I’ve had a lot of baths in my life, but none as good as the half hour spent in the spa tub of my room at the Lanesborough Hotel, London.

The best bit? I was in the tub just minutes after entering the Knightsbridge hotel’s lobby, owing to the hotel's swift and discreet check-in at a coffee table instead of a reception desk.

The receptionist had hyped up the hotel’s butler service, but we never met ours, he – or she – didn’t introduce themselves, and we didn’t have any need for them. If we had, though, it would have been easy - hidden in the traditional wooden bedside furniture was a touchscreen pad controlling the room’s lighting and heating, plus a butler call button.

With technology hidden away, the hotel feels like a posh stately home, in keeping with its history, originally designed as a country retreat for the second Viscount Lanesborough before it was St George’s hospital for more than a century.

St James's Hotel & Club, Mayfair, SW1

A Victorian townhouse with exquisite decor and central Green Park location

BACKGROUND

• Park Plaza County Hall, Waterloo, London SE1

• Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London SW1

• The Lanesborough Hotel, Hyde Park Corner, London, SW1

• Jumeirah Carlton Tower, Knightsbridge, London SW1

BACKGROUND

• The Halkin, Belgravia, London SW1

• Dukes Hotel, Mayfair, London SW1

• The Berkeley Hotel, London SW1

• The Cadogan, London SW1

BACKGROUND

• 51 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1

• Haymarket Hotel, St James, London, SW1

• The Stafford, London, SW1

• 22 Jermyn Street, London SW1

The renovations are clever. Traditional wall portraits are combined with modern touches like free internet, free calls to US and UK landlines, free on-demand movies and music, and a free supply of mineral water, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, Murray Mints and fruit.

No boring bruised apples here – there were sticky medjool dates in our basket. It feels wrong to describe these extras as "free" when you know your credit card is being sucked dry for the hotel room– but it does make you wonder why you pay extra for things mineral water elsewhere.

And at least our large double bedroom – an "executive junior suite" – was packed with features. We had five lamps, the kind of leather sofa you’d expect to see in a House of Lords library, a desk with more stationary supplies than W.H. Smith (but Smythson’s is a closer comparison), a dining table and chairs, a chaise longue and plenty of storage space.

There were shelves of musty books that you didn’t want to flick through, and piles of new magazines – Time, Elle, Intelligent Life rather than the normal hotel puffs – that you did.

As well as the spa bath with a set of wooden steps to help you surmount its high edges, the marble bathroom had a separate shower, slippers and Lady Primrose’s toiletries – which moisturised and polished so well that I wanted them as a going-home present, held back only by their crystal containers.

Resisting the inclination to use our personalised hotel notepaper to write a boastful note to friends, we changed for dinner. Food in the hotel’s Apsley restaurant was Italian and less expensive that we’d expected: my minestrone (£8.50) and fillet of beef (£30) were delicious, although my partner was less impressed by tough, breaded veal (£28) and lukewarm potatoes (£3.50).

Bed - with pillows of a softness we’d been asked to pre-order – was next, and double-glazing blocked out the busy street noise.

It was down to the Apsley again for breakfast, served 6.30am until, I was told “whenever”. We were disappointed that there was no buffet, but the menu was expansive, including set options and a la carte. I didn’t feel very virtuous eating the "fitness breakfast" (£23) due to the plentiful baskets of pastries, but they were delicious, as were poached eggs and syrupy fruit compotes. My partner’s full English (£30) was good, but not very hot.

Check out was rapid: more than just the stationary was personalised in this hotel – staff remembered our names and room number.

Guests reporting on Tripadvisor.co.uk gave the hotel an average 4.5/5 and similarly appreciate the personal touches at the Lanesborough – complaints focus on price. And it is a pricey place - but at least you don’t have to dip into your wallet for many extras after check-in.

Bottom line: Full-rate rooms cost from £355. Our executive junior suite cost £845, including tax and service.

Best thing: Room technology and the inclusions – butler, on-demand movies, EU and US calls.

Worst thing: You’d have to eat a lot of Murray Mints to feel you were getting value for money.

Access all areas: Public areas are wheelchair accessible and one bedroom is adapted for disabled guests.

Need to know: The Lanesborough Hotel, Hyde Park Corner. London. SW1X 7TA; tel. 020 7259 5599; www.lanesborough.com; info@lanesborough.com

Food: 7 out of 10

Service: 9 out of 10

Room: 10 out of 10

Value: 6 out of 10

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