WHAT defines luxury? Is it size? Location? The number of features in the home entertainment system? Yes – it’s all of these things and more. Luxury means having everything: no downside, no compromise, the best that money can buy. Plus a little extra, that je ne sais quoi that makes a home utterly covetable.

London’s wealth centres around Mayfair and Knightsbridge and spills out across Belgravia, Chelsea, Kensington and Notting Hill. So it is that the city’s finest new properties are found in these places. Beyond being homes, they offer the ultimate living environment, in which nothing is overlooked and no demand refused. As Alasdair Nicholls, chief executive of the luxury London developer Native Land, puts it: “It’s about finding a way to live, not a place to live.” So here, in order, is the Bricks and Mortar guide to the top ten developments in London:

1. As befits its name, One Hyde Park tops the list as the capital’s most luxurious new development. It is a manifestation of “location, location, location”: overlooking Hyde Park, at the top of Sloane Street and opposite Harvey Nichols, it will be a new landmark at the heart of Knightsbridge. The 80 apartments – the largest of which will be 20,000 sq ft – are yet to be built and London’s richest await with bated breath to see mock-ups of the interiors, which are sure to be exemplary because Candy & Candy are designing them. Richard Rogers is the architect and Project Grande the developer. How much? Price on application, naturally (020-7590 2340).

2. Down the road in Belgravia, just off Sloane Street, 21 Chesham Place is a boutique development of only six apartments, one of which is on the market. The entire back wall of the building is glass, filling it with light. Apartment 3, which is for sale, is one of the best, being split over the first and second floors. It covers 8,368 sq ft and has five bedrooms, a staff suite, four balconies and exceptionally stylish entertaining spaces – and so it should for £16 million (Savills, 020-7409 9998).

3. Although not the most expensive of the schemes described here, The Halcyon earns third place by virtue of its extreme beauty. The Italianate hotel on Holland Park Avenue has been overhauled by Tusk Developments and the interiors are very unusual, with pieces that set it apart from its contemporaries. Generous use of black, cutting-edge design and coloured lighting makes this an antidote to understated luxury. The first-floor residence is for sale at £7.5 million, for 3,926 sq ft, three bedrooms and two reception rooms (Knight Frank, 020-7173 4999, and W.A. Ellis, 020-7306 1650).

4. By Belgrave Square sits 10 Montrose Place: two buildings containing 18 apartments. The more exclusive building contains only four residences, costing up to £12 million, and apartments in the main building start at £5 million; a courtyard garden connects the two. The basement car park accommodates low-riding Lamborghinis and cars with wide turning circles, such as the Rolls-Royce Phantom. There are staff studios on site and the project is part of the Grosvenor Estate, chaired by the Duke of Westminster and one of London’s oldest estates; it is a joint venture with Native Land Sales. The artist Andy Goldsworthy has created a fantastic slate wall that depicts the Thames (Knight Frank, 020-7861 1778, and King Sturge, 020-7201 6699).

5. Sustainability is the future of luxury as green living becomes a status symbol, particularly in London. Morpheus Homes is building three mews-style eco-houses on Clareville Street in South Kensington, worth £5 million each. The central heating will be powered by energy from geothermic boreholes and there will be solar panels, rainwater harvesting and lambswool insulation. But there is no sacrifice of style. The master suite takes up a whole floor, with a private sitting room, two en suites and a dressing room. Each house will have a cinema, gym and steam room. Wine cellars have humidors, and heated driveways (powered from the boreholes) prevent overnight frost on cars – which will presumably be electric (Morpheus, 020-7610 7170, www.morpheusonline.com ).

6. When it launched in 2006, The Knightsbridge was known as being particularly luxurious, with a swimming pool and business suite, as well as the expected concierge service. Apartment 712 has come on the market at £3.5 million: at 1,258 sq ft it has two bedrooms, two reception rooms and a muted colour scheme (Knight Frank, 020-7591 8600).

7. For design-focused individuals looking for something a little different, The Collection in St John’s Wood is being built at the old Saatchi gallery, off Boundary Road. The houses use intelligent-design concepts, including biometric fingerprint access. Harrods will be supplying the concierge service. Prices range from £2.85 million for a three-bedroom house to £4.85 million for a five-bedroom house (Knight Frank, 020-7173 4999, or Aston Chase, 020-7724 4724, www.thecollection-nw8.com ).

8. Once known for its louche community of writers and actors, Hampstead has become a honeypot for bankers with babies. Bishops Park is a new development of swish apartments built by Octagon on Bishops Avenue among the grand family mansions. Penthouses cost £5 million; the bedroom designs are divine (020-8444 4749, www.bishops-park.com ).

9. For those who hanker after a piece of history but are fond of the new, the Grade II* listed Stone Hall is at the centre of the Kensington Green development by Taylor Woodrow. The new homes look over the main house, which dates from 1847 and is only moments from Kensington High Street. Residents have access to nine acres of gardens, a gym and underground carpark. A two-bedroom flat is for sale for £1.9 million (Jo Webster, 020-7349 7055).

10. Not a luxury address but located where the money is made, St Botolph’s sits beneath the Gherkin in the heart of the City. For those in need of a des res by the office, this offers 14 studio, one and two-bedroom apartments, priced from £395,000 to £850,000. Designed by Matthew Lloyd Architects, it is connected by glass to the Grade II listed St Botolph’s Hall (Native Land Sales, 020-7349 7228).

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