The Grafton Arms Pub & Rooms

A handsome 11-room, neo-olde-worlde pub hotel with a kind of boutique thing going on, located just a minute west of gorgeous Fitzroy Square – a quintessentially Georgian hot spot of houses historically associated with painter James McNeill Whistler, writer George Bernard Shaw, Gary Kemp (of Spandau Ballet) and Hollywood mover and shaker Guy Ritchie, among many others. The hotel, opened in 2016 by siblings Mitch and Meredith Tillman and marked by comfort, quality surfaces and tasteful greys, is just a few minutes' walk from Warren St. Tube station (Northern and Victoria lines) and about a ten-minute walk north of Soho (or about 14 minutes after four pints). There's a buzzy pub on the ground floor and a heated outdoor terrace up on the first floor. As with two of the First Restaurant Group's other three London hotels – The One Tun (Farringdon) and The Hayden (Westbourne Grove/Notting Hill), both also doubling as pubs — the walls are decorated with framed portraits of clothed dogs. The group's fourth establishment, The Oak and Poppy (Hampstead), abides by a different concept, with two one-bedroom flats. Local food gems include Honest Burgers and Indian YMCA [see entries] and Miel Bakery. Book directly with the hotel for discounts.