hazlitt’s only opened up its doors to the hoi polloi in 1986. Not that this makes the hotel feel any less magical. A traditionally-styled timewarp, Hazlitt’s is kitted out in full antique splendor; four poster beds, throne-style loos, ornate gilt mirrors and endearingly creaky staircases. Think Versailles via Steptoe and Son. But all is not as vintage as it seems - there are flatscreen TVs tucked away behind wood-pannelling, and deep, cosy armchairs that look the old-school part but offer modern comfort. There’s no onsite restaurant at Hazlitt’s, which means all breakfast is breakfast in bed. Staff can help swing bookings at nearby restaurants as well as sort out theatre tickets, and celebs like it too. The late, great Anthony Bourdian, said of the hotel’s two-storey the Duke of Monmouth suite: ‘It is like staying at a potty English uncle’s when he is not at home’.
Neighbourhood
Soho – forever London’s finest neighborhood – is packed full of the best restaurants, theatres, pubs and bars in the city – and still retains a faintly transgressive air.
Nearby
The Coach & Horses: One of London’s best pubs, complete with an untouched 1970s-era interior with wood-pannelled walls and intensely swirly carpets.
Quo Vadis: For the very best of British cooking order the legendary smoked eel sandwich at the iconic QV.
Soho Theatre: Get your fix of left-of-centre comedy and cabaret. There’s also a great, late-night bar.
Time Out tip Hazlitt’s atmospheric honesty bar feels like a particularly scandalous library. It’s open 24/7 and the perfect place to get plastered on port.