The Rubens at the Palace

"Watch the guardsmen in the Royal Mews from the windows of this historic hotel on Buckingham Palace Road, where you’ll be treated like a VIP from the moment you step into the Rubens' lobby. Built in the 1800s to host debutantes attending parties at the Palace, the property has traditional English decor that includes marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and plush rooms and suites filled with antiques and original artwork. For dinner, tuck into the Dover sole or hand-chopped Buccleuch Estate sirloin at The Library, and end the meal with a scoop of honeycomb ice cream. A stylish new Leopard Bar debuted in May 2018."

"With a history to rival the ‘modern’ Palace of Westminster, The Rubens dates back to 1700. Since 1997, a number of flash restaurants and bars have been an integral part of the four-star hotel. In the English Grill, a room of opulence and Ruinart Rose, a lobster Arnold Bennett is an £18 undertaking; a Kobe beef fillet is £60. The Cavalry Bar is an altogether more relaxed affair, with a focus on drinking, though stone-baked pizzas, variously topped with chicken and chorizo, prawn and chilli, or goats’ cheese and red onion may help combat any potentially sedative brandy drinking. The Curry Room, meanwhile, has one of the simplest and shortest displays in London: a £35 set menu begins with a starter of poppadoms, samosas and chutneys, mains include butter chicken and beef vindaloo, and dessert might be kulfi or trifle — a true colonial relic." - Josh Barrie