





I'm one of those crazy travelers that you read about in books. The type that stayed in dinky guesthouses in remote parts of China, a little room in a farmer's house with an outhouse (toilet's a hole on the ground), pension, hostel, farmhouse, various convents in Europe, 3 to 5 star hotels, cave houses, apartments, slept on a beach in Chios (Greece) etc etc. When I took my newly wedded husband on his first (but not mine) adventure, he was appalled and stayed traumatized by the experience for the next decade. Oh well, I thought it was fun.
Now that I've got a young child to consider and a husband who's not at all keen on "exotic" accommodations, I'm a little more conservative. I'm still not one to fork out ££££ for accommodations only because I'm frugal that way. My only two requirements other than the expense is that it's super clean and located near amenities. For longer stays, it's definitely a rented apartment all the way because I hate 10am housekeeping and I can't live without a small kitchenette (bet all moms can agree on this). I still have my favorites - Etoile St Ferdinand in Paris and The Nadler, a boutique hotel in London.
Sue and I booked into a "Luxury Bunk" room at The Nadler in Kensington a few weeks ago. It was £105 a night. The room was narrow but the bathroom was huge. The room was incredibly clean and tidy and most importantly, there was a kitchenette. Sure, it's small but since we barely spent a lot of time there, there was no reason to cough up more hard earned moolah on the room. We dropped off our bags early in the morning and promptly buggered off till really late at night. The staff had already kindly transferred our bags to the room as it wasn't ready when we arrived earlier in the day (we knew it wouldn't be ready so early in the morning). The service was exceptional. Very attentive, polite and efficient.
The Nadler is located a few minutes' walk from Earl's Court tube station (come out of station, cross the road, walk down Earl's Court Gardens and turn right. You'll see The Nadler a couple of houses away). You have easy access to Circle, District and Piccadilly lines at Earl's Court which means if you can't be bothered to walk, Notting Hill, Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Green Park are pretty much your stomping ground via the tube. For those of you who have to catch a plane from Heathrow, just hop on the Piccadilly line and it's only a few stops away. They do offer discounts for a longer stay so check out their website here.
p.s. I don't normally do reviews on hotels but I was really impressed with The Nadler. And it's not often that I'm delighted with the hotels I've stayed in.
Other than the bunk bed, it looks lovely. Think my days of sleeping in a single bed are well and truly over. Adore the display at the top of the stairs - my style down to a T x
ReplyDeleteI haven't slept in a bunk for decades. It was rather fun actually.
DeleteWas that £105 For the room per night? Was breakfast included? Ps love your blog thanks x
ReplyDeleteThank you! Glad you like the blog. I booked in advance. I think they had the 10-15% discount which helped knocked down the price. The double rooms are more expensive. The reason why they can keep the prices relatively low for Chelsea/Kensington area is because they don't provide food. But they have £8.50 breakfast which you can order in from a cafe outside of the hotel. I actually prefer breakfast at Cote Brasserie or The Botanist (just across the road from Sloane Sq tube station).
DeleteOk that's really helpful, thank you x
DeleteThanks for the recommendation--I may need a hotel in London this year and this looks fab. I know the neighbourhood well and it's a great location.
ReplyDeleteThere's safety in staying near a tube station with multiple tube lines. The engineering work that goes on during the weekend can be a pain at times so at least you have options. Hope you enjoy your visit in London again.
DeleteWell great idea for staying in London when you are several. While I don't mind bunk bed I do not care for the giant TV! But I already found what I wanted for my next trip to London next May: care to meet me? From a tiny petite.
ReplyDeleteEmail me when you've got your dates set. Would love to provided I'm around.
DeleteAnyway I can tell that I begin to blame you! Yes I am currently browsing the internet like mad to find some Isabel Marant trousers... Yes, me! But it seems that it is not so easy to find the smallest size in the style I am looking for, no luck with NetaPorter so far nor with Shopbop. I should not read fashion blog, at all! But I'll be delighted to meet you if you will and if you're around yes.
DeleteI can't believe you posted this! My boyfriend and I are heading to London next month and I booked The Nadler in Soho after hours upon hours of research!
ReplyDeleteOh man....talk about a coincidence. If The Nadler in Soho is anything like the one in Kensington, you're sorted.
DeleteThe reviews are excellent and we never order room service anyway, so the fact there is no kitchen/bar in the hotel does not matter to us. Like you, we just care about cleanliness and location. I'm really looking forward to our stay even more now having read about your positive experience! Great to read reviews by people you "know"... (YKWIM lol).
DeleteI loved this hotel - such a good choice and find Marlene. If I'm back in London anytime with no one to put me up, I'm going for it again!
ReplyDeleteLove this place- reminds me of the pod hotels in NYC, they are not the cheapest but there's something fun about squeezing into the small space. I'm a bit of a freak about keeping hotel rooms tidy and the small space ensures you have to.
ReplyDeleteMarlene,
ReplyDeletejust got back from my UK excursion.
Me thinks we went slightly overboard (mind you not with shopping this time around, only replenished my boots stash :). My friend has that pedometer thingy - did 27.000 steps on Thursday and another 25.000 on Friday in London... makes me feel a bit better about all the food I've ingested :) Although it will take me a couple of days to recover, London always does that to me.
But yes, as long as it's clean, you have your own bathroom and it's close to the tube... well Bob's your uncle :)
You're so lucky that you went when we had the BEST weather all month. 27000!!! WOW! I've chucked out the pedometer that my GP gave me *shameface* Whereabouts did you two go?
DeleteOh we got super lucky with the weather, it was gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteStayed for a few days in Norfolk first. Love it there! Such lovely county, beautiful scenery, you can walk everywhere, people are so kind, but it's all at a much more relaxed pace.
In London we stayed near Waterloo, did Covent Garden area Thursday evening, also went to Somerset House, we basically did a pub crawl, but without the pub (or rather managed to go to just one pub cos we walked so much :)
Friday - Tate Modern (which was great), National Gallery (been there before but it was yonks ago) - it always wears me out, so many things to see plus soooo many people! However... after seeing so many Rubens paintings I feel so much better about my wobbly bits :) It's like - embrace it, it's beautiful :)
We also did a Grim Reaper tour with Sandmans? Obvs not everyone's cup of tea, BUT a) am into blood and gore and b) the guide was funny and super knowledgeable so it was good fun. He took us through some back alleys and stuff we would have never found on our own.
Saturday - had just a couple of hours before the flight and since I normally wake up early went to Kensington Palace Gardens for a walk and popped down to Bond street on my way back.
Also got schooled on pee breaks. You know how normally you always have to pee at the most inconvenient moments? :) This friend who's been in London for 5 odd years now was all like - what you mean McDonalds? Posh hotels all the way! Hm ok :O so have seen my fair share of posh lavs :)
Yeah I get you on the pedometers (you have a nice GP :), but am actually thinking about getting one. Obvs this week was excessive, but it might not be such a bad way to see if I'm moving enough, you know?
LOLOLOLOL. Okay, will have to remember. Go to National Gallery to look at Rubens paintings. WHOA. Oh really? I love your friend. Did she just walk into the posh hotels and ask for the toilets?
DeleteThanks for the tip and review Marlene! It's always good to have good and affordable options for travelling!
ReplyDelete