Detailed Review
One of London's perfect gems, discreetly hidden in the heart of Kensington, yet only minutes away from the excitement of city life. Once within the marble hall, the lavish opulence of the hotel's interior envelopes the guest in a world of top-class luxury.
The team at the Bentley are friendly and approachable, mindful of their role to ensure that a guests every need is matched with discreet and efficient service.
Independent Reviews
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"Versailles comes to Kensington at this discreet luxury hotel, with a fabulous restaurant, 1880 and sumptuous Turkish hammam."
Bentley Kempinksi
By Angela Moore
The Bentley Kempinksi is discreetly located on a quiet residential street in South Kensington. Its interiors are a tribute to courtly France, flush with deep-pile carpets and silk upholstery and crystal chandeliers and marble (600 tons of it, imported from Italy, Turkey and Africa). Specialist teams were brought in to laboriously lay down the mosaics and find lovely, intricate pieces of Louis XV furniture. Curiously, despite all this opulence, the hotel feels a little underfurnished, and it’s still far more a hotel than a palace, or even a home. You almost wish the designers had thrown caution to the winds and gone camply, lavishly, OTT.
That said, the breakfast room, where guests can also take afternoon tea, is among the prettiest in London, all coquettish white and gold spindle-chairs and damask and silk hangings. The Malachite bar is a more masculine, cognac-and-cigars version, with wood panelling and rococo ceilings. There is a spa with a proper Turkish hamam and an excellent dining room, 1880, courtesy of two-Michelin-starred chef Andrew Turner.
The rooms
There are 64 rooms and they’re all remarkably spacious. They get increasingly opulent as you go up the scale from a deluxe double to an Imperial, Royal or Presidential Suite. You start off with painted panelled walls, a chandelier and a rather unstable looking desk and work up to gold-plated bathroom taps, silk-covered walls, enormous period paintings and private dining rooms. One suite even has a grand piano.
Throughout, there are standard amenities such as high-speed internet connection, which are all charged for. Bathrooms – marble of course - are simply enormous by London standards and every one has a Jacuzzi bath and a separate walk-in shower.
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