HotelChatter

This year our focus is on newly opened locales (excluding St. Pancras Reniassance; truth be told, we've hit news overload with the hotel behemoth), the places you might want to seek out as an alternative to old faithfuls.

First, there's St. John, whose notoriously delayed opening and critically-lauded restaurant have generated a lot of buzz—for different reasons, obviously. We recently rang the hotel, and a staff member informed us that rooms are still available during the height of the season (we checked on December 23-27), priced at £240 and £330, respectively. The cheaper rate is for rooms with no natural light, while £330 will get you three windows and more space; free breakfast was said to be included with each room rate. If you can stand the dark, go the penny-pinching route and splurge on shopping or a show in Leicester Square.

Next up there's the Zetter Townhouse, a little reported on boutique hotel in the heart of Clerkenwell. Though removed from the mania of Oxford Circus, it's just around the corner from Exmouth Market, a lovely collection of worthwhile restaurants, pubs, and shops and a favorite destination of the neighborhood's discerning denizens. Here you're looking at a price breakdown of about £172.00 per night, breakfast from Bistro Bruno Loubet included. If you're traveling with a group, there's also a special Christmas menu at £60.00 per person for a minimum of six, offering a French-English twist on traditional holiday dinner.

For some extra cash-money you can head—where else?—to the heart of West London, at the recently renovated Four Seasons Park Lane. When we called, there were two basic room options free: the Superior (with a queen sized bed) at £285 per night and the Deluxe (with a king sized bed) at £350 per night, neither rate including 20% Value Added Tax. When we asked about packages, options were skint, with a basic "Spa Pampering" bundle priced at £440 per night (not including VAT) that gets you breakfast each morning and one massage per person. We can't say that the bare bones "deal" sounded very enticing, but if it's monied Made in Chelsea types you're hoping to hang with during your stay, you'll find plenty of that social sort around Hyde Park Corner.

[Photo: The Zetter Townhouse]