Mayfair, Knightsbridge or Marylebone, and how to keep a low profile

Most high-net-worth visitors end up choosing between three areas: Mayfair for clubs and tailoring, Knightsbridge for shopping and Marylebone for its calmer streets. The harder part is staying there without being noticed, and an apartment of your own does that far better than a famous hotel lobby.

Mayfair

Most of London's grandest members' clubs are in Mayfair, and nearly all need a member to propose you or sign you in. Annabel's, at 46 Berkeley Square, is the Birley club with the much-photographed garden terrace. The Lansdowne Club, at 9 Fitzmaurice Place in part of the old Lansdowne House, has reciprocal arrangements with clubs overseas, so check whether your club at home is on its list before you travel. The Fox Club on Clarges Street is small and low-key, with a few bedrooms of its own.

Savile Row is where you get a suit that actually fits. Henry Poole & Co has been cutting there since 1806, Huntsman since 1849, and a first bespoke suit takes several fittings over a number of weeks, so book the first appointment early in your stay. Henry Poole also runs trunk shows abroad, which can make the later fittings easier. For watches and jewellery, Burlington Arcade off Piccadilly keeps specialist dealers under one Regency roof, with beadles on the doors.

Two of London's less crowded art visits are close by. Apsley House at Hyde Park Corner, the Duke of Wellington's home, hangs Velázquez, Goya and Rubens in rooms that are rarely busy, and the Royal Academy on Piccadilly has a free Collection Gallery alongside its ticketed shows. Go early on a weekday.

Knightsbridge and Belgravia

Harrods and Harvey Nichols anchor Knightsbridge, and Sloane Street, running south to Sloane Square, has the London flagships of most of the big fashion houses. Weekday mornings are the time to go. Between appointments, the Fifth Floor bar and terrace at Harvey Nichols is far calmer than anything at street level, and Zuma on Raphael Street, a few minutes away, is the dinner to book early. It's the priciest area for serviced apartments, with residences starting from around £230 a night, and almost all of them have three-bedroom apartments.

Belgravia, between Knightsbridge and Victoria, is the other name on most shortlists: white stucco terraces round Belgrave Square and Eaton Square, embassies on every other corner and hardly a shop on the main squares. After dark it's the quietest of the prime neighbourhoods, and Knightsbridge and Sloane Square are each a short walk away. It isn't a separate area on the site, but the Belgravia conservation area sits close to some of the Chelsea residences.

Marylebone is where plenty of people who'd rather not be recognised end up. The Harley Street and Portman Estate conservation areas are streets of consulting rooms and Georgian houses, Marylebone High Street moves at village pace, and the Wallace Collection on Manchester Square shows one of London's great art collections for free.

Staff, security and the building

Bigger parties do better in one large apartment, or two in the same building, than in a string of hotel rooms, and a fair few residences have four or more bedrooms. Ask whether a second apartment on the same floor is free for staff or security.

Four things are worth raising with any residence: whether there's a separate or discreet entrance, whether reception is staffed and when, since not every building has one, whether there's parking for a driver, which very few offer, so plan on a car service, and whether the building will take deliveries from Bond Street or Knightsbridge shops while you're out. Mayfair gives you the most choice for this kind of stay, and the thirty-odd places on our books there include a good number of three- and four-bedroom apartments. A direct request can also bring an early check-in or an upgrade when one's free.

Food hygiene ratings for the places in this guide

Official fact Food Standards Agency Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, checked 23 September 2026. 5 is the top rating.

Name	Registered address	Rating	Inspected
Harrods	87-135 Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL	5	Jul 2025
Harvey Nichols	109-125 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RJ	5	Jan 2026
Zuma	5 Raphael Street, SW7 1DL	5	Jul 2025

Ratings cover hygiene only, not food quality. Matched by name and address; a venue not shown was not found or could not be matched with confidence.