Where to Stay in the City of London: The Best Hotels Near the Tower, St Paul's and Liverpool Street (2026)

Tower Hill and Trinity Square. The south-east corner of the City, between the Tower of London and Fenchurch Street, has more hotels than anywhere else in the Square Mile, and it's where I'd stay for a first weekend: the Tower and Tower Bridge are a few minutes away, the District and Circle lines at Tower Hill run straight to Westminster, and there are pubs and restaurants that stay open at the weekend around St Katharine Docks. Four Seasons Hotel London at Tower Bridge is the grand one. It fills the former Port of London Authority headquarters at Ten Trinity Square, a Beaux-Arts building by Sir Edwin Cooper that opened in 1922, with 100 rooms and suites, an indoor pool and spa, Cooper's Cut steakhouse, Mei Ume and afternoon tea in the Rotunda under the glass dome. It's a five-minute walk to the Tower, one to Tower Hill station and 22 to St Paul's, and it holds 4.7 on Google across more than 1,700 reviews.

Among the luxury hotels here it saves the least at the weekend: about £740 for a Premier Room on the Tuesday and £625 for a Superior on either weekend night, on Booking.com. The hotel's own weekend offer takes 15% off and pushes check-out to 4pm, and its own booking page adds a 5% discretionary service fee, which you can ask to have removed. The entry rooms are on the lower floors; if a view of Tower Bridge is the point, that's the Hotel Residences, not a standard room. Dogs are welcome.

citizenM Tower of London is the weekend bargain in its purest form: a design hotel of compact, gadget-controlled rooms directly opposite the Tower across Trinity Square, with Tower Hill station on the doorstep. It's five minutes' walk to the Tower and 24 to St Paul's. Now part of Marriott, it holds 4.5 on Google across more than 5,000 reviews, and the view rooms look over the Tower, Tower Bridge and the Shard.

The numbers explain why it's here: a King Room was about £352 on the Tuesday, £175 on the Saturday and £127 on the Sunday on Booking.com: the rate halved on the Saturday, the steepest fall on Tower Hill. The rooms are small, the bathroom isn't really separate from the bedroom, and several summer guests had air conditioning that didn't keep up. Ask for a room on the Trinity Square side: the inward-facing rooms look onto the courtyard, which one reviewer described as "a chasm".

Apex City of London Hotel on Seething Lane is the four-star I'd book for a family weekend by the Tower. It's six minutes' walk to the Tower of London, four to Tower Hill station and 23 to St Paul's, with a 24-hour gym, The Lampery restaurant (which does a weekend brunch) and room sizes that are published and step up cleanly: City 23 sq m, Superior 27, Deluxe 29, a 29 sq m Family Room with sofa beds, and Junior Suites of 38. It holds 4.6 on Google across more than 2,200 reviews.

On Apex's own site the cheapest room was £339 on the Tuesday (a City Twin, as no City King was offered), £209 on the Saturday and £189 on the Sunday, and on the Saturday a Superior King was only £20 more than the City Room, so take it. Breakfast adds about £39 for two. There's no parking and no pool, and two recent summer reviews found the air conditioning weak.

DoubleTree by Hilton London - Tower of London on Pepys Street is the big mid-range hotel of the group, two minutes from Tower Hill station, six from the Tower and 24 from St Paul's, with a restaurant, a rooftop bar and an executive lounge. It holds 4.2 on Google across more than 6,000 reviews, and guests write about views of the Shard and Tower Bridge from their rooms.

On Booking.com it was about £377 on the Tuesday (a Deluxe Queen, the cheapest room left), £233 on the Saturday and £157 on the Sunday for a Queen Room; breakfast is £24.50. One guest in an older room found the air conditioning barely worked in summer, and the rooftop bar and its lifts are sometimes kept for private events. Ask for a high floor facing south.

Novotel London Tower Bridge, across Pepys Street, is the one I'd pick for a family of four on a budget near the Tower: the standard rooms are all 25 sq m, the Superior sleeps four on a sofa bed, there's a gym, a sauna and a steam room, Keepers Kitchen and Bar, and pets are allowed. Tower Hill station is two minutes' walk, the Tower six and St Paul's 25, and it holds 4.6 on Google across more than 4,600 reviews.

