TRAVEL - TIME WELL SPENT AWARD WINNERS

BM
Aug 26
5 min read

Announcing London's WINNING hotels, spa and best landmark in the Time Well Spent Awards 2025

YOU have spoken, via tens of thousands of votes over the past six months, to crown London's BEST hotels and top landmark for the Time Well Spent Awards 2025.

The best luxury, family, boutique and dog-friendly hotels and the capital's top hotel spa, as well as London's favourite landmark have all been crowned.

And the winners are...

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LONDON'S BEST LUXURY HOTEL

WINNER: Sea Containers

There aren’t many hotels in London with views like Sea Containers. Perched on the edge of the Thames, it enjoys a vantage point across the city, taking in Big Ben, St. Paul’s, The City and the London Eye.

Inside, its opulently eccentric, Tom Dixon design takes its inspiration from glamorous, 1920s cruise liners.

For the most part, it’s sleek, modern and minimalist, with bars like the 12th Knot cocktail bar looking like a futuristic nightclub and one of London's most Instagrammable spas. But return to your room and you might find modern minimalism or old-world charm that nods to the hotel’s seafaring theme. The Cabin Suites in particular, boast oak panels, leather armchairs and vintage furniture to give the impression of an old ocean liner. And it even boasts its own, Curzon cinema.

Sea Containers 20 Upper Ground, London SE1 9PD

2025 Nominees: Claridge's, The Dorchester, Raffles at the OWO, The Peninsula, The Sanderson, art'otel, The Ham Yard, London Edition, The Standard, Chateau Denmark. Read more

LONDON'S BEST FAMILY HOTEL

WINNER: Mandarin Oriental

The five star Knightsbridge hotel offers the ultimate children's stays, inviting them to become a Sloane Ranger, Park Ranger or Royal Ranger. Each Little Ranger will receive surprises like a treasure hunt map, a bespoke toy chest filled with themed toys and costumes, to movie nights filled with popcorn and treats.

For babies, there is an exclusively designed, in-room nursery, filled with bespoke rocking horses, toy chests and hooded towels you can keep!

In-room fun includes Tipi Tents, Nitrogen Ice Cream trolleys, kids' afternoon tea, and in-room dining kids' menu.

They will also love the Mandarin Cake shop and the Mini M.O wellness - their spa's specialised treatments for children. Naturally, their family rooms are stunning and carefully designed for parents and kids, with interconnecting room options available.

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LA

2025 Nominees: Athenaeum Hotel, Brown's Hotel, The Lanesborough, The Berkeley, Pan Pacific London, Haymarket Hotel, One Aldwych Hotel, Park Plaza Westminster. Read more

LONDON'S BEST BOUTIQUE HOTEL

WINNER: The Mandrake

This dizzyingly luxurious, five-star hotel in the heart of Fitzrovia is a dark and moody womb of opulence.

Its 33 rooms - including three jaw-dropping suites and a penthouse - are lavishly decorated with rich velvets, exotic tapestries and unique artworks.

The theatrical Damu Spa boasts the world’s first multi-sensory Origin Pool and detoxifying Mud Caves.

Every element of the hotel is utterly unforgettable, romantic and bursting with creativity, from the destination bars, Waeska and Jurema, which offer ethnobotanical cocktails, to their South American-inspired restaurant YOPO.

The outdoor terrace is a hidden oasis inspire by nature and festooned with florals, and soft candlelight.

And all residents enjoy complimentary weekend Yoga, Sound Healing sessions and exclusive access to their Spiritual Concierge menu at their beautiful, emerald and black Spiritual Wellbeing space.

The Mandrake, 20-21 Newman St, London W1T 1PG

2025 Nominees: The Adria, Sun Street Hotel, Broadwick Soho, Chelsea Townhouse, Vintry & Mercer, Artist Residence, The Rookery, Lime Tree Hotel, Batty Langley's,, The Lost Poet, Hazlitt's

LONDON'S BEST DOG FRIENDLY HOTEL

WINNER: Mama Shelter

This beautiful Shoreditch Hotel treats your four-legged companions like the V.I.Paws they are, with the fabulous Mama Loves Dogs experience.

Pooches can dine in style at the restaurant, from their own menu of homemade dishes, including slow-cooked beef or braised chicken with rice and carrot sticks, plus dog biscuits baked in-house. They can even wash it down with posh pooch white or rosé wine or a Bottom Sniffer dog beer, served in bowls.

Dogs under 12kg can stay in the quirky and cool rooms and are even treated to their own doggie beds, toys and treats.

Mama Shelter, 437 Hackney Rd, London E2 8PP

2025 Nominees: Nhow London, Hotel 41, The Hoxton, Mayfair Townhouse, Nobu Hotel Shoreditch, Kimpton Fitzroy, Treehouse Hotel, Rosewood Hotel

LONDON'S BEST SPA

ESPA Life at Corinthia

Set across four dazzling floors of one of London's most luxurious, five star hotels, ESPA Life has set a new benchmark for wellness in the capital..

It combines advanced treatments with signature therapies, immersive spa experiences and one of London’s most restorative thermal floors.

Their signature spa treatments include massages, facials and holistic therapies, including the advanced Elixir facial, the pinnacle in skincare.

It's wealth of facilities include the Daniel Galvin Hair Salon, the stunning Thermal Floor - with sleep pods, vitality pool, steam room and sauna - the AMP x Corinthia London Gym, serene Spa Lounge.

ESPA Life at Corinthia, Corinthia Hotel, 10 Whitehall Pl, London SW1A 2BD

2025 Nominees: Banya No. 1, Damu at The Mandrake, Aire Ancient Baths, The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, The Peninsula Spa, Pan Pacifica Spa, Agua Spa at Sea Containers House, Cloud Twelve, Ned's Club Spa, The Retreat at The Londoner, Espa Life at Corinthia London

LONDON'S BEST LANDMARK

WINNER: Old Royal Naval College

Perched up on the hill above the Naval College is the Royal Observatory, where time is measured - you can even stand with your legs either side of Greenwich Mean Time, one foot in the Western Hemisphere, and one in the East.

So as well as being the official centre of the earth (you can’t argue with science), Greenwich has also been the centre of Naval excellence.

The site played host to a palace and Royal Hospital (where none other than King Henry VIII was born and Lord Nelson lay in state), before becoming the beautiful Naval veterans home we see today.

It was originally the site of the Palace of Placentia, owned by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. But when he was arrested by King Henry VI’s soldiers for treason and mysteriously died in custody, the resulting rumours of foul play led to William Shakespeare writing Henry VI.

And it holds a unique place in British history. Not only was the infamous Henry VIII born here, but he spent over 4,000 nights at the palace - more than any of his other homes - and it was here that he suffered a jousting accident that many claim was the reason for his infamy. After being knocked unconscious for two hours (a sight so shocking, it caused Anne Boleyn to miscarry his baby), many historians claim the brain injury he suffered changed his personality forever - and not for the better. It certainly didn’t do much for Anne Boleyn’s future.

During the rules of various kings, the site was renovated, left to rot and then earmarked to become a palace ‘to rival Versailles,’ but it wasn’t until 1694 that William III handed it over to Naval veterans and commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to spruce the place up.

He did a cracking job, and guests today can enjoy all of the above, plus the stunning Painted Hall, which is Britain's answer to the Sistine Chapel.

Old Royal Naval College, London SE10 9NN