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“Very stylish redo of a classic London Victorian block. … ”
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“Elegant, peaceful, pleasant and helpful staff.”
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The Hempel
31-35 Craven Hill Gardens
London, England, UK
Style: Cutting-Edge
Atmosphere: Secluded
35 Rooms
Many people find this hotel a strange way for Anouska Hempel to follow her celebrated Blakes Hotel. It isn't really. If Blakes represents how the West saw the Orient a hundred years ago—decadent, ornate, with long fingernails and opulent brocades—then the Hempel is how the West sees the Orient today: calm and pristine, with meticulously raked rock gardens and more than a touch of Zen.
It's a bit of tea ceremony in Bayswater, but you won't be able to tell from its Georgian facade. Step in, and you've entered koan heaven, with its all-white lobby, sunken tatami spaces, and floating fireplaces. Beds are Japanese style, on the floor or suspended on platforms; or else they are bamboo four-posters, or even simple, square structures of minimalist chic. The Hempel bedrooms are all individually designed with luxury products including bathrobes, slippers, candles, Wi-Fi ability and even oxygen! Furniture is Indonesian woven rattan, or antique Chinese bamboo.
In fact, despite its overriding Zen flavor, the Hempel is quite eclectic. There are baths à la Isamu Noguchi—at once monastic and modern, black and square like a rock fountain outside a temple—and Victorian tubs sitting on clawed feet. This eclecticism extends to the restaurant, I Thai, which fuses everything from Italy to Thailand with a hefty dose of Japan thrown in for good measure (try the squid noodle salad). Most astonishing is the garden, where English greenery and hedges surround a rectangular pool and artfully placed rocks.
Nonetheless, Hempel, for all its good points, is not the place to party. Though people claim that its East-West fusion is intensely witty, there's not a lot that makes you want to laugh out loud. Indeed, you would't dare. The Hempel is beautiful, serene, stark. It's very, very quiet, and just a bit on the serious side. Bedrooms, especially, are for meditating, not necessarily for misbehaving. Indeed, the Hempel's not the place if you're looking for some London late night romping. But it is certainly the place if you want to turn off your mobile, throw away your watch, and spend a weekend alone.
How to get there:
The Hempel is a 7 minute walk from Paddington station. If you're arriving from Heathrow Airport the most convenient transfer option to central London is The Heathrow Express Train which leaves Heathrow Airport every 15 minutes and takes 15 minutes to arrive at Paddington Station. One way fares are available from £18 and roundtrip fares from £32. By black cab, The Hempel is approximately a 45 minute ride from Heathrow Airport (depending on traffic) and can cost upwards of £50.
