STYLE AND SUBSTANCE
Situated in the heart of South Kensington, it’s a straightforward tube journey from Euston, where we arrive after a very comfortable morning train journey from Glasgow with Avanti West Coast.
A former home of Victorian aristocrat William Alexander, the five-star hotel has been designed to reflect the building’s rich history and is stocked with curiosities from his travels. The interiors are in keeping with the designs of an elegant townhouse and the hotel has a very relaxed and calming ambience.
All rooms are furnished with Nespresso coffee machines, flat screen TVs and Molton Brown toiletries.
SLEEPING MATTERS
Subdued lighting in the hotel corridors help create a restful wind-down for bed after a busy day exploring the UK’s capital city. Blackout curtains ensure a night of undisturbed sleep with barely a sound heard from outside our room.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The hotel’s signature restaurant, Cento, celebrates the country’s diverse regional cuisine, created by the hotel’s all-Italian team of chefs.
Botanica is an elegant glass and mirrored atrium offering a quintessential British Afternoon Tea. We dined on small plates in the gorgeously decadent ESQ bar, including pea Arancini, truffle fries and a ploughman’s platter of cheeses after deliciously refreshing Asian-themed cocktails. Breakfast has all the full English staples plus cereals, cheeses, pastries and pancakes.
ABOUT THE AREA
The hotel is well placed to peruse London’s top cultural attractions, including the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, Royal Albert Hall, the V&A and Hyde Park.
We enjoyed a visit to Kensington Palace for the glitzy Crown to Couture fashion exhibition, which runs until the end of October.
NICE TOUCH
The staff are exceptionally helpful and friendly.
Rooms start at £279 per night. A one-way standard class ticket with Avanti West Coast is available from £35.
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