English heritage
Here is a little cottage deep in the heart of the English countryside. Here are red post boxes, wrought iron lampposts, rambling rose bushes and ancient churches, fruit cake and cobbles and bicycles with baskets and Labradors. And here is…London.
Kingsley Mews, to be precise. A pocket of rural idyll amid tree-lined suburbs. A mews house set over two floors with two double bedrooms, some gorgeous antique furniture, and a location that’ll have you constantly reaching for your camera, it’s neat, sweet, and reassuringly exclusive, and as comforting as freshly-baked bread. Bread with a crust that’s erring very much towards the upper.
Global village
Our hostess is the jet-setting CEO of her own marketing company. She’s English, her husband’s French, and they divide their time between London and the South of France. She purchased Kingsley Mews in the nineties, and lovingly nursed it from a dilapidated ruin into a beautiful modern home. Look out for the original fireplace in the sitting room, a wealth of beautiful artwork, and onefinestay’s first ever octagonal loo.
Cosy up
You’ll be so enchanted by the picturesque location, we wouldn’t be surprised if it takes you a few laps of the neighbourhood before you finally put key in door. When you do, you’ll find that inside’s just as lovely as out. The pure white walls of the open plan downstairs living space are enlivened with juicy orange fabrics, and the kitchen’s a-gleam with every utensil you could possibly want. The dining table seats six and, when you’re full, carry your coffee over to the wonderfully slouchy pair of sofas.
Upstairs two king sized double beds await you, encased in the crispest of five star bed linen, and a bathroom that’s packed with some scrummy White Company toiletries. The home is an oasis of calm after a busy day in London.
Town and country
When you’re ready to emerge, you’ll see why Kensington’s one of London’s most exclusive boroughs. From the artisan bakeries to the sumptuous boutiques, this is the stomping ground of aristocrats and the exceptionally wealthy. Don’t expect brash display, though, this a place where money talks in a discrete, well-spoken whisper.
When you’ve finished exploring Kensington High Street, take the air in beautiful Hyde Park. Visit Kensington Palace. Or. for sheer spectacle, make sure you look in on the Royal Albert Hall. Some of the world’s finest (free) entertainment awaits at South Kensington’s many museums. While should your business take you to the centre of town, you can be hustling and bustling with the best of them in only twenty minutes.
