Hotel Cafe Royal
A real lap pool inside a Regent Street spa built for lengths
About this hotel
The Akasha spa is the reason to book Hotel Cafe Royal over a hotel that treats its pool as an afterthought: a lap pool built for actual swimming, paired with a sauna, jacuzzi and Hammam in one wing. Regent Street puts Theatreland, Buckingham Palace, Westminster and the British Museum within a mile, with Bond Street and Savile Row six minutes on foot. Five restaurants cover everything from a two Michelin star dining room by Alex Dilling to traditional afternoon tea and Cakes & Bubbles, so a morning swim can lead into breakfast, lunch or a full day of shopping without leaving the building for long. Rooms carry modern entertainment systems, media hubs and minibars stocked with snacks. Couples staying here rated the location 9.9 for a two-person trip.
- Lap pool with sauna and jacuzzi
- Hammam and steam room
- Five on-site restaurants
- Regent Street location
Our take
Travellers staying here will find one of the few genuine lap pools among central London's five-star hotels, which suits anyone training through a business trip rather than dipping in for ten minutes. Couples chasing a Michelin-starred dinner after a swim do well too. Guests wanting a quiet, low-key pool away from Regent Street's foot traffic should look elsewhere, since the location that makes the hotel convenient also keeps it busy at street level.
- ✓Swim before nine, the lap pool gets noticeably busier once the spa's soaking guests arrive later in the morning.
- ✓Book the two Michelin star restaurant well ahead, tables fill fast given the hotel's central Regent Street address.
- ✓Walk to Savile Row or Bond Street straight after a swim, both sit about six minutes away on foot.
Why we love it
- A genuine lap pool, not just a soak
- Jacuzzi and Hammam in the same spa wing
- Five restaurants including a two Michelin star room
- Six minutes from Bond Street and Savile Row
Why guests love itThe Akasha spa sold us on this stay before the rooms did. Lengths in the lap pool most mornings, then the jacuzzi and Hammam once the legs gave out, all before the shops on Bond Street had properly opened. Regent Street stays busy outside, lively for some and loud for others, but the spa itself stayed quiet even mid-morning. Dinner at the two Michelin star room capped the stay properly.