BLAKES
Swish and seductive extravagance in SW3
FLAIR AND FLAMBOYANCE make atmospheric Blakes – designed by Anouska Hempel – a true '80s couture hotel. The foyer in this Kensington townhouse hotel is a throwback to days of the Raj, with its retro-style Edwardian trunks and rattan chairs, while dramatic and decadent bedrooms are designed to seduce the senses.
Choose one that’s white on white on white, or others in theatrical golds and blacks. Each is an original, with colours ranging from the bold and dramatic to the restful and soft. Trompe l’oeil and fabric covered walls are set off by silks, velvets and swagged drapery. Sensuous colour palettes are ripe with cardinal reds, lavender, vanilla and tea rose.
The result mixes '80s rock chic with stylish comforts. Sip a cocktail in the atmospheric bar or surface for air in the hotel’s courtyard garden, before dining on slickly presented east-west fusion cuisine in an incense-infused setting. Blakes remains a sought-after hideaway in chicest Kensington.
Hit the Spot
In smartest backstreet Kensington.
Pillow Talk
Expect '80s rock chic. The scarlet-walled Cardinal suite scores on boudoir Wow, while Luxury suites have a softer French provençal feel, with gossamer nets and white furnishings.
Be Savvy
It's a place for sensualists with cash to splash.
Be Smitten
Boutique lovenest in SW3.
Seductive dining
Blakes was London's first original boutique hotel, and rooms have stood the test of time impeccably well. Our quarters had black walls, gold lamps, colonial wooden blinds, a stencilled floor and a lordly Edwardian bathtub. We slumbered in a vast four-poster draped in silks and sipped champagne, feeling shamefully decadent.
Blakes’ glossy-black restaurant has been aptly described as being “like an opium den managed by Coco Chanel.” Start swooning – lots of other guests do, and proposals here are rife. Oriental screens and swish decor add to the expensively laquered feel.
Bedrooms invite you to choose between the darkest Orient, a 1930s cruise liner, or a sultan’s harem. Some are more masculine in deep copper and brown, while the light and airy 007 suite is all biscuit and white, with a huge four poster and French doors. All invite you to soak up the throwback extravagance of it all.
Blakes Hotel was reviewed for Room for Romance by Mike North
FLAIR AND FLAMBOYANCE make atmospheric Blakes – designed by Anouska Hempel – a true '80s couture hotel. The foyer in this Kensington townhouse hotel is a throwback to days of the Raj, with its retro-style Edwardian trunks and rattan chairs, while dramatic and decadent bedrooms are designed to seduce the senses.
Choose one that’s white on white on white, or others in theatrical golds and blacks. Each is an original, with colours ranging from the bold and dramatic to the restful and soft. Trompe l’oeil and fabric covered walls are set off by silks, velvets and swagged drapery. Sensuous colour palettes are ripe with cardinal reds, lavender, vanilla and tea rose.
The result mixes '80s rock chic with stylish comforts. Sip a cocktail in the atmospheric bar or surface for air in the hotel’s courtyard garden, before dining on slickly presented east-west fusion cuisine in an incense-infused setting. Blakes remains a sought-after hideaway in chicest Kensington.
Hit the Spot
In smartest backstreet Kensington.
Pillow Talk
Expect '80s rock chic. The scarlet-walled Cardinal suite scores on boudoir Wow, while Luxury suites have a softer French provençal feel, with gossamer nets and white furnishings.
Be Savvy
It's a place for sensualists with cash to splash.
Be Smitten
Boutique lovenest in SW3.
Seductive dining
Blakes was London's first original boutique hotel, and rooms have stood the test of time impeccably well. Our quarters had black walls, gold lamps, colonial wooden blinds, a stencilled floor and a lordly Edwardian bathtub. We slumbered in a vast four-poster draped in silks and sipped champagne, feeling shamefully decadent.
Blakes’ glossy-black restaurant has been aptly described as being “like an opium den managed by Coco Chanel.” Start swooning – lots of other guests do, and proposals here are rife. Oriental screens and swish decor add to the expensively laquered feel.
Bedrooms invite you to choose between the darkest Orient, a 1930s cruise liner, or a sultan’s harem. Some are more masculine in deep copper and brown, while the light and airy 007 suite is all biscuit and white, with a huge four poster and French doors. All invite you to soak up the throwback extravagance of it all.
