Jolly Hotel St Ermins
The Hotel St Ermin's in Victoria housed MI6 on its top two floors - and the Special Operations Executive on the floor below - during the Second World War and today it's still, arguably, London's most discreet hotel.
Nowhere in its literature, for instance, does it mention that No?l Coward and Anthony Blunt, among others, served their, er, countries here, and, as the present-day manager proudly informed me: 'No Londoners have ever heard of us!' That might change - for the wrong reasons - now that the hotel has been recently rebranded a 'Jolly Hotel' (are they insane?) but you should check out the astonishing Italian marble lobby and then proceed to the swish, hushed Caxton Bar, where, given the proximity of the Home Office and MI5, you can guarantee that spooks still meet.
Top-secret discussions are aided by the unusual sound-muffling, red-satin wall-coverings here but, after a couple of decent vodka martinis, we found it slightly too quiet.
Jolly Hotel St Ermins
2 Caxton Street, SW1H OQW