On Accor's own site a Standard Room was £390 on the Tuesday, £276 on the Saturday and £153 on the Sunday; breakfast adds about £42 for two. There's no pool, and in the summer heatwave some guests found the cooling struggled. The Executive Room (high floor, rain shower) was only £19 more than a Standard on the Tuesday, and some rooms look towards the Shard or the Tower, so ask.

hub by Premier Inn London Tower Bridge is Premier Inn's compact-room brand, on Great Tower Street at the western edge of the group: six minutes' walk to the Tower, five to Tower Hill station and 21 to St Paul's, the closest of the Tower Hill hotels to the cathedral. Rooms are 11 sq m with a double bed, underbed storage and touchscreen controls; there's a restaurant and a continental breakfast that guests rate as good value. It holds 4.4 on Google.

For a couple who only need a bed, it's the cheapest room this close to the Tower: £226 on the Tuesday, £161 on the Saturday and £86 on the Sunday on Premier Inn's own site. The 14 sq m Bigger room was only £7 to £14 more, and worth it. The catches are space and summer heat: two guests in July 2026 wrote about air conditioning that failed and wasn't fixed. There's no car park.

Cheval Three Quays is the closest bed to the Tower of London: 159 serviced apartments on Lower Thames Street, opened in 2014, two minutes' walk from the Tower gate, five from Tower Hill station and 23 from St Paul's. Each has a full kitchen and a washer-dryer, there's daily housekeeping and a 24-hour reception, and dogs up to 25 kg are welcome for a £50-a-night cleaning fee. For a family, a longer stay or anyone who wants to cook, it's my pick at this end of the City, and it holds 4.7 on Google.

It isn't cheap: a Superior One Bedroom Apartment (46 to 53 sq m) was £582 on the Tuesday, £388 on the Saturday and £402 on the Sunday on Cheval's own site, and like most of the upmarket hotels here, Sunday cost more than Saturday. The gym is tiny and there's no spa. Pay for the Luxury One Bedroom Apartment with Tower View (54 sq m): the view over the Tower and Tower Bridge is what guests remember.

The Tower Hotel, by Thistle is the big riverside block beside the north end of Tower Bridge on St Katharine's Way, just outside the City boundary by St Katharine Docks. It's six minutes' walk to the Tower, nine to Tower Hill station and 30 to St Paul's, with Vicinity restaurant, the VU cocktail bar, a riverside lawn in season, on-site parking at £29 for 24 hours and free use of the pool at the nearby Fitness First for a £20 deposit. More than 12,000 Google reviewers give it 4.1.

It breaks the City's weekend rule, because it's a leisure hotel on the river rather than an office one: a Standard Double (15 sq m) was £247 on the Tuesday, the Tower Bridge View double was £247 on the Saturday, when no plain double was on sale, and only on the Sunday did it fall to £135, on the hotel's own site. Book the Tower Bridge View room: it was just £40 more midweek. The hotel warns of noise from an ongoing refurbishment, and some rooms are dated.

Minories and Aldgate. North of Tower Hill, along the Minories to Aldgate, the hotels are newer, a little cheaper and closer to Spitalfields and Brick Lane for the weekend markets, though ten minutes or more from the Tower. Motel One London-Tower Hill is the best value of them: every room is the same 16 sq m with a good bed and air conditioning, the One Lounge bar does breakfast, and Aldgate station (Metropolitan and Circle lines) is two minutes away. It's ten minutes' walk to the Tower and 24 to St Paul's, and it holds 4.5 on Google.

On Motel One's own site The One was £296 on the Tuesday, £210 on the Saturday and £128 on the Sunday, and free beOne members pay 10% less. Rooms take two people at most, so it's no good for families, and the breakfast room gets crowded. The view room was £33 more on the Saturday; avoid the rooms onto the enclosed inner court, and bring an eye mask, because the curtains let light through.

Canopy by Hilton London City, a few doors up the Minories, is Hilton's lifestyle brand: bright, design-led rooms, a rooftop bar and water and ice machines on every floor. Aldgate station is two minutes' walk, the Tower 11 and St Paul's 24. It holds 4.6 on Google, and the reviews single out the staff and rooms that are well sized for London.

It was sold out on Booking.com for the Tuesday, which says something about midweek demand, and cost about £234 for a Queen Room on the Saturday and £242 for a Premium Twin on the Sunday, when no queen was left; breakfast is £28. One guest noted it's in the middle of an office district, which isn't ideal with young children. Ask for a city-view king.

Hotel Indigo London - Tower Hill is the boutique option at the top of the Minories: exposed brick that the hotel says recalls the Roman structures once on the site, four-poster beds, and 4.5 on Google across more than 700 reviews. Aldgate station is three minutes' walk, the Tower ten and St Paul's 24.

