Travel: The Goring Hotel, London

It's especially crucial in a city as busy and sprawling as London, where choosing a hotel with the right location can mean the difference between wasting valuable time navigating public transport, versus a visit that's virtually headache-free, whether you're moving between the capital's numerous tourist destinations, or, as in my case, dashing from one business meeting to the next.

Too often the word "convenient" is synonymous with "commonplace", but The Goring - run by the same family since the start of the 20th century and the recipient of five red stars - proves that this needn't be the case. Although it's just five minutes' walk from Victoria tube station, because it's situated down a side street where traffic is infrequent, the hotel is unobtrusive and quiet. Yet it's within walking distance of Buckingham Palace, the royal parks, great shopping and the West End. You're also well-placed to nip over to the Houses of Parliament and Westminster.

There are plenty of enticements to hang around the hotel itself. The ground level reception rooms include an elegant restaurant boasting a cellar so well-stocked that even the viticulturist I invited to join me for a meal was impressed. The dinner was less exciting - traditional British fare done with too little flair for my pernickety palate. Breakfast the next day was spectacular, though, with a wide range of hot and cold options. My eggs with smoked salmon were done to perfection.

Three interconnecting rooms - a dark, masculine bar, an area overlooking the green, and a large, comfortably appointed lounge - comprise the Garden Bar. The best position, in my opinion, is a seat overlooking the restful view over a green square acquired from the Duke of Westminster that's back garden not only to the hotel, but for a select clutch of chic private homes, too.

The cocktail menu is extensive, and they also serve meals and afternoon tea. It was a bit too cold when I visited to take advantage of the veranda, but I expect its 24 seats are highly prized, and I am envious of summer visitors with time to linger of an evening.

My bedroom also overlooked the garden. Covered in luxurious grey-patterned padded silk, the space was a nice mix of form and function, managing to seem spacious - the bed was vast - without comprising that many square feet. And I can never argue with a pristine marble bathroom boasting both shower and large bathtub, not to mention more mirrors than I have body parts to view. Plus, every room comes with its own sheep - stuffed, happily - for you to rest your feet on (or chat to).

Its proximity to Buck House is just one of the reasons The Goring has long been a favourite with royalty. Indeed, if rumours are accurate, Kate Middleton's friends and family will be taking over the hotel for four days in April, and the bride herself may spend the night before the royal wedding at The Goring, as well. It's easy to understand why, for the service, as you'd expect at a hotel that was the first to offer an en suite bathroom with every bedroom and the bliss that is central heating, was unobtrusively magnificent. Mind, the hotel has had a few problems with its innovations. The first attempt at installing a centralised vacuum system resulted in guests' underwear being sucked out and sent flying over the rooftops.)

Greeting me by name, and always with a smile, the staff, I'm sure, could have made my every wish come true, had I been inventive enough to trouble them. They have had a century to perfect the house style, of course, and that sense of history, plus the relatively small size of the place - 71 individually decorated rooms and suites - made for a cosiness often absent in London's larger chains.

Small wonder that in the First World War, The Goring was the centre of operations for the Chief of Allied forces - with a direct phone line to President Woodrow Wilson in Washington DC.

THE FACTS

The Goring Hotel, Beeston Place, London, SW1W 0JW. Double rooms start from around 370. The Goring has a special Valentine's Day package: A Goring Affair to Remember! The cost of 465 includes one night's stay for two, tea, a bottle of champagne, roses and chocs before you settle down with popcorn to watch Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in the classic love story, An Affair To Remember. Tel: 0207 396 9000 or email [email protected] or visit www.thegoring.com

This article first appeared in The Scotsman Magazine, Saturday 29 January, 2011