A touch of class
If you’re the type that enjoys a rather good hotel, if you’re partial to fine wine or perhaps a proper cream tea, then Clanricarde Gardens II is a home from home. Situated on a quiet street, yet just moments from the tube, this refined ground floor apartment is the London residence of a cosmopolitan pair who generally reside in Belgium. Think antique furniture and some stunning oriental rugs.
And the story continues beyond the front door, for Notting Hill is a wonderful part of town. You’ve Hyde Park, of course, then there’s Portobello Road antiques market, and bars, cafes and restaurants in delightful abundance.
Connoisseurs
Your Irish host, now retired, previously worked for the European Commission, and continues to spend much of his time in Brussels. His wife is a lawyer, and together they enjoy collecting Japanese and Russian art, some of which you’ll see on Clanricarde Gardens II’s walls.
Timeless style
The sitting room of Clanricarde Gardens II gleams with light, which streams through the enormous windows onto the polished furniture below. The dining table sits right by the window, the ideal spot to gaze out upon the street below, and the picture perfect town houses opposite.
The kitchen’s new and contains everything you might need to whip up something delicious, while, down the corridor (past a display of Chinese porcelain) you’ll find the spacious master bedroom, with its king sized bed, antique writing desk and glossy ensuite.
There’s a further double next door, also with a king sized bed, the walls clad in a stirring scarlet, while the guest cloakroom and shower room are resplendent in white and grey.
On and on
Clanricarde Gardens II is ideally located for visitors and business travellers alike. To get into town just hop into a cab or jump onto the tube, either of which can have you in there in around fifteen minutes. But before you zip off to the West End, make sure you’ve stopped in at the Hummingbird Bakery for a cupcake, that you’ve walked the length of the Serpentine, and eaten at some of London’s finest restaurants. Souvenir hunters will adore Portobello Road Market, and if it’s nightlife you want, then Notting Hill’s lively bars are just around the corner.