Standard doubles sold out on both the Tuesday and the Saturday, so on IHG's own site the cheapest room was a Premium King at £390 and £245; on the Sunday a Standard Double was £122 (a cheaper room type, so the true drop is smaller than it looks). There's no gym (the hotel uses a fitness partner), no parking and no pets except guide dogs, and the lobby is small. IHG says some standard rooms look towards Tower Bridge, so ask for one.

Leonardo Royal Hotel London Tower Bridge on Prescot Street, just east of the City boundary in Whitechapel, is the Tower-end hotel with a proper pool: 25 metres, indoors, with an infinity-edge spa pool, sauna and steam room, plus the Rena Spa and 370 rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows. Tower Gateway (the DLR) is four minutes' walk, the Tower 12 and St Paul's 30; the hotel's own site calls it a 15-minute walk to the Tower. It holds 4.3 on Google.

On Leonardo's own site a Superior Room was £378 on the Tuesday and £162 on the Sunday, and the hotel was fully booked for the Saturday. The gym is out of action for maintenance with no reopening date, guests are limited to two hours a day in the leisure area, and children can swim only at set splash times. One recent reviewer found the bathrooms old. Ask for a high floor on the Tower Bridge side.

Premier Inn London City (Aldgate) on Alie Street is the cheapest reliable room at this end of the City and the budget pick for families: rooms with air conditioning, family rooms where the children get two small beds rather than a sofa bed, and free breakfast for up to two children with each paying adult. Aldgate East (District and Hammersmith & City lines) is three minutes' walk, the Tower 17 and St Paul's 30. It holds 4.4 on Google across 2,600 reviews.

It was £175 on the Tuesday, £156 on the Saturday and £78 on the Sunday on Premier Inn's own non-refundable Standard rate, which shows the budget-hotel version of the City pattern: Saturday barely moves, Sunday halves. It sits in Aldgate and Whitechapel, just outside the Square Mile, so the Tower is a proper walk. There's no parking on site.

Hampton by Hilton London City on Osborn Street, at the foot of Brick Lane, is the one to book if you want breakfast in the price: a hot buffet breakfast comes with the room. It's a 278-room modern chain hotel with air conditioning, lifts, a casual bar and restaurant and a small gym. Aldgate East (District and Hammersmith & City lines) is a minute's walk, Spitalfields Market is close by, the Tower is 20 minutes away and St Paul's 31. It holds 4.7 on Google from more than 2,400 reviews, the highest score in this group.

A Queen Room with breakfast was about £293 on the Tuesday, £210 on the Saturday and £118 on the Sunday on Booking.com, non-refundable. That Sunday rate is £40 more than the Premier Inn on Alie Street, but it feeds two. It's outside the Square Mile, so the City's sights are a proper walk or a Tube ride, and there's no parking and no pets. Families should ask for the Queen Family Room, a twin and a double that connect, each with its own bathroom.

Bank and Cornhill. The heart of the Square Mile, around the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange, is where the City is most itself: banking halls, Leadenhall Market's Victorian roof, and streets that are packed at lunchtime on a weekday and almost empty on a Sunday. Bank station has the Central, Northern and Waterloo & City lines and the DLR, and St Paul's is ten minutes' walk. The Ned is the big name here: Sir Edwin Lutyens' 1924 Midland Bank headquarters on Poultry, reopened in 2017 with around 250 bedrooms upstairs and seven restaurants and three bars in the old banking hall. Bank station is a minute from the door, St Paul's eight and the Tower 17.

On the hotel's own site a Cosy room (20 to 30 sq m) was £626 on the Tuesday, £383 on the Saturday and £421 on the Sunday, and a 5% discretionary service charge goes on the bill. Book direct, because every rate on thened.com includes Ned's Club Gym and Spa; the rooftop pool stays members-only, which disappoints some guests. The Heritage rooms on the listed fifth floor were £926 midweek and £683 on the Saturday, the best case in the City for saving the splurge for a weekend.

Threadneedles, Autograph Collection is a quiet luxury hotel on Threadneedle Street, three minutes from Bank station, eight from Liverpool Street, 13 from St Paul's and 17 from the Tower. A Google reviewer describes it well: "a stunning old building" with "Rich dark woods throughout, mahogany and cherry tones, marble accents". It holds 4.4 on Google across nearly 600 reviews, and guests keep mentioning the staff.

It's a weekend hotel for anyone who isn't on expenses. On the Tuesday the cheapest room offered on Booking.com was a one-bedroom suite at about £989; on the Saturday a Luxury Guest Room with breakfast was £276, and on the Sunday £320 room only. Reviewers find the interior a little dark and the bar closes earlier than they'd like, and one found the room temperature hard to keep steady.

