Charlotte Street Hotel
15-17 Charlotte Street, London, United Kingdom, W1T 1RJ
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Expert review of Charlotte Street Hotel
Beautifully designed, buzzy boutique hotel.
A superb boutique hotel from Kit Kemp’s Firmdale Group, beautifully designed and with great service. I particularly like the early 20th-century art (paintings from the Bloomsbury Set’s Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell), the mini-cinema and always lively bar-restaurant, Oscar, which fronts on to Charlotte Street.
Location:
This West End hotel is in Fitzrovia, just north of Oxford Street and Soho. A formerly bohemian area of London, where Dylan Thomas and George Orwell used to booze, is now home to media and advertising offices, ensuring there’s a good range of bars and restaurants nearby. You’re five minutes’ walk from either Goodge Street or Oxford Street tube stations, and about ten from the British Museum.
Bedrooms:
If I was treating someone, I’d go for one of the four Loft Suites (106, 108, 109, 110) - sensational, double-height rooms with mezzanines for the bedrooms, they’re among the best suites in London. But every room is well-appointed (Tivoli radios, internet, TVs with DVD, plenty of cupboard space) and refreshingly designed: Kit Kemp, owner-designer of the Firmdale mini-chain, set the tone for contemporary London hotel design with her jazzy update on traditional stripes and florals in vivid colours, giant headboards and plush wood-and-granite bathrooms.
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Public areas:
I would never have guessed this hotel used to be a dental hospital. It’s now feels spacious and handsome, with interesting artworks and objects dotted about - including, in the foyer, the big metal cat-like creature that everyone loves to pat. As with all the Firmdale hotels, there are lovely guest spaces: here a library and drawing room with fireplaces and honesty bar.
Eating and drinking:
Afternoon tea can be taken in the drawing room or library, but the busy Oscar bar-restaurant, with its specially commissioned mural and few pavement tables, is the real hit, popular all day with local media types as well as residents. The top-notch full English breakfast is a pricey £19.50; cocktails cost £10.50.
Leisure facilities:
There’s a solid gym (weights, cardiovascular machines, yoga mats) and an excellent screening room - with 75 proper fold-down leather seats, it’s really a mini-cinema.
Service:
On the ball, but relaxed and approachable.
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Who stays there:
Smart media types and relaxed businessmen, plus discerning leisure guests especially at weekends. Oscar bar-restaurant attracts a lot of outside custom, giving it a real buzz through the week, and Sunday film-and-a-meal deals using the hotel’s fine screening room (£35 excluding service) are a lovely treat.
Price advice:
Pick the right Sunday and you’ll be able to get the Loft Suites at great rates. There are also a number of special summer deals running, with the fine breakfast included. Normally, the rate for a double includes VAT but not breakfast (full English breakfast costs £19.50, an egg-white omelette £12.50) or internet usage (£20 a day).
Pros:
Well-appointed, well-designed rooms
Lovely public spaces
Buzzy restaurant-bar
Cons:
Extra costs (internet, pricey breakfast)
More information on Charlotte Street Hotel :
- Price from:
- Type:
- Hotel
- Address:
- 15-17 Charlotte Street, London, United Kingdom, W1T 1RJ
- Amenities:
- Fitness Centre, High-Speed Internet, Restaurant, Room Service
- Neighbourhood:
- West End
Community comments (2)
The afternoon tea at the Charlotte Street Hotel is great - it's not as touristy as some of the other London afternoon tea spots and you get plenty of food (sandwiches, scones, fruit tarts, macaroons and profiteroles) for £21pp (or £30 including champagne) - served either in Oscar restaurant or if it's not too full of guests you can sometimes have tea next to the fire in their lounge.
Overall I agree with the experts opinion of the Charlotte St. Its one of my favourite hotels in London. The place is very individual and very buzzy with media types.The breakfast is excellent. I probably wouldn't be as generous as the expert about the restaurant in the evening. The food is ok but you would always get better food at better value by walking down Charlotte St - this applies to most West End hotels! The gym is compact and not as equipped as other top end hotel gyms. There is no spa.