Luxury Travel Advisor | Hotel Bookings

The Londoner is a five-star hotel on the south-west corner of Leicester Square in London’s West End, and the world’s first self-styled “super boutique” hotel. Opened in 2021 by the family-owned Edwardian Hotels London on the site of the former Odeon West End cinema, it rises 16 storeys (including six below ground), which gives it one of the deepest habitable basements in the world.

The hotel holds 350 rooms and suites, six restaurants and bars, a wellness floor called The Retreat (named Best Urban Spa by Organic Spa Media), a residents-only lounge called The Residence, two private screening rooms and a ballroom for up to 850 guests. It was named Hotel of the Year at the 2022 AHEAD Europe Awards and ranks among London’s best hotels in Condé Nast Traveller’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2024 and 2025.

The Londoner is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ Legend Collection, alongside Fora Reserve and Virtuoso. I was hosted by the hotel during its Preferred Pride celebrations, and the views here are my own, written independently as a Fora Travel advisor affiliated with all three programmes, which means I can book it for you with added perks at no extra cost.

Quick Facts

• Location: 38 Leicester Square, West End, London
• Category: Five-star “super boutique” urban resort
• Distinctions: World’s first super boutique hotel; AHEAD Europe Hotel of the Year (2022); Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice (2024 and 2025); The Retreat named Best Urban Spa; Preferred Hotels & Resorts Legend Collection
• Best for: A central London staycation, first-time visitors who want to be in the heart of the city, a theatre or West End weekend, and travellers who want a hotel that doubles as a daytime base
• Standout features: Floor-to-ceiling Leicester Square views (with in-room binoculars in Square-facing rooms), navy-tiled wet rooms, Whitcomb’s summer terrace, The Residence residents’ lounge, The Retreat wellness floor
• Key perks available: Daily breakfast for two, $100 credit, room upgrade and early check-in / late check-out (subject to availability), welcome gift
• Booking fees: None
• Reviewed by: Steve Michailidis, Preferred Platinum, Virtuoso and Fora Reserve advisor, June 2026

Why would a London resident book a hotel near home? Two reasons. The best way to judge a city hotel is to actually live in it for a night, not to walk through it on an inspection with a coffee in hand. And as a Londoner, I love being able to explore my own city without thinking about the last Tube or the queue for a taxi home after a night out. My stay came as a guest of The Londoner during its Preferred Pride celebrations, and the idea of a “resort within a city” is a tall claim for a building wedged into Leicester Square, so I was glad of the chance to test it properly.

The premise is genuinely unusual. Edwardian Hotels calls The Londoner an urban resort, and unlike a lot of marketing language, that one mostly holds up. There is a subterranean wellness floor, a residents-only lounge, six places to eat and drink and a pair of cinemas, all stacked into one address. It meant I didn’t need a reason to leave, which is the entire point. There is also no resort fee, which is worth saying plainly given how many properties now bolt one on.

What follows is what I actually experienced over the stay, plus a few things I saw but did not use, which I have flagged honestly so you know exactly what you are booking.

The Londoner Location: Leicester Square and the West End on Your Doorstep

You cannot be more central than this. The Londoner sits on Leicester Square itself, which puts the West End theatres, Chinatown, Covent Garden, Soho and the National Gallery within a few minutes on foot. Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross are both close, so arrivals by Tube or train are simple, and the area is well served late into the night.

Leicester Square has a reputation among Londoners for being busy and tourist-heavy, and I will not pretend otherwise. The clever thing about the building is how thoroughly it shuts that out. Once you are inside, the double-glazing and the depth of the place mean the square’s noise disappears. If anything, the location becomes an asset you observe from above rather than something you fight through at street level. It was fascinating to watch so many people queue for theatre tickets in the morning.

If it is your first visit to the city, my guide to spending a first day in London like a local pairs well with a stay here, since almost everything in it is walkable from the front door.

