Ten days after my short break in London, and my great stay at the Baglioni Hotel in Kensington, I suddenly had to arrange just a one night stay in town again, for some hospital appointments.  Unfortunately the Baglioni was full, so I took the opportunity  to try another hotel from the Leading Hotels of the World collection; The Milestone Hotel. We had loved staying in Kensington, with easy access to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, and The Milestone was just a couple of hundred yards from the Baglioni, also overlooking the parks.

Being July peak season, I happily booked the only remaining room type – a King Deluxe Studio, at the Leaders Club rate of £565.  Online reviews of the hotel spoke of really friendly customer service and I was amazed the hotel was ranked as 3rd best in London on TripAdvisor, as that site’s reviewers usually favour lower price point destinations.

We arrived on foot at around 3pm on Friday 6th July and the top-hatted doorman showed us to the wood-panneled reception. The receptionist had difficulty finding our booking on his system, which perplexed me, but after I showed my confirmation email things sorted themselves out. But it wasn’t a good welcome; certainly not as good as at the Baglioni.  We were shown to our room on the 4th floor and it was a charming first impression.

Room 406, named ‘Matisse’ was right opposite the lift, but a reasonably long entrance hall meant we didn’t have any disturbances. The hallway hosted the bathroom to the right and then a few steps led down to the bedroom which featured a super-king bed in a grand curved bedstead. There was also a writing desk, a couple of armchairs and a few occasional tables.  And there were chests of drawers, plus flat TV and a mini-bar. But there were no tea/coffee making facilities, which struck me as odd, in the 21st Century.  The bathroom was more compact than spacious, with a single wash basin, a toilet and a bidet, and a bath tub in which one stood for a shower. The higher end of Penhaligan’s toiletries collection were provided. Plenty of fluffy towels were also available.  However water pressure was poor, so it took ages to wash my hands, especially when the toilet was refilling after flushing.

All rooms and suites at The Milestone are individually styled by the hotel’s owner, Bea Tollman; ours featured several classic Matisse cut-outs in blue and white, which were complimented by the largely white, cream and blue decor and bed linen.  We had four narrow 19th Century leaded windows which looked onto Kensington Court, with oblique views of a few trees in the Royal Park, and six inch gap double glazing protected us from outside noise.  There was a built-in a/c unit which worked very well with minimum noise.

We didn’t have dinner in the hotel, but when we returned from the West End at 23:30 we found we had to ring a bell to get in.  We went for a night-cap in their bar and were treated to excellent service by Angelo, who was so enthusiastic about the signature Milestone Old Fashioned cocktails the bar was renowned for I felt guilty not ordering one!

After a good night’s sleep we took breakfast in the dining room, which involved stepping back in time two centuries, to a small panelled room with cartoon images of 19th Century characters on the walls and the feel of a gentleman’s club of yesteryear.  I noticed that most of my fellow diners were American: I can imagine they would love the old-fashioned Englishness of this hotel.  There was a small but adequate ‘continental’ buffet and a menu of cooked dishes, from which I chose Eggs Benedict with bacon, which was good enough but not outstanding (semi-runny yolks, not enough vinegar in the hollandaise, tough bread).  My cappuccino came in a nice large cup which didn’t require a refill and freshly squeezed OJ was poured at the table.

And then we checked out.  I was surprised to see £2 for my morning newspaper on the bill, as these are usually complementary in 5 star hotels, but I paid it anyway.  I also enquired about using the hotel’s house Bentley to take us to my hospital appointment, but it wasn’t available, neither would it have been complementary.

The Milestone is a 5 star luxury hotel, and it largely lives up to that standard. I personally preferred the Baglioni just down the road because I found the service there to be outstanding and because it doesn’t have such an “old fashioned” feel. 8/10