Blakes Hotel was reviewed for Room for Romance by Mike North
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Dining in
East meets West in Blakes' moodily dark restaurant, and there’s an eclectic range of dishes to try. Try the miso soup with silken tofu, honey spiced duck with coriander raita and chicken and pomelo salad. If it's too much bother to get dressed, there's 24 hour room service.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served until 11am.
Room service
Available 24 hours a day.
Where?
Blakes restaurant
What’s cooking?
Try langoustine salad with basil aioli, crispy chicken with a ginger sauce or charred tuna with miso dijon drssing and green tea noodles.
Dress the part
The sleeker the better.
Top table?
Almost all are suitably intimate.
See & Do
What’s not to do around here? You’re minutes from London’s museum country (V&A, Natural History and Science museums) and a short tube ride from Hyde Park Corner, Buckingham Palace and the West End.
Spa
Blakes is currently building a spa and fitness suite, due to open shortly. There is a small fitness room on site.
Diary Dates
May
Take in the heady scents of the famous Chelsea Flower Show.
June
Fight for tickets to Wimbledon – even if it’s just for the strawberries and cream.
East meets West in Blakes' moodily dark restaurant, and there’s an eclectic range of dishes to try. Try the miso soup with silken tofu, honey spiced duck with coriander raita and chicken and pomelo salad. If it's too much bother to get dressed, there's 24 hour room service.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served until 11am.
Room service
Available 24 hours a day.
Where?
Blakes restaurant
What’s cooking?
Try langoustine salad with basil aioli, crispy chicken with a ginger sauce or charred tuna with miso dijon drssing and green tea noodles.
Dress the part
The sleeker the better.
Top table?
Almost all are suitably intimate.
See & Do
What’s not to do around here? You’re minutes from London’s museum country (V&A, Natural History and Science museums) and a short tube ride from Hyde Park Corner, Buckingham Palace and the West End.
Spa
Blakes is currently building a spa and fitness suite, due to open shortly. There is a small fitness room on site.
Diary Dates
May
Take in the heady scents of the famous Chelsea Flower Show.
June
Fight for tickets to Wimbledon – even if it’s just for the strawberries and cream.
GETTING THERE
Location
Roland Gardens, London SW7 3PF
Parking
There is nearby garage parking and free street parking close by after 6.30pm.
Trains
Mainline: Victoria station – 15 minutes by cab
Underground: Gloucester Road (Piccadilly Line) and South Kensington (District/Circle lines) – five minutes.
Taxis
GBP 50 from London Heathrow. Private transfers can be arranged.
Airport
London Heathrow – 18 miles.
Rooms and suites
43 rooms and nine suites.
Special features
Signature rooms are four-poster fantasy trips.
Also…
Rooms have DVD and CD players, satellite television and wi-fi internet. There’s also private dining in suites, if you’re trying to keep the paparazzi at bay.
ESSENTIAL INFO
Rates guide
From GBP 265
Open/closed
Open all year
Check-in
2pm
Check-out
12 noon
Minimum night stay?
No
Children
No restrictions.
Pets
Small dogs are allowed but must not be left unattended.
Air conditioning
Yes
Wedding license?
Yes – for up to 85 guests.
Location
Roland Gardens, London SW7 3PF
Parking
There is nearby garage parking and free street parking close by after 6.30pm.
Trains
Mainline: Victoria station – 15 minutes by cab
Underground: Gloucester Road (Piccadilly Line) and South Kensington (District/Circle lines) – five minutes.
Taxis
GBP 50 from London Heathrow. Private transfers can be arranged.
Airport
London Heathrow – 18 miles.
Rooms and suites
43 rooms and nine suites.
Special features
Signature rooms are four-poster fantasy trips.
Also…
Rooms have DVD and CD players, satellite television and wi-fi internet. There’s also private dining in suites, if you’re trying to keep the paparazzi at bay.
ESSENTIAL INFO
Rates guide
From GBP 265
Open/closed
Open all year
Check-in
2pm
Check-out
12 noon
Minimum night stay?
No
Children
No restrictions.
Pets
Small dogs are allowed but must not be left unattended.
Air conditioning
Yes
Wedding license?
Yes – for up to 85 guests.
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Blakes
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Room for Romance Extra
A complimentary bottle of house champagne.
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