Best Luxury Hotels in Kensington

Primely positioned midway between Chelsea and Knightsbridge, The Cadogan is an iconic destination where quintessential British charm effortlessly imbues a modern elegance. An intimate ‘home’ in the heart of the city, where the past and present are intertwined with every detail, the hotel overlooks the private Cadogan Palace Gardens, a botanical haven to which guests have exclusive access. Steeped in history, The Cadogan has an illustrious list of past residents, including Lillie Langtry and Oscar Wilde – the room in which Oscar Wilde was arrested is now the noble Royal Suite. In the 54 individually designed rooms, two-thirds of which are suites, white-on-white linens are offset with vibrant pops of colour, silk and velvet, with captivating artwork and design details honouring the hotel’s rich heritage.

With gardens, tennis courts and its own health club (The Peak Fitness Club) with a 20-metre naturally-lit indoor pool, this feels more like a resort than an urban hotel. The Carlton Tower has an enviable Knightsbridge address on Sloane Street. Inside, are 186 guest rooms, of which the three-bedroom Royal Suite is the pièce de résistance, with incredible views. Dine on modern-meets-classic Italian dishes at Al Mare. And don’t miss the award-winning nature-inspired afternoon tea in The Chinoiserie Lounge. The Carlton Tower Jumeirah is the sister hotel to the iconic Burj Al Arab Jumeirah.

Stay in an elegant heritage hotel opposite Hyde Park and Kensington Palace. The Milestone offers 43 deluxe rooms, 13 individually designed suites and six two and three-bedroom residences, your home-from-home in the city. Go to Cheneston’s restaurant for fine English cuisine by Executive Chef Daniel Putz, the Stable’s Bar for hand-made cocktails and the Park Lounge, for a refined daily British afternoon tea service. Additionally, The Milestone has its own chapel, The Oratory, catering for small private events. Below ground, you’ll find a fitness centre, treatment rooms and a resistance pool.

This luxury hotel is in the heart of Chelsea and was originally built by Lord Chelsea as four separate townhouses in the 19th century, this hotel has a rich heritage and an elegant design. The Victorian-style establishment is part of the historical Cadogan Estate, and it offers 56 rooms, 25 of which are individually designed suites. The design seamlessly incorporates contemporary and classic warm tones to bring out elegance and class. The stylish bar offers classic cocktails, and the innovative menu has a variety of foods you can choose from. The top-notch chefs use local produce and fresh ingredients to prepare food. The boutique bedrooms have marble bathrooms as well as Ormonde Jayne toiletries. Quality Italian linen, as well as the fluffy bathrobes, are comfortable and warm. You get access to complimentary Wi-Fi and a gym that is always open.

Established by celebrity designer Anouska Hempel, Blakes was the capital’s first five-star boutique residence. Its exclusivity and privacy make it popular with celebrities evading the limelight (Princess Margaret, Sarah Ferguson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lindsay Lohan and Kate Moss are all said to have stayed here). The decor is inspired by exotic lands – each bedroom reflecting a different pocket of the globe. Its urban garden was created by Matthew Williamson, is open for daytime meals, early evening drinks and boasts a glass birdcage like dining pod. While by night, dining takes place in the venue’s organic Mediterranean eatery. Guests at Blakes Hotel have access to the South Kensington Club, with its traditional Russian bathhouse, or can request in-room spa treatments. 

This boutique hotel is five minutes away from Sloane Square if you are going by foot. The luxurious bedrooms have marble bathrooms, and you get access to free Wi-Fi so that you stay connected to the rest of the world. The interior design of this hotel leaves a lasting impression on anyone that stays. For interior décor, the hotel has been furnished with antiques collected from all over the world, paintings, as well as classical furniture. All the rooms are air-conditioned to ensure you enjoy comfort and excellent air quality. The Penhaligon’s toiletries and bathrobes provided in every room make you feel at home.

Grade II-listed Georgian townhouses in swanky Sloane Street provide the setting for this art-filled boutique hotel, a sister property to the Beaverbrook Hotel in Surrey. Inside is a gem of a destination restaurant, the Japanese Fuji Grill. Sample the 12-course omakase tasting menu, or take a leather seat at the sushi bar for some of the best sashimi in the capital. Meanwhile, 14 bohemian bedrooms follow a theatrical West End theme, with fringed and canopied beds. Guests also have their own Chromecast, Roberts radio, a complimentary minibar, Nespresso coffee machine, East India Company teas and Bamford bath products.

Privately owned, this hotel themes its rooms on high-brow local attractions: the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Victoria & Albert and the Royal Albert Hall. So does its quirky and interactive Science Afternoon Tea, an award-winning experience – including jams served in petri dishes, chocolate spacemen and dinosaur biscuits – served in the Drawing Room. It’s understandably popular with children, but there’s also a grown-up version, featuring a cocktail flight. Venture beneath the building’s Victorian arches for a more substantial meal, in the Mediterranean eatery Apero. The 111 bedroom South Kensington hotel welcomes small pets in deluxe category rooms and above and won’t charge for their stay. Cots and extra beds can be added on request, for travelling families.

Kids and pets are welcome at this 150 room townhouse hotel. Enter from the bustling Old Brompton Road, into a haven of calm. In-suite Aromatherapy Associates toiletries, Nespresso machines and a minibar help guests to unwind in their own private space. Or there’s the softly lit classic club-style K-Bar, where you can relax with a cocktail on one of its divinely cosy sofas (look out for the bar’s brass doors, which used to belong to Dublin’s General Post Office, the backdrop for the Easter Rising in 1916). Be sure to make a booking at its restaurant, Town House, too. The Kensington is super stylish, sporting statement lighting and plenty of sumptuously tactile textiles. 

Like The Gore, this hotel is part of the Starhotels Collezione group, an identity reflected in the otherwise quintessentially British hotel’s Italian basement restaurant. The Pelham’s vintage interiors have been refreshed by designer Kit Kemp, yet retain the original features, stuccoed ceilings and oil painted artworks that nod to its past. Housed in a Victorian townhouse across from the tube station, it’s super convenient for exploring the city. Children love the brand’s VIK (Very Important Kid) programme, with games, activities, menus and amenities. Pets are allowed to stay with you here, too. 

Housed in a 19th-century building on Holbein Place, this Victorian mansion now exudes French sensibilities along with an eternal British charm. Hotelier Costes and designer François-Joseph Graf have created a discreet home-from-home with just 30 period bedrooms and suites, ranging from a “Mini” to a two-bedroom apartment. Enter via the Neo-Greek lobby and descend to the lower-ground floor speakeasy bar. Or climb to the top, where you can dine in the candlelit restaurant, surrounded by stained-glass windows, a mosaic floor and an antique collection of Anglo-Chinese vases. Vintage albums and a signature scene throughout create an immersive feel at One Sloane.

Two red brick Victorian townhouses combine as one, to form The Egerton House Hotel in Knightsbridge. 28 plush bedrooms come with Savoir beds, bespoke handpicked furnishings, Floris toiletries, 200 thread-count Belgian linens, Belu mineral water, fresh fruit and flowers. Of these, the four-poster suites add espresso coffee machines and views over Egerton Gardens. Forbes Five Star rated since 2012, the hotel presents an award-winning afternoon tea and a famous signature martini. You’ll find original artworks by the likes of Toulouse-Lautrec and Erte, and cartoons by Charles M. Schulz, JAK and Sem.