Located just across the street from Kensington Palace and Gardens in the heart of London, the Milestone Hotel houses 44 deluxe guest rooms, 12 luxury suites, and six long-stay residences. The hotel, part of the Red Carnation Hotel Collection, is consistently top rated among hotels in the city.
In 2017, it was ranked No. 8 in the Top 40 Hotels in London in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards and it was voted No. 2 Best Hotel in London and No. 3 Best City Hotel in Europe in the Travel + Leisure ‘World’s Best’ Awards. And with perks like butler service, a chauffeured Bently, and a staff to guest ratio of 2 to 1 that ensures impeccable service, it’s easy to see why.
Upon arrival, guests are offered a welcome drink in the lounge, which is also the setting for the hotel’s daily afternoon tea. Among the other perks: evening canapes delivered to guests in the suites, fresh flowers and fruit, twice-daily room service with sweets at turndown, complimentary mobile phone rentals, and complimentary umbrellas. In short, just about anything you could need—and then some, like when my husband and I needed some heavy duty tape to seal a package and our butler delivered it without question—is at your disposal.
Every room in the hotel is different, with rooms classified as Rooms, Junior Suites, Master Suites, and Grand Master Suites. Our room, the Buckingham Suite, was a Junior Suite with a completely separate living area that had a large, elegant corner chaise with a tufted back, and a small study area with a desk, two chairs, and a minibar. Both the living room and the bedroom had flatscreen TVs and were decorated in rich blue and grey tones with leather, suede, gold, and dark wood accents.
Onsite, there are plenty of areas to relax, including the lounge—essentially the hotel’s living room—and Cheneston’s restaurant, which serves lunch and dinner, as well as the equestrian-themed Stables bar and the adjacent Conservatory, a chic black and white space with glass walls and ceiling, and leather armchairs.
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We loved the coziness of the Stables, which also offered complimentary canapes with drinks in the early evening.
The hotel is also home to one of most unique spaces in London. The Oratory is the original chapel of the late 19th-century building and is known as the city’s smallest wedding venue, as well as a space for intimate dinners and proposals.
There’s a fitness center and spa with a resistance pool, exercise studio, and treatment room for massages. Guests can book additional services like a picnic in the park or a lesson in the art of sabrage (using a saber to open a bottle of champagne). And, the hotel is pet-friendly, with pet services that include pet beds, food and water bowls, and additional services like dog walking and pet sitting.
It’s the small details that often differentiate the good hotels from the truly great, and at the Milestone, no detail is overlooked. Every fabric in the room was soft and luxurious, from the bedding to the ultra-soft towels. Every staff member addressed us by name and assisted us with any task, from decanting a special bottle of wine to calling a restaurant to let them know we were running late. Every aspect of the room was of the highest quality and designed to enhance our stay, from the professional-grade hairdryer to the room shades that went up and down with the touch of a button. It’s these little things that make the Milestone a cut above most luxury hotels.
If you go: Room rates start at around 330 GBP, and the hotel offers a mid-week deal of 3 nights for the price of 2 for the suites. You can also check Expedia or Booking.com to see if they offer lower rates.
I received a discount at the Milestone Hotel, but all opinions are my own.
