Grand Hotel Bellevue London

For travelers sensitive to London’s atmosphere, who like to set down their suitcases away from the hustle and bustle, without ever really straying far from it.

Just a stone’s throw from Paddington Station and the lanes of Hyde Park, the Grand Hotel Bellevue is set in an elegant Victorian building on Norfolk Square, a peaceful urban oasis. The first London opus of French group Lignée Hôtels (Le Narcisse Blanc, Le Yndō), this 4-star hotel reinvents 19th-century railway hotels with a resolutely contemporary touch.

Fabrizio Casiraghi’s design contrasts English heritage with faraway escapes to Pondicherry or Buenos Aires. The 60 rooms, spread over five floors, feature a warm, natural palette in the spirit of a family home, with a few vintage touches.

The service, largely French-speaking, is warm without being overbearing. The Pondicherry bar has a hushed, cosmopolitan atmosphere, and breakfast is served in a discreetly charming green room.

• NOHrD’s signature fitness studio, for a morning session before diving back into vibrant London.
• The “beautiful English house” ambience, with a twist of distant influences, designed like a movie set.
• The calm of Norfolk Square, surprisingly quiet in this well-connected district.
• Value for money, rare in London for this level of style and comfort.