The Londoner Rooms: What to Expect (and the Leicester Square View)

Rooms start at 24 square metres, which is generous for somewhere this central, where plenty of competitors push you into something half the size. I stayed in a Deluxe King City View room on a Square-facing side, and the view was the headline. Floor-to-ceiling windows look straight down onto Leicester Square, and there is a quirky, very welcome detail: a pair of binoculars on the sill for watching the goings-on below. It sounds gimmicky written down. In practice I spent far longer than I expected just watching the square fill and empty.

The bathroom is the other talking point. These are moody, navy-tiled wet rooms with a separate soaking tub and shower, finished with Miller Harris “Tea Tonique” amenities. It reads as a spa moment rather than a standard hotel bathroom, and the Toto washlet is a nice touch of Japanese precision. The shower itself is a regular one rather than a rainfall head, which is worth knowing if that matters to you. The only other thing to flag is that the tub and shower share the wet-room floor, so the whole space gets used as one zone.

The rest is well judged. A Nespresso machine and an Alessi kettle, a safe large enough to swallow a laptop, a steamer, iron, hairdryer, bathrobe and slippers, an umbrella by the door, and bottled water that gets quietly replenished at turndown. None of it is showy. All of it works.

A few small touches stayed with me more than the big-ticket features: a duck-head umbrella by the door, slippers stamped “Take me home”, and more. That last one is exactly the kind of detail guests photograph and remember, and it tells you the hotel is paying attention to the things that do not strictly need to be there. (And yes, I did take them home.)

Interested in a Square-facing room with that view? Get in touch for a free quote and I will confirm a Deluxe City View on a high floor for your dates, with your breakfast and credit locked in before you arrive.

The Londoner Restaurants and Bars: Whitcomb’s, Joshua’s Tavern and 8

The Londoner has six food and drink venues, which is a lot for a hotel of this size, and it means you genuinely do not need to book elsewhere unless you want to.

Whitcomb’s is the signature restaurant, a Mediterranean and French all-day space on the ground floor. The plates are aesthetically pleasing and more considered than I expected from a hotel dining room: beef tartare finished with gold leaf, burrata and heritage tomato bruschetta, and a playful streak too (fresh fruit ice lollies brought to the table). In the warmer months Whitcomb’s opens its terrace, which is the hotel’s al fresco set piece and tends to run a seasonal Champagne partnership (a Veuve Clicquot floral installation was in place when I visited). If you are here when the terrace is open, that is where I would book dinner.

Joshua’s Tavern is the ground-floor bar, a proper take on a British pub with more than 40 varieties of gin and carefully built Gintonicas. It is named after Sir Joshua Reynolds, the eighteenth-century portrait artist who lived on Leicester Square, which is a neat bit of local history baked into the concept. It works as a pre-dinner stop or a nightcap.

Then there is 8 at The Londoner, the rooftop bar, a Japanese izakaya concept with a Shima Garden and a fire pit. I should be honest here: I saw 8 as part of a site inspection when the rooftop was quiet, so I can speak to the design but not to the evening atmosphere or the crowd it draws once it fills. The space itself is striking. I would treat the buzz as something to discover rather than something I can vouch for.

The Stage, in the lobby, is the hotel’s Champagne bar, with a live piano and drums set-up that runs in the evenings. It is good evidence that this is a hotel built for a night out and not just a place to sleep. You could walk in for a cocktail and stay for a set.

The Londoner Breakfast: What’s Included

Breakfast is served at Whitcomb’s and combines a cold buffet with a full à la carte menu (the smoked salmon on toast with a soft egg is the order I would point you to). I will be honest about it: it was good enough to get me out of bed but not the most spectacular hotel breakfast I have had. What I did appreciate was the calm. I went down at about half nine and the restaurant was quiet, which is not always the case in a hotel this size. It normally runs at £39 per person, but it is included in the Preferred Partner and advisor rates I book, so for my clients it is effectively part of the room, and at £39 each that adds up quickly over a few nights.

The Retreat: The Londoner’s Spa, Pool and Gym

The Retreat is the hotel’s wellness floor, set below ground, and it is a genuine differentiator rather than the token gym you get at a lot of city hotels. The fitness side is properly kitted out: a full Technogym set-up, kettlebells, corebags, and massage guns available on request, plus a Refuel bar for juices and post-workout food. As a place to actually train, it is a cut above.

