Claridge's!

The Lanesborough.

The Lanesborough
The Capital

Not as luxurious as the Lanesborough:

Knightsbridge hotel the location is great. Book the Junior Suite

Something a little out of the box:

http://www.firmdalehotels.com/london/covent-garden-hotel

Another Firmdale property, The Charlotte Street Hotel, is a wonderful place to stay although it is located in Fitzrovia. My favorite place.

Also take a look at the Kempinksi Stafford Hotel, hidden away near Green Park:

http://www.kempinski.com/en/london/the-stafford-london/welcome/

I would definitely have a look at the websites of these hotels to get a picture of what they're like - I think you may find several of them are VERY traditional.

The Milestone

www.thebentley-hotel.com

Location in the heart of Kensington is very good.I usually stay in the area. Have not booked at the Milestone as it's out of my price range but have had a good look. We can look can't we? The hotel is often referred to as the Rolls-Royce of London hotels.

The others mentioned are good options also. London does not lack luxious hotels if you're willing to pay the price.

I LOVE the Dorchester, it's traditional but beautiful with wonderful service. The Chinese restuarant there is wonderful and the bar for pre dinner cocktails is fab.
Claridge has one of the most comfy beds I have ever slept on and again wonderful service and a great bar!

The Manadrin Oriental gets rave reviews from friends who have stayed there, I have only been for drinks. The location is fantastic.

I also stayed at the Jumeriah Carlton towers just before Christmas and thought it a wonderful hotel. Luxurious rooms and again very very good service.( and if you are a shopper, again it's in a great location)

LOVED Claridges, especially when I saw Colin First arriving at the front door!

The Savoy
Brown's
The Dorchester

The Royal Horseguards in the heart of Whitehall...

The Corinthia, great location, beautiful newer hotel.

Claridges, Savoy, Mandarin Oriental, Lanesborough, Dorchester, Halkin.

For something very modern, The Sanderson.

We spent two nights at The Goring in 2005. I highly, highly, highly recommend this wonderful, intimate, charming hotel.

The Royal Horseguards is very nice but hardly in the same league as the other very upscale hotels mentioned.

(While I'd love to stay at the Lanesborough or Claridges, if The Goring was Kate Middleton's choice for her wedding headquarters . . . Good enough for me )

I agree is Janisj - if good enough for Kate Middleton its good enough for me!!

Egerton House Hotel. Of course I have never stayed there but a friend who did and seems to have high standards liked it very, very much. It is a little smaller than some of those mentioned above.

The Ritz.

Thanks so much for all your recommendations!

marking my place

Somewhere in the middle--The Chancery Court. Great location near Holburn station and walking distance to British Museum.

When we stayed it was owned by Marriott and called the Renaissance Chancery Court and we stayed on Marriott points. However, Marriott no longer owns it. It is a lovely historic building. Lovely lobby and large rooms which is a plus.

The Chancery Court was my favorite hotel when I was working and someone else was paying. We also stayed there several times on points or packages when it was a Marriott. It is a listed building, former Sun Life Assurance, I think an excellent job has been done on preserving the interior and exterior.

Every room I had was enormous, the lobby is beautiful and there's a great bar. I have not stayed there since Marriott sold it.

If money were no object I would stay at Claridge's but the Chancery Court would be a good choice, assuming the present owner has maintained the hotel to its high standard or improved on it.

I agree Cathinjoetown. The room we had was super large. We loved the marble staircase and the lobby too. The courtyard was wonderful and the location was perfect since it was practically next to the Holburn station which is on the central and piccadilly lines for easy access to everywhere we wanted to go.

We had afternoon tea at Claridges and really enjoyed that but can not speak about the rooms there.

When are you taking this trip? Very often luxury properties have great seasonal offers.

The Pelham in South Kensington is really fantastic. It's right across from the South Kensington tube stop. The rooms are gorgeous. It's has traditional service, but modern luxury. I would upgrade to a larger room so you can get a king size bed. I didn't find the Pelham stuffy. It gets great reviews on Trip Advisor and I've stayed there twice. I've been in some of the bigger grande dame hotels and they seemed a little stuffy and worn to me.

http://www.pelhamhotel.co.uk

Enjoy your trip!

We had a lovely stay at the Sofitel St. James..... great location. It's ranked 14 on Trip Advisor.