Picturesque
location next to Battersea Park in trendy Chelsea
Spacious, modern rooms with iPod docks, some with Nespresso machines
Atlantico
restaurant serves excellent Portuguese and European fare for dinner
Bathrooms have separate tubs and showers; suites have two bathrooms
Stylish indoor
pool, sauna, and a 24/7 gym -- all free for guests
Modern, arty interior design, with an airy open-plan lobby
Executive Lounge (for suite guests) with free drinks and snacks
24/7 room
service
Small business center with PCs and printers
Free Wi-Fi
throughout
Reasonably priced secure parking adjacent to hotel
Outside the city center -- a nine-minute walk to the tube
Complaints about room maintenance and housekeeping
Breakfast not included in all rates, and guests find it overpriced
Some rooms
can be noisy
Pool, spa, and gym can get crowded
Charge for Internet access at business center
The upscale, modern Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel & Spa London is in a quiet area that feels exclusive -- adjacent to picturesque Battersea Park and walking distance to Chelsea Bridge and public transportation. Its 216 rooms are spacious, and they include Family Rooms with sofa beds and Suites with lounges and extra bathrooms. All rooms have iPod docks, mini-fridges, large bathrooms with soaking tubs and separate showers, and a few have exercise bikes. But guests have complained about noise and patchy maintenance and housekeeping. Hotel features include a spa with an indoor pool, sauna, steam room, and small gym that's open 24/7. There's a bar that serves tapas, and a restaurant that offers excellent Portuguese and international fare. Travelers might want to also check out the Park International Hotel, which offers comparable rates and afternoon tea service.
Disclaimer: This content was accurate at the time the hotel was reviewed. Please check our partner sites when booking to verify that details are still correct.
Scene
Modern, design-focused hotel that caters to business travelers during the week and tourists on weekends
From the outside, the glass-heavy Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel looks
like the luxury apartment blocks that surround it, and a wide outdoor seating area has
black wicker sofas with elegant red upholstery. The open-plan lobby, with its marble floors, and the bar have floor-to-ceiling windows, and the Plexiglas reception desk and retro-style punchy turquoise armchairs and modern art add pizzazz to the scene. Hallways with white walls and beige-and-navy-blue carpeting are more subdued but a little dark. Mood lighting enhances the
pool and sauna areas, which have blown-up wall photos of
Battersea Park. The atmosphere is almost akin to the Roman baths, with gorgeous blue mosaic tiling in the showers. The Atlantico restaurant is modern and intimate -- chic olive seats and gallery-style prints complement
the polished hardwood flooring. The hotel tends to draw business travelers during the week -- and the vibe is conducive to informal meetings -- and tourists on the weekend.
Location
Quiet, trendy, picturesque location but a little out of the center
This south
London hotel is set on a quiet Battersea street off the much busier
Chelsea Bridge Road. The thoroughfare connects the area to the shops and bars of Chelsea across the Thames River -- it's about a six-minute drive or a 16-minute bus trip. Surrounded by
luxury apartment blocks, the hotel is about a five-minute walk to the entrance of Battersea Park, and a nine-minute walk to Battersea Park train station -- better connections can be found at Sloane Square station, a four-minute
drive or an eight-minute bus ride from the hotel. Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the
Natural History Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum are all less than 10
minutes away by car, or less than 20 minutes by public transportation. The British
Museum is a bit farther, a 14-minute drive or a 35-minute ride on public transportation. Heathrow Airport is a 27-minute drive away, London City Airport is
a 33-minute drive, and Gatwick Airport is a 45-minute drive -- all three airports are less than an hour away on public transportation.
Rooms
Spacious rooms, some with balconies and exercise bikes, but noise and maintenance issues
The 216 rooms at the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel & Spa London are
bright and spacious, with a chic design. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in plenty of light, and the beds have huge cream-colored leather headboards. Patterned brown carpeting and low-key geometrically angled white walls are attractive, and desks are large enough to work from. But the London-themed wall canvases can look out of place, as do the white-leather daybeds. Some of the rooms have exercise bikes, which are a nice perk. Deluxe Family Rooms have sofa beds
and can sleep up to three, while Suites add living rooms with gorgeous hardwood floors, design-focused accent walls, glass-topped dining tables, and wet bars with Nespresso machines. Some Suites have wraparound balconies, but
they’re narrow and unfurnished. Bathrooms are large with separate showers and tubs, but the brown countertops look a
tad dated. Deluxe Rooms have rainfall and slim-line showerheads. Suites have two bathrooms -- one with a built-in tub and tablet-size TV, and the other with a separate
shower room. Individual designer toiletries are a nice touch.All rooms
have individual air-conditioning and clunky-looking flat-screen TVs with
on-demand movies, plus iPod docks, modern phones, and safes. There are coffee-
and tea-making facilities, slippers and robes, and mini-fridges with
free water -- some have fully stocked minibars. Wi-Fi is free, and interconnecting
rooms are convenient for families and groups. Be aware that rooms at the back of the hotel face the train line and can get noisy. Guests have also complained about noise from the hallways,
and about spotty maintenance and housekeeping.
Features
Indoor pool and 24/7 gym, plus tapas bar and excellent Portuguese restaurant
The Pestana Chelsea Bridge is not short on facilities, and the spa, pool, sauna, and steam room are free for guests, although the gym is a bit small. Spa beauty and therapeutic treatments
come with a fee. Some room packages include breakfast, which guests rate as mixed -- and overpriced. The Atlantico Restaurant serves excellent Portuguese and international cuisine at dinner, and the lobby bar is open from morning until night for drinks and tapas. Suite guests can use the Executive Lounge, which serves free drinks and snacks, as well as breakfast. Laundry
and dry-cleaning services are available. Wi-Fi is free throughout the
hotel, but there are extra charges for Internet access at the small business
center, which has PCs and printers. The hotel also has several elegant meeting
rooms, which can accommodate up to 500 people. Reasonably priced secure
parking is adjacent to the hotel.
