Contributor/ Nessa Mcauliffe
Best Known For
Hotel 41’s iconic lounge and library bar captures a bygone era of a cigar smoking, whisky drinking gentleman’s club from the 1940’s, although non-smoking these days I hasten to add. The hotel staff are totally devoted and almost feel like they are shadowing you, such is the level of one-on-one attention in this gem of a boutique hotel.
The Good Stuff
Located on Buckingham Palace Road, this luxury five star hotel displays traditional English opulence with nostalgia and oozes character. Access is via a good old fashioned doorbell, a quaint touch and a throwback to former times when guests were invited to stay at posh hotels, such was the protocol for fancy hotels. The phone in the room has a “whatever, whenever” button and it is truly that. The list of services is extensive and impressive. If you want to travel with furry animals, there’s a pet concierge, hungry for some quality canapés at 3am, a 24/7 honesty pantry awaits your visit in the lounge or perhaps feeling like a vintage wine, head to the in-house hotel wine cellar. In my hotel inspector days, I was often tasked with requesting the most bizarre items to push the boundaries to see just how far hotel staff would go to source a product or service. This hotel would score hands down on this front.
The Vibe
Hotel 41 may not be everyone’s cup of tea especially if uniformity is not your thing. The black and white themed interiors have a ‘marmite’ feel to it – love it or hate it! The hotel is small and the rooms are all on one floor but yet it feels exclusive and private. I would probably not recommend a trip here with boisterous kids; ‘Victorian’ kids would be very welcome mind you!
Inside the hotel – 8/10
If your idea of a perfect stay in a London hotel is small, boutique, intimate, seeing the world in black and white and sipping a gin in an old library bar, then Hotel 41 is a good find. My highlights were the free canapés and late night deli selection which were all top quality, no soggy prawn and cucumber sandwiches here! I could easily hibernate in Hotel 41 for a weekend with a book and pots of earl grey and let the world go by without me for a while!
Outside the hotel – 6/10
If you happen to be hopping on a train from Victoria, like people watching in Hyde Park or want a bird’s eye view of the queen’s herd of horses, then this hotel wins hands down. Conversely if you want the high life and prefer to be at the epicentre of the action, then think again.
