| 5 miles from hyde park. check-in time: 3:00 pmcheck-out time: 12:00 pm. contemporary rooms come with 24-hour room service, minibars, free wi-fi and flat-screen tvs. suites add sofabeds. in a victorian building, this polished hotel is 2 minutes' walk from gloucester road tube station, a 12-minute walk from the victoria and albert museums decorative art exhibits and 1. amenities include a trendy restaurant, a sleek bar/lounge, a sauna and a fitness room, plus a business centre and 9 meeting rooms
Heathrow Airport 30 min
Hyde Park (7 min)
Huge green space, home to Diana Memorial Fountain, with boating and swimming in the Serpentine lake. Tower of London (27 min)
Centuries of bloody history around a medieval castle, home to Crown Jewels and iconic Beefeaters. Buckingham Palace (12 min)
Visitors can tour the palace's opulent private and state rooms or watch the changing of the guard. Palace of Westminster (16 min)
Neo-Gothic masterpiece and seat of the UK government. Guided tours on Saturdays and in summer. Victoria and Albert Museum (8 min)
Blockbuster exhibitions and permanent decorative arts collection, with design shop and ornate cafe. lastminute.com London Eye (20 min)
Huge observation wheel giving passengers a privileged bird's-eye view of the city's landmarks. Trafalgar Square (15 min)
Nelson's Column rises above this iconic square's LED-lit fountains, artworks and lion statues. Tower Bridge (30 min)
Panoramic views from high level walkways and behind-the-scenes access to original lifting machinery. Big Ben (14 min)
16-storey Gothic clocktower and national symbol at the Eastern end of the Houses of Parliament. Kensington Palace (14 min)
Royal palace and gardens, with exhibits on former residents like Queen Victoria and Princess Diana. The National Gallery (16 min)
Trafalgar Square art museum whose masterworks trace the development of Western European painting. St. Paul's Cathedral (24 min)
Churchyard and gardens outside Saint Paul's cathedral, with a floor-plan of the original building. Westminster Abbey (15 min)
Protestant abbey hosting daily services and every English and British coronation since 1066. Natural History Museum (8 min)
Landmark museum of animals and natural phenomena, with hands-on exhibits and animatronic dinosaurs. The British Museum (21 min)
Huge showcase for global antiquities, including Egyptian mummies and ancient Greek sculptures. | 
