When I called my travel agent friend, Jonathan Epstein of the fabulous Celebrate Experiences, to ask him for advice on where to stay for our first trip to London, it didn’t surprise me that the hotel he sent me to was both luxurious & Irish-owned. The Kensington Hotel is located in one of the poshest sections of London – South Kensington – yet is the furthest thing from a stuffy luxury experience.
Located in South Kensington, this boutique hotel is located perfectly for exploring the upscale neighborhoods of Kensington, Chelsea & Notting Hill, but is also only a 15 minute Underground ride from Westminster & 30 minutes to Borough Market.
Our room
Our luxury studio suite was the perfect place to rest our head after a long day of touring. The king-sized bed (truly, American king-sized!) was super comfortable & we enjoyed sitting in the comfy club chairs looking out over the street. While the room was well appointed with a Nespresso machine (that I never did figure out how to work!), a mini-bar & a safe, housekeeping was more than happy to bring us an iron when we needed one, & even a mini-fridge to keep my Laduree macaroons chilled.
Our room was on the second floor facing the street &, even though we live in a pretty urban neighborhood & are used to street noise, we definitely noticed the street noise at all hours of the night – talking, traffic sounds, even sirens in the middle of the night (we’re talking NYC-level noise) & could clearly hear any talking in the hall. We also had a huge issue with our wake up call on the one morning we were able to sleep in: the automated system accidentally called us at the crack of dawn we had programmed it for the night before & called us at the time we requested. When I mentioned this to the front desk, they implied that I had done something wrong, which was frustrating.
Most amazing about our room was the palatial bathroom, which was almost larger than the room itself. If only I had carved out enough time to soak in the claw foot tub! Kensington Hotel also gets points from me for having the best water pressure of any property I’ve stayed in this year & bonus points for extremely fluffy towels. Triple bonus points for also having a towel warmer, which every cozy bathroom needs.
Breakfast
Breakfast, which is served in the library, is included in your room rate. We enjoyed their plentiful continental buffet & a la carte menu each morning. Our favorite breakfast items included mini-brioche (both the chocolate chip & the plain served with jam), Scottish salmon & eggs, egg white super foods omelet (I liked this so much, I had it almost every morning) & the porridge. It was lovely to start the morning with a big meal & a cappuccino or English breakfast tea; on a cool morning, a table by the fireplace is just delightful.
There were some questions about what a la carte items were actually included (our waiter said “everything,” but our room bill said differently), so make sure & ask if there’s something specific you have your eye on. Also, breakfast service was sometimes a bit slow, but the kindness of the waitstaff made up for it.
Afternoon Tea
There was no way we could go to the UK & not have a proper afternoon tea, so luckily for us, tea was included as a special perk of booking through Celebrated Experiences. Our only other experience with afternoon tea was at the Fitzwilliam in Dublin & there’s was so palatial, perhaps our expectations were a little out of whack.
Since Kensington Hotel is located in a very French area of London (the French Embassy is just around the corner & the streets are filled with French bistros & francophiles), their afternoon tea has a french spin. We shared one dessert tower & each had our own giant pot of tea. The french pastries were delicate & delightful, but we did miss having a traditional scone & clotted cream. The teas were very good (I had peppermint, B had English breakfast) & the presentation, including the dainty china, was lovely.
A lovely stay
Overall, we had an absolutely lovely stay. The international front of the house staff was wonderful, especially the concierge Martyn, who gave us solid dinner recommendations almost every night of our stay. Romain, the front desk manager on duty when we checked in, could not have been more welcoming. We also enjoyed talking tea with the food & beverage manager from Spain.
The public spaces of the hotel were so warm & welcoming, which might surprise you since your first impression of the property is in their pretty modern lobby. The sitting room off the lobby has a roaring fireplace, where we enjoyed champagne & cupcakes one evening, & while we were there, the property was just putting the finishing touches on a brand new sitting room.
I was a little nervous about not staying in the middle of all the tourist action, but it was so nice to be in a neighborhood & enjoy dinner at small bistros was locals. When we return to London, we’ll definitely be enjoying some Irish hospitality.
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