• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Alice Dishes

Adventures and Real Food

  • Design
  • Life
  • Recipes
  • Reviews
  • Travel

January 11, 2017

A Short Stay at The Laslett, Notting Hill, London

We are usually lucky enough to lean on family goodwill in London, eliminating the need for a hotel when we visit the U.K.’s capital city. Yet on a recent visit—and it being Christmas Eve—there was naturally no room at the family inn. Some internet sleuthing uncovered The Laslett in Notting Hill – a year-old modern boutique hotel, just steps from a tube station and located in a row of imposing townhouses.

Notting Hill brings back a flood of memories whenever I visit. There’s the movie of course, with Notting Hill playing the fetching backdrop to Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts’ shenanigans. It was home to an ex-boyfriend of mine and I spent many a tortured hour pacing the streets here in the mid-90s with Everything But The Girl’s: Missing, the soundtrack running through my head. And of course, it’s the site of the annual carnival, weekly Portobello market, many antique stores and fabulous shopping.

After considering booking through a travel web site, I opted to book directly with the hotel, based on a special offer they were running which included a free black and white print by a photographer whose work is displayed in the hotel rooms, and a lovely bottle of Neal’s Yard bath oil (yes, I am a sucker for a freebie).

The Laslett itself is modest in size, but big in personality with a hip and trendy interior decor. Clean, white and bright—with a wonderful selection of curated artifacts and artwork adorning the wall—the lobby isn’t big, but it’s certainly a place you’ll want to hang out, even if only for breakfast or a quick cocktail. The staff were friendly, happily helped us with our bags, and wore their Christmas antlers with resigned good humor.

Our room was located on the top floor – which meant lower ceilings (these were the servants’ quarters after all, back in the day). I’d recommend asking for a room on a lower floor if you intend to go. But the bathroom was well-appointed and beautifully decorated, and the bed was crisply made, with old Penguin books on hand—should sleep escape you—and a good array of electrical and USB outlets right by the bed.

Paying for breakfast in advance is cheaper, and so we signed up knowing that Christmas morning warranted a bit of a binge (one, which in fact, lasted an entire week). The breakfast was the one dull spot on our shiny stay. The buffet was solid: fresh cheeses and cured meats; cereals, juices and breads. They have a great espresso machine and gladly whipped up a decaf almond milk latte for me. However, the cooked breakfasts weren’t fab, with the poached eggs cooked to solidity and taking a while to arrive. Requests for butter also had to be made several times. The staff seemed stretched a little thin.

No matter, the location is amazing and we were able to start off Christmas morning with a brisk walk/jog to nearby Holland Park – which is a lovely public park – something London is so very good at.

The crying of the peacocks, the peaceful Japanese garden and the lovely old house, were all highly enjoyable. I have recollections of this being an idyllic place to visit in the summer.

Prices for a double room with a king bed start around $250 USD.

Filed Under: Reviews, Travel Tagged With: Christmas in London, hotel in London, London, Notting Hill, places to stay in London, The Laslett hotel

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About Alice

A bit about me... I grew up in the UK and moved to Northern California in the late 1990s, drawn here, like so many others, by the lure of ...

Read More

Popular Posts

  • The Best Places to Eat in Hanalei, KauaiThe Best Places to Eat in Hanalei, Kauai
  • 10 Things to Do in Sea Ranch, CA10 Things to Do in Sea Ranch, CA
  • When All Is Said And Done: 7 Things That Really Matter in LifeWhen All Is Said And Done: 7 Things That Really…
  • Stunning Beet and Cauliflower SoupStunning Beet and Cauliflower Soup

People are Talking About

No People Food

A Lesson in Salt From Samin Nosrat

Madeleines by Monkey

When All Is Said And Done: 7 Things That Really Matter in Life

Alice’s Favorites

101 Cookbooks
Chef on a Mission
Cook, Taste, Eat
Food Politics
Golden
Good Eggs
Healthy Cooking
Jamie Oliver Food Revolution
Mary Vance
Michael Pollan
Nina Planck
Not Without Salt
Nourish Network
Samin Nosrat
The Healthy Home Economist

Follow alicedishes

Footer

A bit about me... I grew up in the UK and moved to Northern California in the late 1990s, drawn here, like so many others, by the lure of the dot.com ...

Read More

More to Explore

All Posts Archive

Stay Connected

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Never Miss a Post

Copyright© 2023 · Alice Dishes

website by lobstervine