Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences

Taj 51 Buckingham Gate is the all-suite half of a discreet Westminster enclave a short walk from Buckingham Palace and St James's Park. Eighty-six suites and residences, from one to six bedrooms, are set across three late-Victorian red-brick townhouses that wrap around a private courtyard, its tiered cherub fountain circled by one of the longest Shakespearean sylvan friezes carved anywhere. It is the sister property to St James' Court, and events for both are run as a single portfolio through the shared enclave, so a private booking here draws on the full spread of rooms the two hotels hold between them.

That spread runs from the Edwardian Suite, the largest room, panelled in wood beneath a domed glass skylight and taken for receptions and banquets, down through the Buckingham reception room and the naturally lit, interconnecting Taj Room to a set of boardrooms and the intimate Chambers. The address also holds Quilon, the coastal South Indian restaurant that has kept a MICHELIN star every year since 2008, with its own private dining room served by a dedicated kitchen, bar and entrance. Two further restaurants, the Sichuan-and-Cantonese House of Ming and the conservatory-set Bombay Brasserie, sit within the same buildings.

The courtyard is the property's signature, and in summer it opens for al fresco receptions of up to two hundred beneath the ivy and the fountain, with a small rooftop terrace above it. Ground-floor reception, lounge and the Kona bar were reworked to keep the Edwardian bones while bringing in modern-classic furniture and lighting. Access to the private spaces is by arrangement through the events team.