3 Best Hotels in Bayswater, London

Near a canal filled with colorful narrow boats in the Little Venice neighborhood, this lovely town house offers individually styled rooms, some with rich brocades, velvets, and antiques, others with balconies. The 1920s elevator (believed to be one of the oldest still working in the United Kingdom) and the Wedgwood fireplace in the lobby add to the historic style, as does the "Sigmund Freud Suite" (Freud visited regularly in 1938). It's also the birthplace of Alan Turing, one of the fathers of computer science and the man who deciphered the German Enigma code in World War II.

Perfectly located just steps from the tranquility of Hyde Park to the south and the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street to the east, this sweet guesthouse oozes warmth, homeliness, and good value. With helpful hosts and simple but tastefully decorated rooms, it's the perfect little oasis in the middle of the hectic city. One grisly piece of historical trivia: it's situated near the site of the "Tyburn Tree," an enormous gallows used to execute prisoners from the Middle Ages until 1783 (and frequently referenced by Shakespeare)—a memorial on the street marks the spot. Tyburn is further immortalized in the small convent behind the hotel, which has a shrine dedicated to the hundreds of Catholics who were martyred there. The sisters conduct tours of the shrine.

Set inside a pair of refurbished Georgian town houses, these studio apartments near Hyde Park are done in soothing tones of white and gray, with polished wood floors and attractive modern kitchenettes equipped with all you need to make small meals. The standard units are quite small, but premium studios cost only £20 or so more and give you much more space to play. Bathrooms are new and modern, although they are not large.