Part of Starhotels Collezione, The Pelham is a much sought-after touch of old world luxury to the heart of South Kensington.

If you’re headed to London and want to stay somewhere with a real sense of place, you can’t beat The Pelham, a refined boutique hotel that combines eclectic interiors with a homely sense of privacy and luxury.

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So, we’re in Kensington?

South Kensington to be exact. The Pelham is located on Cromwell Place so you’re in the thick of things, with the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum all steps away. This makes the hotel a great base from which to explore some of London’s most iconic sights.

And it’s intimate?

And then some. The hotel boasts only 52 rooms and suites, making it a very chic little hideaway that’s popular with celebs and frequent travellers keen to shun the big brand hotels. From the outside, the hotel looks rather like a private home and the decor within maintains that sense of intimacy.

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What are the rooms like?

Dressed by eclectic interior designer Kit Kemp, rooms at The Pelham are lively without being brash. Each of the hotel’s rooms and suites has its own design persona and features a balance of modern furniture and timeless antiques and textiles with flashes of colour, elegant wallpaper, and accents in dark wood. Add flatscreen smart TVs, Penhaligon’s bathroom amenities plus a pillow menu and you have a recipe for bliss.

My Junior Suite, one of eight, each measuring 28-30 sqm and some with fireplaces and black marble bathrooms, is a welcome respite after a long day of travelling. The bed is huge and comfortable, the bathroom modern and well appointed, and the view down to bustling Cromwell Place so fascinating I turn one of the armchairs around, open a bottle of wine and people watch for an hour.

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How about public spaces?

Like a chic inner-city townhouse, The Pelham boasts public spaces, dubbed the Drawing Room and the Library, that are blissfully residential and a little tongue in cheek – picture wood-panel living rooms, antique books, framed (and slightly curious) oil paintings and a private club ambience and you’re getting the right feel.

How about something to sate the appetite?

For such a tiny hotel, the fine-dining La Trattoria by Alfredo Russo (above) has a cult following with locals and celebrates the simplicity and elegance of authentic Italian cuisine (the space also does a blissfully sun-kissed breakfast).