Travelling with kids needn’t mean finding a hotel with plastic cutlery and chalkboard walls, especially if you want to see London in style. Five-star hotel Café Royal on Piccadilly Circus knows this and welcomes VIP families who want that once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The best family trips to London always seem to gravitate towards the South Bank and the Thames, where you’ll find Jubilee Gardens playground (free), the London Eye and Tate Modern as well as performance artists and street-food trucks along the water’s edge.

Beware grown-ups: you’re almost an afterthought at this ingeniously family-friendly four-star near Westminster Abbey and Whitehall.

You could walk straight out of the door into Hyde Park for Serpentine swimming or rollerblade and horse-riding trails (the royal park is essentially Mandarin Oriental’s back garden).

As if it wasn’t enough to be able to see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben from your bedroom window in this South Bank hotel near Waterloo station, you can even see both London icons from the gym, as well as Gillray’s steakhouse restaurant and the library where afternoon tea is served.

It’s fitting that this sophisticated French-owned five-star hotel just off Pall Mall should offer its young guests a sophisticated London experience — namely, an exquisite afternoon tea, which children design themselves.

In the artfully converted Bethnal Green Town Hall — where even Council Chambers and its amphitheatre seating remains intact and can be used for parties — this hip hotel is perfect for parents who want designer digs in an edgy area.

If you think of London’s Square Mile — with its suits and skyscrapers — you tend not to think of family-friendly hotels, which is a shame as there are so many famous sights nearby, including the Tower of London, Gherkin and the Shard.

What we love most about this discreet Mayfair hotel is that it manages to teach kids so much about art, without them even realising.

Park Plaza is a great brand to have on your radar if you’re looking for affordable hotels in London, full stop. There’s also a heated indoor pool, children’s check-in with goodie bags and a kids-eat-free policy.

Little ones and big kids alike can’t help but be wowed by Haymarket Hotel’s underground pool, with its bar, snacks, and giant cinema screen. There are inflatables for kids, cocktails for grown-ups, and a surround-sound light and audio system that makes even a dozen lengths feel like a party.

When we say this hotel on the Strand is the best for the theatre, we refer to Mamma Mia, The Lion King and the Royal Opera House, all of which are popcorn-throwing distance away.

A London must-see in itself, Battersea Power Station has a funky hotel within — Art’otel — that means you can tick off this icon without even leaving your room.

There are many Novotels in London, all of which have family rooms, and all of which invite children to stay and eat breakfast free (when sharing a family room with parents), in addition to offering late check out and discounted rates.