The hotel is on one of the streets of grand white townhouse buildings that
epitomise the area between Lancaster Gate and Bayswater Tube stations. The
area of Craven Hill Gardens, dominated by The Hempel's own garden square for
exclusive use of guests, is very quiet with minimal through-traffic. And it
is only a few metres from Hyde Park.
Porters loiter smartly in their black martial arts-style outfits outside the
main building ready to provide 24-hour room service to the apartments and
serve drinks in the Hempel Garden Square - a zen-like retreat that business
people can choose to surf in instead of meditating or sipping a top-notch
cocktail. Even the lobby is awe-inspiring, all polished white marble and
low-slung chairs for relaxing or waiting.
Why it's good for business
Apart from some potentially inspiring meeting meeting rooms and the garden
area, the main advantage of the hotel is the relaxing ambience and fine
service.
The room
The serviced apartments are housed in a building across the road from the main
hotel that overlooks the hotel's gardens. My apartment (number 10) had fine
views of the garden, which is lit by dozens of candles at night. The
apartments and gardens benefit from service from within the main building,
and many of the restaurant items can be ordered to the room.
The bedroom is on a mezzanine level with low lighting and has a top quality
bed. Some apartments have two bedrooms. Instead of a minibar, drinks are
delivered to the room with a miniature of spirits costing £7. Dry-cleaning
a shirt costs £6. It is returned by 6pm if given to reception by 10am.
A place to meet
The bars and restaurants can be used for informal meetings. In addition, there
is Number 17 with its own terrace which can accommodate 40 people, the
Portland Room which can be used for boardroom-style meetings for up to 12
while the I-Thai restaurant has room for 100 in a theatre format.
Technology credentials
Wi-fi access is available throughout the hotel and in the Hempel Graden
Square. It's provided by The Cloud at an extra cost, with explanatory
leaflets available in the rooms. Both ethe living are and bedrooms have flat
screen TVs.
Fed and watered
The restaurant I-Thai is downstairs in the main hotel, and benefits from the
same classy minimalist decor and moody lighting as the other public areas.
It was not difficult to get a table when we visited and you can make a
reservation at reception.
Specialising in pan-Asian food, it has the usual Thai options (though £19.95
for prawn pad Thai seems very steep) as well as dishes with European
influences. The oysters in lime slipped down easily (£9.95 for 6), while the
wok-fried sirloin steak with baby pak choi, chinese chives and black bean
sauce (£18.95) was succulent and well balanced. It also specialises in
Japanese platters and temaki sushi (make your own for £25 per person,
minimum 2 people).
The adjacent Jade Room can seat up to 14 people for lunch or dinner if you
need privacy for business purposes.
There's an excellent cocktail list in the trendy H-Bar and you can take
drinks out to the gardens (or order them when you are out there).
In the know
If you don't fancy I-Thai, the concierge came up with a couple of high-quality
options towards Marble Arch and Bond Street. Locanda Locatelli is the London
restaurant of charismatic Italian TV chef Giorgio Locatelli.
Nearer to Bond Street, Hush has an expensive French restaurant upstairs as
well as a more reasonable brasserie on the ground floor. They can also
accommodate private dining groups for meetings.
Business class - business farce
Business class: the gardens are the ultimate chill-out zone for a tired
executive or a haven for getting online to do some work.
Business farce: the wi-fi is not complimentary and there are no free gym
facilities, only a discount at a location close to Piccadilly.
The bottom line
The one bedroom apartments are available from £450 plus vat a night or £1,540
plus vat for a weekly rate.
Need to know
The Hempel, 31-35 Craven Hill Gardens, London W2 3EA.
www.the-hempel.co.uk
To book call TT Serviced Apartments, tel. 0870 345 6550; www.ttapartments.com
