Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in London

Before you go

What happens when you get there

The Royal Parks

Dogs may run off the lead in most of Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Green Park, St James's Park and Regent's Park. Leads are required near the Serpentine and Long Water, in the Rose Garden, the Italian Gardens and around the playgrounds, and signs mark each zone. St James's Park asks for leads on the paths by the lake. Many of the garden squares in Mayfair, Marylebone and Bloomsbury are private and key-holder only, so use the Royal Parks or the public squares such as Soho Square, Russell Square and Lincoln's Inn Fields.

Getting around

Dogs travel free on the Tube, buses, the Overground, DLR and National Rail, on a lead or carried, and on escalators they must be carried. Black cabs take dogs at the driver's discretion and most will. Uber Pet is available across London.

Dog menus

The Lanesborough (Canine Connoisseur), Brown's (À La Bark, served in the Drawing Room), South Place, Egerton House (with a doggy afternoon tea), the Chesterfield, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park (brunch at The Aubrey), Roseate House (a three-course pet menu), the Peninsula, the Cadogan, Kimpton Fitzroy (Doggy Dine In), the Prince Akatoki, the Rubens, InterContinental Park Lane, the Mayfair Townhouse and Four Seasons Tower Bridge all publish dog dining. The Newman stocks a dog mini bar in the room.

Where the dog can sit with you

South Place (Angler, Bluebird City and the bar), Bankside (the Art Yard restaurant and terraces), the Chesterfield (Butlers restaurant, conservatory and Terrace Bar), Corinthia (Kerridge's for small dogs, The Garden), the Laslett (Henderson Bar and dining room), the Hoxton Holborn and Shepherd's Bush restaurants, the Lanesborough's Library Bar, Egerton House's lounge and bar, the Gore's bar and library, the Newman's brasserie bar and terrace, the Zetter Bloomsbury's Parlour, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park's public spaces except Dinner, the Langham's Wigmore tavern, Brown's Drawing Room and Charlie's, the Royal Lancaster's Park Lounge Bar, the Hari Bar, Café Royal, Nobu Portman Square, Raffles at the OWO, the Ampersand, Vintry and Mercer, Treehouse, Hyatt Regency Blackfriars and the Dixon. The Firmdale houses, the Maybourne houses, the Dorchester, Sheraton Grand and Mandarin Oriental Mayfair keep dogs to the room and lobby.

Leaving the dog in the room

South Place, the Hoxton Shepherd's Bush and the Pelham allow a well-behaved dog alone in the room, the Pelham with a door tag and a contact number at the desk. The Langham allows it only while you dine in the hotel. The Connaught, the Emory, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Sheraton Grand, COMO Metropolitan, Cheval Three Quays, the Westin, the Athenaeum, Middle Eight, Six Senses, the Montague and the Zetter Bloomsbury don't. The Royal Lancaster's Paw-Cierge, the Montague, the Chesterfield, Egerton House and the Athenaeum all book a sitter. The Dorchester and the Lanesborough don't publish a rule, so ask.

Weight limits

No published limit at the Athenaeum, Bankside, the Chesterfield, the Lanesborough, Roseate House, South Place, the Lowndes, the Beaumont, Rosewood, the Ned and the Standard. 50 kg at Hotel 41, 40 kg at Cheval Three Quays and the Prince Akatoki, 35 kg at Kimpton Fitzroy, 34 kg at the Hilton Park Lane, 30 kg at Corinthia, 25 kg at Bankside and Sheraton Grand, 23 kg at Great Scotland Yard, 22 kg at Shangri-La, 20 kg at Brown's, the Langham and Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 18 kg at every Hoxton, 1 Hotel Mayfair, the Ampersand and W. 15 kg at L'oscar, NoMad, Pan Pacific, the Botree, the Stafford, St Pancras, the Mayfair Townhouse, 11 Cadogan Gardens, the Gore, the Westin, Middle Eight and Park Hyatt. 10 to 12 kg at Flemings, Café Royal, Grosvenor House, the Bloomsbury, Kensington, Marylebone, Peninsula, the Savoy, Sofitel, At Sloane and Miiro. 7 to 9 kg at Claridge's, the Berkeley, the Connaught, the Emory, the Dorchester, the Goring, Six Senses, Four Seasons Park Lane, Broadwick Soho, One Hundred Shoreditch, Sanderson, Sea Containers and St Martins Lane. 6 kg at COMO Metropolitan and 4 kg at the Dixon.

Fees and deposits

Free at all four Hoxtons, the Lanesborough, South Place, the Zetter Bloomsbury, Six Senses, the Emory, Miiro, One Aldwych, the Beaumont, the Botree, the Cadogan, the Mayfair Townhouse, Rosewood, Royal Lancaster, St Ermin's, the Ampersand, Broadwick Soho, Café Royal, Four Seasons Park Lane, the Ned, the Standard, Treehouse, Vintry and Mercer and Virgin Shoreditch. GBP 20 a night at La Suite West. GBP 25 at the Savoy, Roseate House and Sheraton Grand. GBP 30 at 11 Cadogan Gardens, the Laslett and the Chelsea Townhouse. GBP 35 at the Dorchester and the Athenaeum a night, and the Stafford, One Hundred Shoreditch and Hyatt Regency Blackfriars a stay. GBP 50 at most of Mayfair, Kensington, Chelsea and the City. GBP 100 at Claridge's, the Berkeley, the Connaught, the Langham, Sanderson, the Twenty Two, InterContinental Park Lane, Sea Containers, St Martins Lane, St Pancras, Mandarin Oriental Mayfair and Lexham Gardens. GBP 150 at 1 Hotel Mayfair, the Lowndes, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and the Hilton Park Lane. GBP 200 at the Goring. Deposits run GBP 200 at Roseate House and Bvlgari and GBP 500 at the Montague and Egerton House.

Still to confirm

The Chancery Rosewood, Bvlgari, the Firmdale houses (Ham Yard, the Soho Hotel, Number Sixteen, Covent Garden Hotel, Haymarket and Dorset Square), Corinthia, Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Middle Eight accept dogs but haven't published a fee or weight limit. Book by email and ask. The Landmark, Marriott County Hall, voco Marylebone and Batty Langley's show conflicting policies across channels, so we've left them off until the hotels confirm.

Best walks

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens end to end, the Regent's Park Outer Circle and Primrose Hill, Green Park into St James's Park at dawn, Hampstead Heath for a proper run, Battersea Park from the Park Hyatt, Wormwood Scrubs from the Hoxton Shepherd's Bush, the Regent's Canal towpath from Shoreditch, and the Thames Path from the Tower to the South Bank.

When to go

Any month. Spring and autumn are the best for the parks, summer is long and light, and winter is fine for a dog with a coat. Nothing here closes for the season.