The Retreat also houses the spa, with a hydropool, sauna, steam room, treatment rooms and secluded cabanas, and it was named Best Urban Spa by Organic Spa Media. I will be straight with you here: I saw the spa and pool but did not use them on this stay, and there were other guests in, so I did not photograph the space. I can tell you it is there, that it is handsome, and that the award is deserved on the strength of what I saw, but I cannot review a treatment I did not have. If a spa day matters to your booking, tell me and I will get the current treatment menu and timings confirmed before you commit.

The Residence: The Londoner’s 24-Hour Residents’ Lounge

The Residence is the part of the hotel I would single out if you only remember one thing. It is a first-floor lounge open to all guests, with complimentary non-alcoholic drinks and snacks through the day and a full bar and food menu if you want to order something more. A free residents’ lounge of this quality is genuinely unusual, and it changes how the hotel works. I used it as a daytime office, and it would be just as good for an informal meeting or for killing an hour before check-in.

One honest note. In the evening the sound from the lobby piano at The Stage carries up into The Residence. That is lovely if you want atmosphere and less ideal if you were hoping for a quiet evening workspace. During the day it is calm. Later the music makes it part of the show.

Service at The Londoner: The Details That Stand Out

Service at The Londoner leans warm and switched-on rather than formal, which suits the building. The team clearly take pride in the small things, the turndown, the replenished water, the sense of being recognised as you move between the venues. For a hotel of 350 rooms it manages to feel attentive rather than processed, which is the whole “super boutique” idea earning its keep.

The detail that won me over was that I never queued to check in or out. There is a dedicated reception area, but I did not have to find it or wait at it. The moment I walked in, a member of the team greeted me, walked me over to the desk and handled the whole check-in personally. When I left, the same thing happened in reverse: I came out of the lift, was met before I had even reached reception, and was checked out. They also asked how my stay had been and whether there was anything they could have done better, which is a small question that a surprising number of hotels forget to ask.

What Booking The Londoner Through Me Gets You

The Londoner sits in three of the programmes I work with: Fora Reserve, Virtuoso and Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Because I am affiliated with all three, I can look at the rates and promotions live at the time of your booking and pick the one that gives you the best combination of perks and price. The core benefits are consistent across the programmes:

If you book one of the top suites (Capital, Signature or Tower Penthouse), some of the programmes add a Fortnum & Mason hamper and a drinks trolley or Champagne on arrival, which is worth knowing if you are booking a special occasion.

There is also a dedicated option for LGBTQIA+ travellers. The Londoner is part of Preferred Pride, Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ collection of LGBTQIA+ welcoming properties, which I can book at the best available rate with a $50 hotel credit and a special welcome amenity. During June, Preferred donates $5 from every Preferred Pride booking to the Trevor Project, the charity providing crisis support to LGBTQ+ young people. If that rate suits your trip better than the standard advisor perks, I will tell you which one gives you more and book accordingly. The offer terms are on the Preferred Pride page.

The reason this costs you nothing is simple. The hotel pays the advisor commission, not you, and I rate-match the hotel’s own best available rate, so you are not paying a premium for the perks. There are no booking fees. You book the same room you would have booked direct, at the same price, and the breakfast, credit and upgrade potential come on top.

A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Book

A handful of honest pointers, framed as I would brief a client rather than as a list of complaints.

The Square gets busy, so ask for a high floor. Leicester Square is one of the liveliest corners of London. The hotel insulates you from it beautifully, and a higher floor improves both the view and the quiet. I will request the highest available Square-facing room for you.

The Residence is a daytime gem and an evening social space. If you want it as a calm place to work, use it before the early evening. Once the piano starts, it becomes part of the buzz. Plan your working hours around that and it is a real asset.

The wet-room bathroom is one open zone. The soaking tub and shower share the floor, and the shower is a standard one rather than a rainfall head. It looks superb and feels generous, but if you strongly prefer a fully separated, fixed shower and bath, it is worth knowing in advance.

If you would rather avoid the West End crowds altogether, a different part of London might suit you better. My review of The Chelsea Townhouse, a residential boutique stay is a good counterpoint if you want quiet streets over a central buzz.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Londoner worth it, and is it one of the best hotels near Leicester Square?