The Counting House on Cornhill is a Fuller's pub in the banking hall of Prescott's Bank, built in 1893, with 15 bedrooms upstairs in what was the City University Club. It's three minutes' walk from Bank station, 13 from St Paul's and 15 from the Tower, and for a couple who'd rather have a pint and a pie downstairs than a hotel bar, it has more character than anything else at the price on a Sunday. It holds 4.3 on Google.

Its own site had only breakfast-included rates on the Tuesday, from £446.40 for a Classic Double, no rooms at all on the Saturday, and £205.20 room only on the Sunday, so a Sunday night is the one to book. The Classic Doubles are compact; one guest recommends the spacious Angel room. There are lots of short flights of stairs and only a small lift, which rules it out for anyone with limited mobility, and check-in closes at 10pm.

Liverpool Street. The station on the north-east edge of the City has the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines, the Overground and the Elizabeth line direct from Heathrow, and the three hotels around it are the ones I'd pick for a flight in or out. Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane are a short walk north, so this corner is livelier at the weekend than Bank. Andaz London Liverpool Street stands on Liverpool Street itself, one minute from the platforms, 19 minutes' walk from the Tower and 21 from St Paul's. Reviewers describe the rooms as large and quiet, and it holds 4.5 on Google across more than 2,100 reviews.

On Booking.com a Queen Room was about £618 on the Tuesday, £312 on the Saturday and £328 on the Sunday, almost exactly half; breakfast is £28. There's no pool and the gym is small and busy with outside members. One couple's first room was too bright at night from outside light and they were moved, so ask for a quiet, dark room when you book.

Pan Pacific London on Houndsditch is the modern luxury tower of the group, rated 4.8 on Google across nearly 1,300 reviews: 237 rooms by the designers Yabu Pushelberg, an 18.5-metre infinity pool with city views on the SENSORY spa floor, a 24-hour gym, Straits Kitchen and the Ginger Lily bar. Liverpool Street is two minutes' walk, the Tower 17 and St Paul's 21. Entry Deluxe Rooms are 37 sq m, big for London.

On Booking.com the cheapest room on the Tuesday was a Premier at about £666, and a Deluxe was £446 on the Saturday and £421 on the Sunday. The extras add up: breakfast is £44 a head, and the hotel's own Weekends in London offer (15% off with breakfast, a cocktail and spa access, for stays until 17 December 2026 booked at least seven days ahead) carries a 5% discretionary service fee. Whether pool access comes with every rate isn't spelled out, so ask when you book. Valet parking is £85 a day, dogs or cats up to 15 kg stay for a £60 cleaning fee, and a Deluxe City View was £43 more than a Deluxe on the Saturday.

South Place Hotel is the independent between Moorgate and Liverpool Street, two minutes from Moorgate station and five from Liverpool Street, 18 minutes' walk from St Paul's and 26 from the Tower. It has Angler, which the hotel describes as Michelin-starred, the all-day Bluebird City, a rooftop terrace and a secret garden, a 24-hour gym, and a sauna, steam room and ice bath. Dogs are welcome throughout and stay free when you book direct.

It had one of the biggest Tuesday-to-Saturday gaps in the City, though the room types differ: a Deluxe Room (27 sq m) was £666 on the Tuesday on the hotel's own site, when no Studio was offered, against a Studio (26 sq m) at £240 on the Saturday and £284 on the Sunday. A 7% discretionary service charge is added to the bill. One guest found the curtains didn't block the street light and the room controls fiddly.

St Paul's and the river. The western half of the City runs downhill from St Paul's to the Thames, where the Millennium Bridge crosses to Tate Modern. It's the best end for sightseeing on foot in both directions, and the four hotels here are all within ten minutes of the cathedral. Vintry & Mercer on Garlick Hill is a 92-room five-star that opened in 2019, named after the medieval wine merchants and silk sellers of the ward. It has the Mercer Roof Terrace restaurant and bar, a basement speakeasy called Do Not Disturb, and a small gym. Mansion House station (District and Circle lines) is two minutes away, St Paul's eight and the Tower 17. It has the highest Google rating of the four here, 4.8, and it's my pick for a couple's weekend.

The Standard rooms are small (14.6 to 16.7 sq m) with a queen bed, so step up to a Superior (18 sq m, king). On the hotel's own site a Standard was £455 on the Tuesday, £302 on the Saturday and £285 on the Sunday, with members paying a little less. The roof terrace gets busy and service there can be patchy, and Do Not Disturb is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

The Westin London City is the riverside five-star on Upper Thames Street, five minutes from Mansion House station, eight from St Paul's and 18 from the Tower, with the Millennium Bridge a few minutes along the river. It holds 4.5 on Google across more than 800 reviews; guests praise the beds and the staff, and mention a pool and thermal spa with adult-only hours, so check the times if you're bringing children.

