Baglioni Hotel London

The intimate Baglioni Hotel offers luxe Italian decor and contemporary details in a classy palette of rich black and gold. The lobby, renovated along with the restaurant in some guest rooms in 2016, features striking jet-black chandeliers, a gold leaf paneled reception desk, and buttery high-backed armchairs with button tufting. Brunello, the hotel's restaurant and bar, is a destination in its own right, with chic gold-orb lighting, a central bar trimmed in intricate black-and-white trattoria-style tiling, and a small terrace overlooking Kensington gardens. With luxury service and lots of extras, this property attracts business guests during the week, but it's primarily a destination for leisure travelers, including couples and families. 

The Baglioni Hotel is located in the Kensington neighborhood on the southwest tip of Hyde Park near Kensington Palace. The area is generally a mix of affluent residents and tourists, and the guests can walk to shopping on Kensington High Street and to Royal Albert Hall. The hotel is an eight-minute walk to the nearest tube station -- High Street Kensington station (Circle and District Lines) -- and guests can get to sights like Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace via the tube in just under a half hour. Guests can also take advantage of the free chauffeur service in the hotel's Maserati, within a mile-and-a-half radius. Heathrow Airport is about 43 minutes away, by public transit, or a 27-minute drive.

Spacious rooms are one of the most appealing features of the Baglioni Hotel. Rooms and suites pair black parquet flooring with sensual fabrics, like silk and textile-quilted walls or buttery leathers, creating spaces that are both luxe and romantic. On top of contemporary pieces, art brings Italian charm with classics from the Italian Renaissance era. The black marble bathrooms are particularly chic, with roomy combination showers and tubs, bidets, and golden basin sinks. Room and suite categories range from entry-level Superior Rooms (270 square feet) to lots of spacious suites, including the enormous three-bedroom Royal Suite.  Rooms have a minimum of 26-inch flat-screen TVs, digital music players, and free Wi-Fi, in addition to generously stocked minibars and Illy espresso machines. Bathrooms feature robes and high-end Ortigia toiletries. Half the rooms offer views of Hyde Park, while the remaining rooms face Kensington Street or the courtyard.

Despite it's small size, the Baglioni Hotel offers the kind of top-shelf amenities guests expect from a luxury property. The restaurant and bar, Brunello, which was renovated in 2016, is a chic spot serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus drinks and afternoon tea. (But note that breakfast isn't included in the room rate.) Room service is available 24 hours. The hotel's wellness facilities underwent a full renovation in 2015 and features a stylish spa with gender-separated steam rooms and three treatment rooms. There's also a small but nice gym with modern cardio and weightlifting equipment. Unfortunately, the hotel has no pool. Attentive staff offer personalized service, including butler, concierge, and chauffeur service (chauffeur's drive guests around in the hotel's Maserati, with free service within a mile-and-a-half radius). Pets are allowed for an extra fee, and kids are treated well, with kids' gifts, special bath products, and Nintendo Wii or PS3s available in rooms where kids are staying. There's no proper business center, but meeting rooms are available and Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel.