Shangri-La The Shard

Rooms and decor

The design here marries modern luxury with an Asian touch, and the layout is unusual: the Sky Lobby sits on floor 35, so you ride a high-speed lift up before you check in. Every room has floor-to-ceiling windows over London, and the king beds face the glass so you wake up to the city. More than one guest writes that they left the curtains open all night — the lights of London read like a live picture no other hotel can give you. The marble bathrooms come with a rain shower and a free-standing tub turned toward the window, and plenty of guests photograph the bath against the skyline. The Shangri-La Suite is on floor 52 — about as close as you can stay to the very top of London.

Food and amenities

The indoor Skypool on floor 52 is the highest hotel pool in Western Europe; you swim into a 360-degree view of the city, and it runs 6:30am to 10pm. GONG Bar, also on floor 52, is the highest cocktail bar in Western Europe — one review calls it drinking a cocktail while Big Ben, Tower Bridge and a London sunset all land at once. Ting Restaurant on floor 35 serves Asian and Western fine dining, and the TING Lounge does an East-meets-West afternoon tea. Bar 31 on floor 31 goes for a speakeasy mood. The Shangri-La Wellness is small but plush, using Shangri-La Signature products, and the service carries the detail-minded Asian style the brand is known for.

Location and getting there

The hotel sits on The Shard on the south bank of the Thames in South Bank, right by London Bridge Underground and National Rail — a 2-minute walk to the platforms. London Bridge connects the Northern and Jubilee lines, so both Mayfair and Canary Wharf are easy. Heathrow takes about 45 minutes via the Heathrow Express and Paddington. Borough Market, one of London's famous food markets, is a 3-minute walk; Tower Bridge is 10 minutes on foot; and The City and St Paul's Cathedral are about 10 minutes by tube. It works well for anyone working in The City and for travelers who want the view — but it is farther out than the Mayfair and Knightsbridge hotels if you are heading to Bond Street or Harrods.

Things to know before booking

This is the south side of the river, a real distance from Mayfair and Knightsbridge, so weigh that if shopping is your main plan. The building is modern — it opened in 2014 — so there is none of the heritage the other names on this list lean on. And because so many tourists come up The Shard, the lobby gets busy. None of that touches the rooms or the view, but it is the trade-off for staying this high.

Our take

Shangri-La The Shard opened in 2014 inside The Shard, the Renzo Piano tower that rises 310 metres — the tallest building in Western Europe — and the hotel takes floors 34 to 52, which is why every room gets the 360-degree view. It scores 9.0/10 on Booking.com, and rooms start around $710 a night. If you want old-world glamour, look at the Mayfair names; if you want to wake up over London, this is the one.