Blakes Hotel, Couture Boutique Luxury

What To Know

Designed by interior designer, Anouska Hempel; each room is individually inspired by her global travels.
Considered the first luxury boutique hotel in London.
Tucked away on an incredibly quiet residential street tucked away on Roland Gardens in South Kensington, just minutes away from the pulse of London.

Highlights

Restaurant featuring Asian + Mediterranean cuisine paired with an elegant wine curation.
Beautiful bath and bespoke bath amenities and the fluffy, soft towels!
Romantic, trendy, and dark if that's your cup of tea :)
Every room is uniquely designed.

Lowlights

The room I was checked into was quite dark and a little cramped. I was a little disappointed as the other rooms looked to be more promising.
Awkward greeting at check in and no help taking in my luggage.
We experienced rude behavior from a waiter in the outdoor terrace when Gregory had to ask 3x to order another drink.
Our AC was not working properly. The AC in the corridor was working better.
Gregory is a writer and the desk was just not working for us. There was a cumbersome Bang & Olufsen speaker - nice - placed on the desk that left practically no room for laptop space.
The carpet was too prickly and industrial for my taste.

But this was a highlight! I especially liked that it was served in crushed ice.

Mini room tour

The Room

We entered the room to find all the curtains drawn. I understand it helps to keep the room cool but the sun was longing to shine through our room! The room was fine, just a little cramped and dark for my taste. The best feature was definitely the bathroom which I felt was the most luxurious part of the room. The bath took a long time to draw (what can you do) but the towels were lovely and soft. One comment I need to make is the placement of the toilet paper. Because there was no toilet paper holder, one has to reach for the toilet paper which was "trendily" placed near the towels, away from the toilet. Just my two cents :)

The terrace was nice, though not private because it's shared with the other rooms on that level.

In the closet, the in room bar came in the form of a picnic basket with healthy options including gluten free pretzels, great for health conscious guests.

The Restaurant

Located on the ground floor, Blakes restaurant 's decor was inspired by an old fashioned steamer. Here you will find contemporary, Mediterranean cuisine with a sprinkle of Asian influence. In the mornings, the natural sunlight pours through :) Enjoy a tempting Bloody Mary and while you're at it, entice yourself with the succulent scallops for lunch.

Blakes Below Bar - a trendy little underground spot for intimate libations, open to the public and hotel guests.

Courtyard - an escape to enjoy evening cocktails or breakfast. Limited on space but cozy.

Gin garden - to celebrate Blake's 40th anniversary, Blakes have concocted a special cocktail that will be featured exclusively in their gin garden for the month of August.

Amenities

Room service
Magimix nespresso machine
Restaurant/underground bar/Courtyard - where I quaffed a gin and tonic or five!!
Concierge
Pets allowed
Free wifi
Bathrobes
Personal Blakes bespoke bath products
Bang & Olufsen speakers
Fourth floor terrace - a wonderful spot to get your sun on!
There is no on site gym but the hotel has a partnership with South Kensington members club
Even though there is no on site spa, Blakes concierge will bring the spa to you in the form of in room facials, massages, and other beauty treatments
Apparently, you can get a vinyl record player in you room - a vintage touch

Words of Thanks

Thank you to Sophia Asghar, the Director of Sales and Marketing, for arranging my complimentary stay at Blakes hotel. She was an absolute joy to work with. I particularly loved that she is a hearty Scottish woman living her dream in London. She was outstanding in her knowledge of the hotel and her passion shone through her words. From the start, she was very attentive to my needs and responded properly and professionally to the issues I encountered. What I found interesting that Sophia shared with me was the team's intuitive work to place guests in a room that they felt best suited them prior to arrival. The staff at Blakes is definitely close-knit which is always important, especially in a boutique hotel setting. I look forward to coming back to properly experience the cuisine with my friends. Anouska Hempel herself frequents the hotel once a week for dinner; maybe you'll bump into her!

Update as of August 15: I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch at Blakes Restaurant and was kindly taken care of by the gentlemanly Food and Beverage director, Dominque. Thank you Sophia for arranging my lunch. In my humble opinion, this restaurant is the winning feature of the whole hotel. We opted for a la carte dining, my favorite! My favorite dishes were the soft shell crab with Nan Jim dressing and the perfectly cooked scallops with crispy capers and saffron. The pasta was great as well although I'm not used to paccheri. I would have much preferred a linguine dish. Gregory absolutely enjoyed his ribeye leaving hardly anything left for me to try ;)

From Nada to Prada tip: if you have a specific room in mind, it would behoove you to reserve it in advance so you don't check in to any surprises :) Each room is individually decorated so choose one that fits you! I am thinking the Venetian and Prague suites are more my style.

Head to Blakes Restaurant for a contemporary Mediterranean meal!

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