SmokingOn Guides
London Hotels for Smokers: Smoking Rooms & Rules
London is a destination where your smoking arrangement needs to be planned before you book. A hotel in-room cigarette arrangement may be legally possible subject to conditions, but the individual property must agree to it for your dates. For a smoother stay, make the precise smoking location part of your booking request and get the property’s answer in writing.
Reviewed September 2026 · Official sources
Loading current smoking friendliness score
SmokingOn Score™
Regulatory watch: England has a pending tobacco-law reform (+1 more monitored). Current rules are unchanged. View details
Quick verdict
Lawful in-room smoking may be possible, but property permission and room category still need confirmation.
Could still work if
- You can confirm a smoking-permitted room category before you travel.
Where can I smoke?
A quick read of what current law allows for travellers—not what every property offers.
- Hotel room smoking
- Possible, with restrictions
- Indoor restaurants & cafés
- Prohibited
- Indoor bars
- Prohibited
- Indoor nightclubs
- Prohibited
Practical reality
Practical smoking experience
How usable this destination is in practice — separate from what the law permits.
Cigarettes
LimitedFor cigarette smokers, expect to smoke outdoors rather than inside bars, restaurants, transport facilities, or other enclosed public places. Whether an outdoor table, terrace, hotel, or other property permits smoking remains venue- or property-specific.
What cigarette smokers should plan for in London
Build your London stay around a confirmed accommodation arrangement rather than an assumption. Indoor smoking in hospitality settings is restricted, so a dependable plan starts with the room or accommodation arrangement you have agreed directly with the property.
Hotels: ask specifically about the room
For hotels, cigarette smoking in a room may be legally possible subject to conditions. That does not mean every hotel offers the arrangement. Ask whether smoking is permitted in the exact room offered for your stay, and have the answer confirmed in writing before you book.
Private apartments, serviced apartments and villas
For private apartments, serviced apartments and villas, in-room cigarette smoking may be legally possible subject to conditions. Property permission remains essential: ask the host or operator whether smoking is permitted in the exact accommodation and in any location that matters to you, such as a private balcony, terrace or garden.
Restaurants
In London restaurants, cigarette smoking is prohibited indoors and there is no blanket whole-venue smoking permission. Smoking on an outdoor terrace may be available subject to applicable conditions.
