It’s certainly no secret that London, England has a myriad of hotel options for the luxury baby boomer traveler.

And while we loved our stay at a few of London’s historic grand-dame hotels, we were also looking forward to sampling a few of London’s historic luxury boutique hotels. In our experience, the smaller boutique hotels tend to offer a little more personal interaction and attention, and we tend to come home with new friendships with not only the staff, but the guests at these smaller hotels seem to be more open to interacting with the fellow guests.

The Stafford London Hotel is a stunningly beautiful luxury boutique hotel in the heart of St. James, perhaps London’s most exclusive residential enclave.  A short walk down the hotel’s cobblestone courtyard, travelers will find shopping boutiques, cigar stores, fine dining, and the area is a glorious place to take an evening stroll on the picturesque gaslit streets.

The Stafford London Hotel was our favorite London Hotel Experience!

Guests will find that the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is a mere 5-minute walk through a unique secret passageway. Further, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Mayfair, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, St. James Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens; as well as some of London’s finest restaurants and boutique shopping are all within easy walking distance.

The hotel features 67 elegant rooms in the Main House, 12 traditional rooms in The Carriage House including the Guv’nor’s Suite, and 26 newly refurbished 1-bedroom Junior Suites in the elegant Stafford Mews.

Note:  if you can’t see the video, click here.

Our Favorite Memories from The Stafford London Hotel

As it turns out, even though we stayed in some of London’s very best luxury hotels, The Stafford London Hotel was our favorite hotel experience.  Here are a few of the reasons why:

• We loved the more residential feel of the location, and having so many of London’s most desired attractions within easy walking distance was an added bonus.
• Our Junior Suite was luxurious, spacious, and provided a very home-like respite after a long day of sightseeing.
• When we’re traveling internationally, I enjoy a good Cuban cigar when the opportunity presents itself.  Not only did The Stafford have Cuban cigars available, they are one of the very few hotels that have made a comfortable exterior patio area to actually enjoy smoking the cigar.
• The hotel was originally built as a private residence in the 17th century.  The Lyttelton Restaurant, named after the property’s most famous residents, Lord and Lady Lyttelton, brought us amazing seasonal British cuisine.  We’ll never forget the wonderful Dover Sole.
• The Stafford London has perhaps London’s most renowned concierge.  Concierge extraordinaire Frank Laino is not only a master of the what-to-do, and the where-to-go, but he’s also famous for helping folks find little known off-the-beaten-path London attractions.
• I had my first Shandy when visiting London during my college days.  I received funny looks in one of the grand-dame bars when I made a request for a nice cold Shandy.  However, at The Stafford, I got big smiles and a cold, frosty glass to take me down memory lane.
• The Stafford’s American Bar was so named back in the 1930s when Americans started traveling across the pond in large numbers and desired a little more variety of drink than was typically found in London’s famous pubs. Since then, patrons over the decades have left memorabilia which adorns nearly every square inch of the ceiling.
• Personality.  As I’ve already alluded, we feel as though we now have friends at The Stafford London Hotel.