The best hotels in South Kensington

While its outside oozes Victorian class, the inside of this South Ken spot is decidedly in the 21st century. The decor at the Ampersand Hotel is neatly conceptual: each price band keyed to the area’s cultural attractions – astronomy for single/double rooms, music for superior, ornithology for deluxe, and so on. Whatever you opt for, you’ll get an en suite bathroom, movies on demand and media hubs, as well as access to a library, gym, The Drawing Rooms (where you can get snacks) and the classy Apero restaurant.

The Baglioni is a five-star spot for a reason. Overlooking the busy road into Kensington Gardens, it’s appropriately posh for its setting: from the porte cochère to the butlers, who each have responsibility for a floor. Priding themselves on an Italian sense of style, the decor in the public areas has no anxieties about excess, giving them their own charm, but the bedrooms have more self-control and are, as a consequence, rather chic.

Cheval Harrington Court takes 'staycation' up a few notches with its modern forty-seven apartments. Combining hotel-style 24-hour concierge and basic cooking facilities, the rooms are smart and bright with clearly defined living and sleeping areas. The galley kitchens are rather dapper, with black worktops, black-and-white splashback tiling and the full range of equipment. A welcome hamper provides necessities, from milk to dishwasher tablets.

Billed as a 'quintessentially British hotel since 1892', the Gore hotel actually fits the very tall order. We're talking a parquet-floored lobby hung with tapestry and antique portraits, a grand staircase sweeps up to bedrooms with bookcases and oak beds, delicately carved in the nineteenth century. Take things back in time even further with a night in the Tudor Room suite – complete with oak beams, grand fireplace and fifteenth-century minstrels’ gallery – before sampling some slightly more contemporary cocktails at Bar 190.

Grand rows of white stucco townhouses characterise South Ken and the Kensington Hotel is one of the best. Its rooms are a refined mix of pale shades with pops of bright colour that will catch your attention, while you can expect at least one item of show-stopping furniture – free-standing bathtub with gold claw feet, anyone? While the interconnecting restaurant rooms are a bit subdued, funky naked-bulb chandeliers dramatically illuminate the bar.

Although it might have a slightly more ‘hostel’ vibe than the other hotels on this list, the German chain Meininger offers a uniquely adorable and modern way to explore South Ken. In addition to dormitories, there are private twin and four-person rooms, sparsely but pleasantly done out, and appealing public spaces including a café-bar, games area and terrace, as well as free wifi throughout the premises and 24-hour reception. The location is superb, right next to the Natural History Museum.

Another townhouse hotel, the Number Sixteen sits just off Old Brompton Road, meaning that it's close to all the action while also being an oasis of calm. Part of the Firmdale empire, this is the most affordable – yet, oddly, it is one of our favourites. Through the ground-floor public rooms, the attention to detail (the fresh flowers, decorations cut from bird books into pop-ups) is evident, and the bedrooms are bright with bold colours and full of light. There’s something spring-like and uplifting about the hotel – even in the depths of winter.