On Booking.com a Signature King Room was about £566 on the Tuesday, £359 on the Saturday and £374 on the Sunday; breakfast is £30. The layout is the catch: reception is on the fourth floor and some guests found getting around took several lifts. One reviewer felt it didn't quite live up to five stars.

Leonardo Royal Hotel London St Paul's on Godliman Street is two minutes' walk from the cathedral steps, the closest hotel to St Paul's with a pool: a 16.6-metre heated indoor pool, sauna and steam room in the Rena spa, plus the Sabine rooftop bar, which reviewers single out for its view. Mansion House (District and Circle lines) and Blackfriars are five to six minutes away, the Tower 23. It's big, with 432 rooms, and holds 4.2 on Google across more than 4,500 reviews.

On Leonardo's own site a Superior King was £440.10 on the Tuesday and £287.10 on the Saturday, 10% less for free members. With 432 rooms it's a busy hotel, and reviewers mention small service lapses such as forgotten robes and a slow restaurant. Children can use the pool only at set times, pets aren't allowed, and parking is at Baynard House car park. The Executive King with View is the room for St Paul's.

Lost Property St Paul's, a Curio Collection by Hilton, is the boutique opposite the cathedral on Ludgate Hill: 145 rooms, the Found restaurant and bar, Tattle Coffee House and a 24-hour gym. St Paul's is a two-minute walk, St Paul's station (Central line) five and Blackfriars six; the Tower is 26 minutes away. It holds 4.6 on Google, and Superior rooms can be connected for families.

On Booking.com the cheapest double left on the Tuesday was an accessible Queen Room at about £515, and a Queen Room was £259 on the Saturday and £260 on the Sunday; breakfast is £25. Rooms are small, one guest found the corner toilet awkward, and some rooms have frosted windows, so ask for a clear one. The St Paul's Junior Suite has the view.

Fleet Street and Smithfield. The western edge of the City, around the old newspaper street, the Inns of Court and Smithfield meat market, is quieter still at the weekend, but it's the closest the City gets to Covent Garden and it has the Elizabeth line at Farringdon. Apex Temple Court Hotel is tucked into Serjeants' Inn off Fleet Street, a courtyard away from the traffic, with the Chambers restaurant and bar, a wine bar, a summer terrace and a 24-hour fitness studio. St Paul's is ten minutes' walk, the Tower 34; City Thameslink is five minutes away and Temple, Blackfriars and Chancery Lane stations nine each. It holds 4.6 on Google across 1,800 reviews.

On Apex's own site a Superior King (30 sq m) was £409 on the Tuesday, when no City room was offered, then a City King (25 sq m) was £249 on the Saturday and £199 on the Sunday; breakfast adds about £39 for two. There's no pool and no parking, and the streets around it are quiet in the evening; one reviewer called it "a neglected corner of central London", which cuts both ways. One reviewer on the fifth floor liked the view, so ask for a high room.

Premier Inn London Blackfriars (Fleet Street) on Dorset Rise is the budget room at the St Paul's end: five minutes' walk from Blackfriars station (District and Circle lines, plus Thameslink trains), eight from St Paul's and 30 from the Tower, and a short walk over Blackfriars Bridge to Tate Modern. There's air conditioning, a restaurant, family and accessible rooms, and it holds 4.3 on Google across more than 3,000 reviews.

It was £236 on the Tuesday, £180 on the Saturday and £78 on the Sunday on Premier Inn's own Standard rate. A guest found the beds on the small side and the guest toilet locked. Rooms are cleaned on request. Premier Plus, with a coffee machine and mini-fridge, was £12 to £33 more.

Premier Inn London Farringdon (Smithfield) on West Smithfield, inside the City boundary by Smithfield Market and St Bartholomew's Hospital, is the budget pick for a Heathrow arrival: Farringdon's Elizabeth line station is seven minutes' walk, Barbican six and St Paul's eight, with the Tower 32 minutes away. It holds 4.3 on Google. Charterhouse Square and Clerkenwell's restaurants are a few minutes north.

It was the cheapest midweek room at the St Paul's end: £194 on the Tuesday, £164 on the Saturday and £78 on the Sunday on Premier Inn's own Standard rate. The hotel has lower-ground rooms, and one guest was given a musty one, so ask for a room above ground. Smithfield Car Park charges £4 an hour to 9pm and £3 an hour overnight.