Age of Empires
In a quiet corner of Knightsbridge sits The Egerton House Hotel, a delightful luxury boutique hotel that occupies 17 and 19 Egerton Terrace – two townhouses that have stood the test of time since the early 19th century. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more sweetly located hotel: it really is a stone’s throw away from Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Sloane Street, and the King’s Road, but it remains miraculously impermeable to London’s relentless street noise.
There are 28 lavishly appointed rooms within the entire property, the most magnificent of which is The V&A Suite (from £810/RM4,380 per night), named after The Victoria & Albert Museum that also stands just around the corner from Egerton Terrace. Richly outfitted in regal red decor with Tudor-themed artwork and ornate fabrics, the hotel’s master suite comprises a spacious main bedroom and a separate sitting lounge, which comes with its own walk-in shower. The lounge also boasts floor-length French doors that allow the suite’s occupants to enjoy the serenity of the nearby Egerton Gardens from the privacy of their open-air terrace, should the English weather be in their favour.
Even if the weather turns inclement, there are plenty of wonderful distractions to be discovered in the suite, such as a games and toys cabinet and a vintage French cocktail trolley stocked with complimentary gin, vodka and whiskey. A soak in the tub, surrounded by Penhaligon-scented bubbles in an elegant green marble bathroom – preferably with a glass of Lanson Champagne (a sure sign you’re staying at a Red Carnation Hotels property) – will also keep one’s holiday mood buoyant. Rest assured that The Egerton House Hotel takes its guests’ creature comforts most seriously indeed: ring for tea, and the teacups arrive warm on the tray (a rarity today), while hot water bottles are tucked into the bed on chilly evenings.
But it’s well worth emerging from the suite, if only to enjoy the peace of The Dining Room, into which an abundance of natural daylight streams as guests work their way through the extensive breakfast menu. There are scrambled eggs with Scottish smoked salmon, short-stack pancakes or waffles, and even vegan French toast soaked in soy milk and served with berries – just the thing to sustain anyone who’s revving their engines for a busy day in London. Be sure not to forget to collect the complimentary tickets to The V&A Museum that come with the suite, though. Given that they allow entry even into exhibitions that have been fully booked, it would be a terrible shame not to nip across the road to take full advantage of this particular perk.
