The Portobello Hotel

From the outside you have no inkling what to expect, it looks to be just another sumptuous mansion in the middle of a white Victorian terrace rather than a hotel - but just step inside. This is the Portobello Hotel after all – offbeat, eccentric, utterly bewitching and second home to many of the entertainment world's A listers. Kate Moss and Johnny Depp apparently enjoyed a champagne bath here, for example, so you get the feel of the place - chic and sumptuous.

There are not many places like this around that for sure, so perhaps that's why Harpers and Queen voted it the sexiest hotel in London. Sexy really is the operative word. Rooms are often designed on a theme and these can range from the Japanese Water Garden Room to Victorian affairs with large bathtubs (perhaps this is where the champagne affair took place).

All are intimate, usually include a large fan and tall house plants and beds, of course, are of excellent quality. Talking of plants, most rooms also look out onto the rose garden.

Of course, given its unique decor, great Kensington location and celebrity guest list, it is not necessarily cheap and bathrooms can be a tad on the small time, but boy do you get style for your buck.