Central hotel overlooking 18th-century square This hotel features 445 guestrooms on nine floors. Windows open to the street, and are double-glazed for quiet. Guestroom decor includes tartan curtains, quilted duvets, gold-toned lamps, and traditional dark-oak furnishings, including TV cabinets topped with black granite. Amenities include satellite TV, data ports for modem Internet access, and dual-line telephones with voice mail. All rooms have minibars, in-room safes, and US 110V plugs. Marble bathrooms offer robes, telephone extensions, hair dryers, and scales. What to expect: Vacationers rub shoulders with suited executives in the T-shaped marble lobby of this distinctive hotel, where Winston Churchill used to stop for drinks in the mahogany-paneled bar. The interior blends elements of classic decor chandeliers, polished marble columns and floors, oil paintings, and plasterwork ceiling with contemporary comforts.

Amenity highlights: This hotel's fitness center, with sauna and showers, is open around the clock, and guests have use of a private lighted tennis court. For a night on the town, guests may book reservations for West End shows at the lobby Theater Desk.

Insider tip: Fans of classical music should plan an evening at Wigmore Hall, one of London's most famous music venues. The century-old concert hall is just 4 blocks east of the hotel and features a year-round program of chamber music. The Churchill's 24-hour fitness center features wooden floors, weight and cardio machines, TVs, sauna, showers, and lockers. Guests have free use of a lighted outdoor tennis court. Other amenities include 24-hour room service, a business center off the lobby with computers and high-speed Internet access (fee), and a hair salon. Locanda Locatelli - A chic, ultra-contemporary restaurant with camel-colored banquettes, teak paneling, and Michelin-star Italian cuisine. Open for lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday.

Terrace on Portman Square - Plush, tied-back curtains frame views of Portman Square from this dramatic restaurant just off the lobby. Huge brass chandeliers hang above tables dressed with tiny topiaries and scarlet-upholstered dining chairs. Modern international cuisine is served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The Churchill Bar & Cigar Divan - This intimate English bar feels