The Connaught - London, England

With its wood paneling, majestic mahogany staircase and leather fenders, The Connaught has the quintessentially English atmosphere and style of a gentleman’s club. However, having managed to keep the outside world at arm’s length, the hotel has had to make certain concessions to a more egalitarian age. Women in trouser suits for instance, or mini bars in the bedrooms, were once considered improper. Even so, many regulars no doubt will continue to prefer to get things done the old-fashioned way, summoning their floor butlers to mix them a gin and tonic or unpack their bags; it is this kind of service, after all, for which the Connaught is justly famed.