London Hotel Bars

American Bar

The Savoy's epicurean drinkerie was given an American twist in 1926, when wealthy, Prohibition-era visitors crossed the Atlantic tearing their toupees off for a tipple. Indeed, Stateside bar supremo Harry Craddock is widely credited as bringing cocktails to these ale-obsessed shores. Expect art deco, armchairs and lots of orchids.

Claridge's

Gordon Ramsay may be best-known for his hot temper, but the exquisite cuisine at his eponymous restaurant in Claridge's proves that the profanities are paying off. Wash a Ramsay supper down in David Collins's art deco-meets-cool-urbanity lounge, where rare champagnes and tailpipe-thick cigars are among the raisons de venir.

The Long Bar

There's an age-old pub shanty that goes something along the lines of, "There's only one bar in this joint!" ("Boo!") "But it's a mile long!" ("Hooray!"). It could easily apply to the appropriately named Long Bar, which although not a mile long (they'd never get the staff) is an admirable 80ft. Drinks such as the Black Bison (made with handcrushed blackberries) are served to the well-spruced.

Mandarin Bar

A living, breathing lesson in interior styling, the Mandarin Bar is all House of Flying Daggers sophisticated poise. Leather armchairs and silk-lined walls serve up a visual t'ai chi, and there's even a separate smoking room, where fumeurs can enjoy one of 45 cigar varieties in an air-conditioned environment.

Refuel

Built on the site of a former multi-storey car park, and boasting a name that harks of a motorway service station, this bar definitely has something of an auto theme going on. Even the designer, Kit Kemp, sounds like something from Knight Rider. Refuel's bright, modern furnishings, long, pewter bar and car-lot mural, married to the finest international cuisine, get the thumbs up from the Soho poseurs wishing to fill their tanks.