The Cadogan
England: London
Located in the high rent area of Sloane Street, this is a highly regarded hotel with a colorful history! The hotel comprises the former home of Lilly Langtry, a famous 20th century entertainer who had a liaison with one of the kings of England. The hotel was built in 1897 and Ms. Langtry eventually sold her house to be part of the hotel and continued to live there. The Lilly Langtry room is very feminine with delicate flower wallpaper and even has a pink radio. It is a very bright room with huge windows and lots of elaborate wood molding round the doorway and on the ceiling.

The other interesting part of the hotel's history is that Oscar Wilde (whose Room 118 is beautiful!) was arrested here in 1895 and charged with "gross indecency". His corner room has an entryway, three large windows - including one set into an alcove - allowing maximum light and minimum noise due to double insulation.

Of the 65 accommodations, 19 are spacious suite type rooms. In the summer, 40 newly renovated rooms will reopen. They are some of the most affordable rooms and will also be the most up to date. JDB prefers the open space junior suites to the one-bedroom suites because the space feels larger. One deluxe junior suite that we visited (101) had a separate sitting room and two bathrooms. The hotel has plasma televisions and wireless internet connection throughout the facilities, plus 24-hour room service.