Yes. The Londoner is the leading luxury hotel directly on Leicester Square and the only one positioned as an urban resort, with a wellness floor, a residents’ lounge and six food and drink venues under one roof. It is worth it if you value a central location and a hotel you can spend the whole day inside. If you want a traditional grande dame instead, The Langham, London is the more classic choice.

Where exactly is The Londoner located?

The Londoner is at 38 Leicester Square in London’s West End, on the square’s south-west corner. The theatres, Chinatown, Soho, Covent Garden and the National Gallery are all within a few minutes on foot, and Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross stations are close by.

What are the rooms like at The Londoner?

Rooms start at 24 square metres, which is spacious for central London, and feature floor-to-ceiling windows, navy-tiled wet rooms with a separate soaking tub and shower, Miller Harris amenities, a Toto washlet, a Nespresso machine and an Alessi kettle. Square-facing rooms look directly onto Leicester Square and come with a pair of binoculars for watching the square below.

What perks do you get booking The Londoner through a travel advisor?

Booking through me brings daily breakfast for two, a $100 credit for use during your stay, a welcome gift, a room upgrade on arrival and early check-in or late check-out, all subject to availability. Top-suite bookings can also receive a Fortnum & Mason hamper and Champagne or a drinks trolley. The rate is matched to the hotel’s best available rate and there are no booking fees.

Is The Londoner LGBTQIA+ friendly, and what is Preferred Pride?

Yes. The Londoner is part of Preferred Pride, Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ collection of LGBTQIA+ welcoming hotels. Booked through Preferred Pride, the stay comes with the best available rate, a $50 hotel credit and a special welcome amenity, and during June, Preferred donates $5 from every booking to the Trevor Project. I can book the hotel on either the Preferred Pride rate or the standard advisor rate, depending on which works out better for your dates.

Does The Londoner have a spa and a pool?

Yes. The Retreat is The Londoner’s subterranean wellness floor, with a 24-hour Technogym gym, a spa with a hydropool, sauna, steam room and treatment rooms, secluded cabanas, a hair salon, a nail bar and a barber. The Retreat has been named Best Urban Spa by Organic Spa Media.

Is there a resort fee at The Londoner, and is it good for a staycation?

There is no resort fee at The Londoner. It is one of the strongest staycation options in central London precisely because it works as an urban resort: between The Retreat, The Residence, the six venues and the two cinemas, you can fill a day and a night without leaving the building.

When is the best time to stay?

The Londoner is a year-round hotel given how much of it sits indoors and below ground. If the rooftop bar and Whitcomb’s terrace matter to you, aim for late spring through early autumn, when the outdoor spaces are open and the Champagne terrace is running.

Is The Londoner Worth It?

The detail I keep coming back to is the binoculars on the windowsill. There is something quietly confident about a hotel that hands you a tool to enjoy the very location most central London hotels spend their energy hiding you from. The Londoner does not apologise for sitting on Leicester Square. It puts you above it and lets you watch.

That confidence runs through the whole building. The “super boutique” label could easily have been empty, but the hotel mostly delivers on it: a property of 350 rooms that still manages small, considered touches, with enough inside it (the spa floor, the residents’ lounge, the cinemas, the six venues) to justify the urban-resort claim. For a central London staycation, it is one of the easiest recommendations I can make.

I will give you the honest limits too. I did not use the spa or pool on this stay, so I am reporting those as facilities I saw rather than treatments I tested, and I caught the rooftop on a quiet day, so the evening scene at 8 is something you will discover rather than something I can promise. The Residence is a daytime triumph that turns social in the evening, which you will love or want to plan around. None of that changes the overall verdict.

Where I add value is in the booking. I hold Fora Reserve, Virtuoso and Preferred Platinum here, so I will match you to the best rate, secure the highest Square-facing room available, and make sure your breakfast, $100 credit and upgrade potential are confirmed before you arrive, at no extra cost over booking direct. If you are planning a London stay, that is the difference between a good room and a genuinely well-handled one.