A man will appear in court today charged with the attempted murder of three women at a hotel.

Three wealthy tourists were bludgeoned in a hammer attack after disturbing an intruder in their room at the four-star Cumberland Hotel near Marble Arch in London's West End in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Philip Spence, 32, of no fixed abode, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and one of aggravated burglary, Scotland Yard said, and will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court today.

Thomas Efremi, 56, of Upper Handa Walk, Islington, north London, will also appear at the court charged with handling stolen goods and fraud by false representation, along with James Moss, 33, of Hanley Road, Finsbury Park, north London, who is charged with handling stolen goods.

Carly Baker, 31, of Hanley Road, Finsbury Park, has been charged with handling stolen goods. She has been bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

All four who have been charged are British, police said.

A 34-year-old man has been bailed to return pending further inquiries on a date in May.

One woman is in a critical condition and the other two remain in hospital following the attack, though their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

It is understood that the three women, who are all from the United Arab Emirates, had deliberately left their door unlocked because they were staying in the hotel as part of a large family group.

They were sleeping with three children, who were unharmed, in two adjoining rooms.

The wealthy family, who had come to London for shopping and sightseeing, arrived in the UK between April 3 and 5 and the women had visited large West End stores last Saturday.

The Cumberland Hotel is near Europe's busiest shopping street, Oxford Street, and has 1,000 rooms including a Jimi Hendrix suite.